Published on Thursday, 18 September 2014 11:09 . LEAD EDIT PAGE ARTICLE - DAILY POST INDIA
G Krishna Kumar
J&K, Uttarakhand tragedies set tough task for India’s disaster management team
It was ‘land of gods’ Uttarakhand in 2013 and now ‘the land of paradise’ Jammu and Kashmir devastated by the flood fury. Over 250 people are confirmed dead and tens of thousands rendered homeless, their lives completely shattered and future thrown into disarray. The estimated infrastructure loss is over Rs 6,000 crore. Such 547 calamities have grossly exposed India’s absolute lack of preparedness. We can blame the government for not enforcing regulations, but people should equally be held responsible. Why do we encroach land and build illegal structures? This lackadaisical attitude is deplorable.
While we commemorate the tenth anniversary of 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, we should know that India is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Data suggest that close to two-thirds of the country is vulnerable to earthquakes and droughts. As much as 76 per cent of India’s coastline carries a risk for cyclones and tsunamis.
We are sure to witness many more major or minor disasters. Reports indicate that accumulated losses from minor disasters would be same as those from major disasters. Natural disasters occur across the world and impossible to avoid. It is, however, all about preparedness and reducing the impact. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was initiated after the 2004 tsunami. There are questions around NDMA’s ability in planning and implementation. Every time we witness a major disaster, there is a blame game between NDMA and the state government. Post-Uttarakhand crisis, the state government set up disaster management funds and multiple conferences were held. Such activities should be sustained beyond knee-jerk reaction with time-bound action plan for disaster preparedness.
NDMA’s India disaster resource network provides an exhaustive online inventory of resources like life saving boats, critical medical supplies, etc, needed for disaster response. There is no data available for many states, districts including Jammu and Kashmir. The data for Uttarakhand is the most up-to-date, but for states like Karnataka, the data last updated were 10 years back. There are only 12 life jackets available in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, which was one of the worst hit districts during the 2013 flood. Only two trauma specialists identified for the whole of Mohali district in Punjab, while in Jalandhar district, only one general physician has been identified. The data is indeed alarming and just proves how woefully underprepared we are.
Can we learn from other countries in developing flood resistant cities and towns? The Netherlands has developed flood control system that can resist 100 year floods. Japan, one of the most disaster prone countries, has created a resilient tsunami management system. Australia and New Zealand are among the best in terms of disaster management. How about involving the premier technology institutions in the country to come-up with feasible disaster resistant homes? In this age of technology, why don’t we have top class weather forecasting systems that can help in accurate predictions? In terms of alerting the general public, we should implement a simple disaster alert and early warning system like the one in Japan. This is definitely possible considering that we boast of 75 per cent mobile penetration in the country. Maybe learn from some of the south Indian cities where, patrol vans are used as public address system to alert people. Creating awareness and educating general public about natural disasters is largely missing in India. For example, the concept of disaster supplies family kit is not seen, also we need regular and well publicised mock drills.
In general, natural calamities and rescue operations are covered extensively by media, while post-disaster recovery does not get similar attention. Which state has the most robust post-disaster recovery set-up in the country? It is vital not to ignore the recovery effort experiences from previous disasters. Do we have any lessons learnt from the 2004 tsunami or the 2013 Uttarakhand rebuilding efforts? NDMA should embark on creating a platform for experience sharing in-order to replicate best practices. What are benchmarks for rebuilding in the country? Let us take Japan’s example. Within 10 weeks, electricity and water connections were completely restored after the major earth quake in Kobe. Infrastructure was rebuilt in two years as that alone is the basis for all kinds of recovery activities. When can we see such benchmarks in India?
The UN’s Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) review report states that following disasters, public put greater pressure on administration resulting in improved governance and accountability. The rebuilding efforts must take the environmental aspects into consideration; participation from local communities is very much needed. It is eventually a fine balance between economy, people and environment. Even after 67 years of independence, it is embarrassing to see such a primitive disaster management set-up in the country. We need concerted effort to minimise the impact of natural disasters. Both pre-disaster preparation and time-bound post-disaster re-building system should be accorded paramount importance. It is imperative that the NDMA be strengthened with best-in-class technology and a state-of-the art weather monitoring and alerting system should be implemented for a safer India!
(The writer is Adviser, Centre for Educational and Social Studies, Bangalore. Views are personal)
G Krishna Kumar
J&K, Uttarakhand tragedies set tough task for India’s disaster management team
It was ‘land of gods’ Uttarakhand in 2013 and now ‘the land of paradise’ Jammu and Kashmir devastated by the flood fury. Over 250 people are confirmed dead and tens of thousands rendered homeless, their lives completely shattered and future thrown into disarray. The estimated infrastructure loss is over Rs 6,000 crore. Such 547 calamities have grossly exposed India’s absolute lack of preparedness. We can blame the government for not enforcing regulations, but people should equally be held responsible. Why do we encroach land and build illegal structures? This lackadaisical attitude is deplorable.
While we commemorate the tenth anniversary of 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, we should know that India is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Data suggest that close to two-thirds of the country is vulnerable to earthquakes and droughts. As much as 76 per cent of India’s coastline carries a risk for cyclones and tsunamis.
We are sure to witness many more major or minor disasters. Reports indicate that accumulated losses from minor disasters would be same as those from major disasters. Natural disasters occur across the world and impossible to avoid. It is, however, all about preparedness and reducing the impact. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was initiated after the 2004 tsunami. There are questions around NDMA’s ability in planning and implementation. Every time we witness a major disaster, there is a blame game between NDMA and the state government. Post-Uttarakhand crisis, the state government set up disaster management funds and multiple conferences were held. Such activities should be sustained beyond knee-jerk reaction with time-bound action plan for disaster preparedness.
NDMA’s India disaster resource network provides an exhaustive online inventory of resources like life saving boats, critical medical supplies, etc, needed for disaster response. There is no data available for many states, districts including Jammu and Kashmir. The data for Uttarakhand is the most up-to-date, but for states like Karnataka, the data last updated were 10 years back. There are only 12 life jackets available in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, which was one of the worst hit districts during the 2013 flood. Only two trauma specialists identified for the whole of Mohali district in Punjab, while in Jalandhar district, only one general physician has been identified. The data is indeed alarming and just proves how woefully underprepared we are.
Can we learn from other countries in developing flood resistant cities and towns? The Netherlands has developed flood control system that can resist 100 year floods. Japan, one of the most disaster prone countries, has created a resilient tsunami management system. Australia and New Zealand are among the best in terms of disaster management. How about involving the premier technology institutions in the country to come-up with feasible disaster resistant homes? In this age of technology, why don’t we have top class weather forecasting systems that can help in accurate predictions? In terms of alerting the general public, we should implement a simple disaster alert and early warning system like the one in Japan. This is definitely possible considering that we boast of 75 per cent mobile penetration in the country. Maybe learn from some of the south Indian cities where, patrol vans are used as public address system to alert people. Creating awareness and educating general public about natural disasters is largely missing in India. For example, the concept of disaster supplies family kit is not seen, also we need regular and well publicised mock drills.
In general, natural calamities and rescue operations are covered extensively by media, while post-disaster recovery does not get similar attention. Which state has the most robust post-disaster recovery set-up in the country? It is vital not to ignore the recovery effort experiences from previous disasters. Do we have any lessons learnt from the 2004 tsunami or the 2013 Uttarakhand rebuilding efforts? NDMA should embark on creating a platform for experience sharing in-order to replicate best practices. What are benchmarks for rebuilding in the country? Let us take Japan’s example. Within 10 weeks, electricity and water connections were completely restored after the major earth quake in Kobe. Infrastructure was rebuilt in two years as that alone is the basis for all kinds of recovery activities. When can we see such benchmarks in India?
The UN’s Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) review report states that following disasters, public put greater pressure on administration resulting in improved governance and accountability. The rebuilding efforts must take the environmental aspects into consideration; participation from local communities is very much needed. It is eventually a fine balance between economy, people and environment. Even after 67 years of independence, it is embarrassing to see such a primitive disaster management set-up in the country. We need concerted effort to minimise the impact of natural disasters. Both pre-disaster preparation and time-bound post-disaster re-building system should be accorded paramount importance. It is imperative that the NDMA be strengthened with best-in-class technology and a state-of-the art weather monitoring and alerting system should be implemented for a safer India!
(The writer is Adviser, Centre for Educational and Social Studies, Bangalore. Views are personal)
