A L I V E ,

W E S H A L L T R Y P R O B L E M S O L V I N G

SURVIVE FROM A DISASTER

Earthquake.

• Tornado.

• Hurricane.

• Flood.

• Fire.

2

In 1948, all the world’s governments made a firm

commitment – in the form of Article 3 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights – to

safeguard all people’s rights to life and security.

But for human rights to have meaning, it is not

enough for them simply to exist. In the aftermath

of conflicts and disasters, affected communities

are all too often left without the assistance

required to save life and protect livelihoods.

3

Geneva: India ranks second in the world for

natural disasters after China, a top UN official

has said. It was underlined that

• unplanned urbanization and

• failure to address the issue of climate change

pose a grave threat worldwide.

The two rapidly growing countries in the world, China

and India, rank first and second in the number of

reported natural disasters. While China witnessed 22

natural disasters, India came second with 16.

4

A disaster is "a situation or

event which overwhelms

local capacity, necessitating

a request to a national or

international level of external

assistance" and "an

unforeseen and often

sudden event that causes

great damage, destruction

and human suffering."

NATURAL DISASTERS:

PREPARE, MITIGATE, MANAGE

• Disaster preparedness includes all of the activities

that are carried out prior to the advance notice of a

catastrophe in order to facilitate the use of available

resources, relief, and rehabilitation in the best

possible fashion.

• Disaster preparedness starts at the local community

level; if local resources were insufficient, it would

branch out to the national level, and if needed, the

international level. 5

Many governments fail to cope with threats like

storms, floods and earthquakes.

They fail to act

• effectively enough in response to these events,

or

• to take preventative action to reduce

unnecessary deaths and suffering. A GOVT. CAN BE CHANGED ONCE IN 5 YEARS ONLY!

6

Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to

happen to U. Explain what to do in each case to your

own group.

7

New Initiatives Taken By Government of India

1. National Disaster Management Framework

2. Home Secretary Letter to All Chief Secretaries 18.12.2002

3. Home Secretary Letter to All Chief Secretaries 26.05.2003

4. Deputy Prime Minister Letter to All Chief Ministers

29.07.2003

5. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF

ENGINEERS IN EARTHQUAKE RISK MANAGEMENT

6. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF

ARCHITECTES IN EARTHQUAKE RISK MANAGEMENT

7. 38 CITIES "URBAN EARTHQUAKE VULNERABILITY

REDUCTION PROJECT"

8

The Northridge earthquake occurred on Jan. 17, 1994, in

Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, Calif.,

and lasted for about 10-20 seconds.

The quake resulted in more than 60 deaths and more

than 5,000 injuries. More than 25,000 people were left

homeless, according to the Federal Emergency

Management Agency.

In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $25

billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural

disasters in the U.S. history.

9

The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake,

occurred on Jan. 17, 1995, in the southern part of Hyogo

Prefecture, Japan. The focus of the quake was located

16 km (10 miles) beneath its epicenter, 20 km (12 miles)

away from the city of Kobe. Measured at 6.8 magnitude,

the earthquake killed nearly 6,500 people, making it the

deadliest disaster in the world that year.

The Kobe quake caused about $100 billion in destruction,

but Japanese trade rebounded within a year, with

imports recovering fully and exports back to 85 percent

of normal levels.

10

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

was one of the worst disasters in the U.S. history. It

made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, 2005.

At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane and in the

subsequent floods. Five years later, thousands of

displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana were still

living in temporary accommodations.

The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $81

billion (2005 U.S. dollars). It also generated the largest

single loss in the history of insurance - $41 billion,

according to the Insurance Information Institute.

11

The May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake was a

deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0

magnitude. The quake killed about 70,000

people and left more than 18,000 missing. The

epicenter was 80 km (50 miles) west-northwest

of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province,

where almost 4 million people resided.

Estimates put direct damage and losses from

the earthquake at $29 billion, with indirect

damage much higher.

LOSS OF PEOPLE & $

12

About 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800

people in 2010.

The estimated costs of natural disasters in 2010,

in which an earthquake in Haiti killed over

222,500 people and the Russian heat wave

caused around 56,000 fatalities, is around $ 110

billion.

13

Other than the Haiti earthquake and the heat

wave in Russia, other major disasters include the

earthquake in China (estimate number of

deaths 2,968), floods in Pakistan (1985 deaths),

landslides in China (1765 people killed) and

floods in China.

Floods, drought, earthquake, and extreme

temperatures are the major sources for rising

wave natural disasters.

14

White smokes rises from burning

houses in Yamadamachi in

Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan,

Saturday, March 12, 2011, one day

after a strong earthquake triggered a devastating

tsunami in the area. (AP Photo/Kenji Shimizu, The

Yomiuri Shimbun) The aftermath of the March 11

earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been

devastating. Meanwhile, the government struggled to

contain a nuclear crisis, which added to the country's

disaster.

15

So far, 8,649 people dead and another 13,262 missing

since the 9.0-magnitude quake struck off the coast near

Sendai, Japan, on March 11, 2011. The damage caused

by the earthquake and resulting tsunami was enormous.

Failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Nuclear

Power Plant intensified the situation, resulting in

evacuation of about 200,000 people residing around the

plant.

Japan's government had a estimate of $309 billion.

Estimate could go higher as it does not include losses in

economic activity from planned power outages.

16

Indeed, the very actions of

• some governments and their

• national elites

place marginalised people at risk from disasters by

discriminating against them, like those who live in

flimsy slum housing easily destroyed by floods and

landslips.

‘We didn’t ask them to be there. God help them.’

Meet your family and discuss why you need

to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of

fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to

children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.

17

Disaster mitigation

It is the ongoing effort to lessen the impact

disasters have on people and property.

Fewer people and communities would be

affected by natural disasters with the use of this

process.

Because of the varying degree of each natural

disaster, there are different mitigation strategies

for each.

Even in daunting economic times, the world can

afford to meet the humanitarian needs of every

person struggling to survive a disaster.

It is possible to reduce the threats from climate-

related catastrophes.

It is possible for governments to provide good-

quality aid to their citizens. The governments of

developing countries must take greater

responsibility for responding to disasters and

reducing people’s vulnerability to them. 18

NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT (NPDM)

INDIA

India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large

number of natural as well as man-made

disasters. 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone

to earthquakes of moderate to very high

intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of

land) is prone to floods and river erosion; of the

7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is

prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of

the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and

hilly areas are at risk from landslides and

avalanches. 19

NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT(NPDM)

• Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks_ related to

expanding population, urbanization and industrialization,

development within high-risk zones, environmental

degradation and climate change. The economically and

socially weaker segments of the population are most

seriously affected. Elderly persons, women rendered

destitute and children orphaned on account of disasters

and the differently abled persons are exposed to higher

risks.

20

21

On 23 December, 2005, the Government of India (GoI)

took a defining step by enacting the Disaster

Management Act, 2005, (hereinafter referred to as the

Act) which envisaged the creation of the National

Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the

Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities

(SDMAs) headed by the Chief Ministers, and District

Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) headed by

the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy

Commissioner as the case may be, to spearhead and

adopt a holistic and integrated approach to DM.

22

There will be a paradigm shift, from the erstwhile

relief-centric response to a proactive prevention,

mitigation and preparedness-driven approach for

conserving developmental gains and also to

minimise losses of life, livelihoods and property.

VISION: To build a safe and disaster resilient India

by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster

oriented and technology driven strategy through a

culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and

response.

23

The growth in localised climate-related shocks will

hit people in developing countries hardest,

because their homes and livelihoods will be most

vulnerable.

So developing countries will need to enable

regional authorities and civil society to respond

effectively. Whether or not there is sufficient will to

do this will be one of the defining features of our

age, and will dictate whether millions live or die.

24

Drought There are three types of droughts;

Meteorological drought is when the actual rainfall is

much less than the climatologically mean of the area.

Hydrological drought results from the depletion of

surface water and Agricultural drought resulting from

depletion of soil Moisture. India has been severely

affected by droughts over the past years. The agriculture

in India is dependent on rains, which when is not

adequate results in poor yielding of crops. Drought-

prone regions are southern/eastern Maharashtra,

northern Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat,

and Rajasthan.

In India, the National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (NREGA) has created 900 million

person-days of employment for rural people

living in poverty, the advent of social protection

mechanisms offers the hope that the cycle of

disaster and poverty can be broken. The state is

the principal guarantor of its citizens’ right to life.

And the impetus to make the state deliver better

lifesaving assistance is often the action of citizens

holding their governments to account. 25

26

The NREGA came about because Indian

national legislators had the political will to

challenge rural vulnerability.

With strong rights-based legislation and clear

mechanisms of accountability, the NREGA has

the potential to improve government services

so that they meet the demands of active and

empowered citizens.

The humanitarian challenge of the twenty-first

century is this:

• an increasing total of largely local catastrophic events,

increasing numbers of people vulnerable to them,

• too many governments failing to prevent or respond to

them, and

• an international humanitarian system unable to cope.

• Humanitarian emergencies are caused by

conflict, other human-made crises, and

environmental hazards. 27

These cause immense suffering. For those who

do not immediately lose their lives, many will

lose loved ones, experience catastrophic

damage to their homes and livelihoods, witness

the destruction of their communities, and suffer

the dangers and humiliations of displacement

and destitution. For them, the aftermath of a

catastrophe becomes a daily struggle for

survival, for dignity and for a future.

28

29

As the twenty-first century progresses,

humanity will face a greater threat from

catastrophic events.

Let us estimate what is the growth in

humanitarian need between now and 2020.

Take a look at some of the reasons why so many

more people will feel the impact of these

catastrophic events in the coming decades.

30

In particular, let us look at how vulnerability,

defined by

• who one is,

• where one lives, and

• how one makes a living, will have a direct

bearing on the chances of surviving the

immediate effects or longer-term impact of

catastrophes with health and livelihood

intact.

31

Ask what can realistically be done to help those affected

by the vast and seemingly overwhelming forces of climate

change, population growth, displacement, and

vulnerability.

The necessary skills, knowledge, and financial resources

can be mobilised to radically reduce the numbers of

people who will die or be made destitute by catastrophes

For this to happen, all parties – governments, the UN, civil-

society organisations, and ordinary citizens – must

acknowledge and respond to the growing threat.

32

Mumbai is one of the world’s most populous cities. Built

on a narrow, low lying promontory jutting into the

Arabian Sea, it is also one of the most vulnerable cities in

the world to coastal and rainwater flooding.

• Some 54 per cent of the city’s population live in slums,

many of them built on reclaimed swamp-land to the

north and east of the centre.

• In July 2005, widespread flooding in Mumbai caused

the deaths of around 900 people, most killed not by

drowning but by landslips and collapsed buildings.

33

Mumbai …

The impact of unusually high rainfall was

compounded by failure to invest in replacing

Mumbai’s crumbling early twentieth-century

drainage network, the uncontrolled

development of the city’s poorer suburbs, and

the destruction of rainwater sinks (in particular,

the mangrove swamps that had once

surrounded the city).Mumbai- kars coped well.

OVER 200 FERRY PASSENGERS STILL MISSING

34

Over 200 passengers of a ferry that capsized in the

Brahmaputra, near Medartary in lower Assam's Dhubri

district, during a cyclonic storm on 30 April are still missing.

Search made by divers of the National Disaster Response

Force (NDRF), the Army and the Border Security Force

(BSF) till Tuesday morning. According to the survivors,

more than 400 passengers, including women and

children, were on board when the tragedy occurred.

While about 350 tickets were issued to adult commuters,

there were many children without tickets.

17 bodies were recovered, there were 10 injured and 35

were missing. About 100 people swam to safety or were

rescued.

35

Alas, the Assam Transport Minister has now

promised to introduce a new and better ferry

service across the river.

Was the government sleeping so far?

Unfortunately, in our country, the administration

rises from its slumber only when a disaster strikes!

When will Indians get governments that acts

pro-actively ?

_a commentator on the boat disaster.

36

Two killed, two others injured, 1.000 houses

damaged as wind, rain wreak havoc in

Pathanamthitta [Kerala], April 24, 2012

A fierce whirl wind, accompanied by heavy summer

showers wreaked havoc in many parts of Adoor and

Kozhencherry taluks of Pathanamthitta (Kerala) on

Monday evening.

As per an official survey conducted by the Revenue

department, 403 houses partially damaged and 113

houses fully destroyed. The official survey has estimated

loss worth Rs 2.12 crore in the natural calamity.

37

Sudden shocks such as flooding and

earthquakes are not the only risks for poor

urban populations. Other risks are:

• People live close to each other,

• without adequate housing,

• water and sanitation,

• health services, or education,

leading to the increased risk of epidemics of

communicable disease.

BUILDING STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND EMPOWERING AFFECTED PEOPLE

• Governments must reinforce national and local

capacity to respond in emergencies and to reduce

people’s vulnerability; donor governments and

others must substantially increase their support to

help them do that;

• • Communities must be empowered to demand

that governments and others fulfil their obligations to

safeguard their lives, as well as to respond to and

prepare for disasters themselves; and ….. 38

BUILDING STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND EMPOWERING AFFECTED PEOPLE

• Continued…

• • The international community, including

regional organisations, must use mediation

and diplomacy far more robustly to press

states to assist their own citizens.

39

40

Poor people in urban settings are often highly

vulnerable to conflict and violence too. In conflict as

well as disasters, civil-society organisations can

influence the way affected people are treated, and

support them in demanding that governments uphold

their rights. Humanitarian organisations, both local

and international, regularly demonstrate enormous

skill, commitment and courage in delivering essential

aid to those who need it most.

41

In rural areas, high population density, the

increasing stress on productive land, soil

degradation, and increasing aridity due to

climate change are making hundreds of millions

of rural livelihoods vulnerable.

People are being forced to eke out a precarious

living on land that is becoming more and more

arid and degraded, with the result that food is

getting harder and harder to come by.

42

People affected by emergencies deserve aid

that is more than just an empty gesture of

support. They deserve aid that:

1 Saves lives (that is relevant, good quality, and

well-managed);

2 is delivered impartially on the basis of need;

3 is accountable, with mechanisms to challenge

failure and abuse;

4 builds durable solutions; and

5 is sufficiently resourced.

43

A continuous and integrated process of

planning, organizing, coordinating and

implementing measures which are necessary or

expedient for:

• Prevention of danger or threat of any disaster.

• Mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or

its severity or consequences.

• Capacity building including research and

knowledge management.

44

• Preparedness to deal with any disaster.

• Prompt response to any threatening

disaster situation or disaster.

• Assessing the severity or magnitude of

effects of any disaster.

• Evacuation, rescue and relief.

• Rehabilitation and reconstruction.

45

There is nothing inevitable about a future in

which greater numbers of people die and are

made destitute by natural hazards and conflict.

In a future of climate change, rising hazard and

a proliferation of disasters, the world can still

mitigate threats and reduce people’s

vulnerability to them.

Many governments, humanitarian organisations,

and communities are already doing this – but not

nearly enough.

46

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for

Natural Disaster Reduction is annually observed

on the second Wednesday of October to raise

the profile of disaster risk reduction. It also

encourages people and governments to

participate in building more resilient communities

and nations.

47

What do people do?

Activities for the International Day for Natural

Disaster Reduction usually include

• media announcements about launches for

campaigns that center on the day's theme.

• Governments and communities also take

part in the International Day for Natural

Disaster Reduction

48

This is done through various events such as

• drawing, drama, essay or

• photography competitions that focus on

making people aware of natural disaster

reduction and

increasing their preparedness for such

situations. Other activities include:

• community tree planting; conferences, fairs

and seminars; and street parades.

49

Natural disasters are not in themselves evil or a failure of

God. A classic example of this is earthquakes. An

earthquake causes massive damage to humans and can

result in extreme losses of life. The fact is, however, that

earthquakes are a part of the processes that keep the

earth living and suitable for life. Land masses wear down

with time because of rain, snow, freezing, heating,

glaciers, landslides, and gravitational forces. If there were

no forces that lift the land to replenish the worn away

parts, after a while all land on the earth would be under

water.

50

Man's problem is that rather than understanding these

processes as natural and beneficial, we tend to worship

the forces and ignore the common sense lessons all

around us.

• If you build your house in the mouth of a volcano you

have no complaint when it erupts.

• People continue to ignore the warnings of nature and

the lessons of the past. The results are frequently

catastrophic. Draining wet-lands, building huge

structures that alter climate, and placing massive

structures over fault zones in the earth have resulted in

tragedy for humans.