DISASTER MANAGEMENT – RECENT TRENDS

Disasters have been increasing in frequency and intensity over the past few decades. This has been directly linked to the nature and extent of human activities taking place in erstwhile natural surroundings. Human populations are settling in areas hitherto left untouched due to those being declared hazard prone. This trend of increasing disasters has necessitated changes in the disaster management systems too. The trends in disaster management can be studied with reference to vulnerabilities of specific regions in India and the requirements of disaster management in those areas, viz. the Himalayan regions, the Riverine regions and the Coastal regions. The chief emerging requirement in disaster management is sustainable development practices, factoring vulnerabilities of each specific geographic region in development policy. In this Unit, an attempt is made to apprise the learners with the recent general trends in disaster management, which pertain to all disasters- natural and man made- affecting us today

Member States of the United Nations and other States met at the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, in the city of Yokohama, Japan, from 23 May to 27 May 1994, in partnership with non-governmental organisations, international organisations, the scientific community, business, industry and themedia to deliberate within the framework of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, on immense human suffering that has been incident over the past years, globally, owing/due to natural disasters. It acknowledged increasing human vulnerability to disasters, especially of the poor and disadvantaged groups that are least equipped to cope with crises of such serious magnitude. The correlation between disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and relief with sustainable development policy in general is only too evident to be any longer overlooked. Hence, the three interrelated concerns of disaster management, (encompassing mitigation, prevention and preparedness), environmental protection and sustainable development need to be simultaneously addressed through ‘all- encompassing’ policy in this regard, for protection of life and preservation of development in the short run and more importantly, for future generations over the long run. Therefore, nations have to rework development strategy to some extent to incorporate these concerns in mainstream development planning, since these have hitherto been addressed as contingent measures, not mainstream measures that are treated consistently through adequate policy responses in this regard on the part of governments. There is another significant ramification to disaster management, which needs to be taken cognisance of. The need for international cooperation for integrated action to combat the threat could not be understated. Since natural disasters are not limited by natural boundaries, regional and international cooperation is imperative to build capacity of governments at regional/global scale(s) to combat the threat concertedly. Particularly, technology transfer to developing countries by the developed to build capacity to fight disasters was emphasised as an imperative in the conference. To that end, bilateral and multilateral assistance and financial resources need to be mobilised by developed countries to support the efforts of developing countries towards disaster preparedness and mitigation. Hence, technology transfer to developing countries along with corresponding training should be attempted as a necessary requirement in concerted disaster management.
Experience with natural disasters over the past few years has led to the realisation that disasters are not one off events, rather a result of concretised vulnerabilities, which need to be addressed/treated over time through sustained public policy in this regard. Positive correlation has been unearthed through empirical researches between disaster vulnerability and socio-economic disadvantages stemming from adverse social positioning due to poverty, unemployment, lack of access to basic facilities like education, health and hygiene, as has been experienced in recent experiences with disasters.
While disaster response is limited to short- term relief, long-term strategy is imperative to curb disaster losses over time, by way of reducing vulnerabilities of disadvantaged sections; women, children and the disabled in particular. The same is achieved through building community resilience by way of targeted offensive at particular debilitating factors such as poverty, unemployment and other forms of social and economic deprivation, which create/increase susceptibility to losses. Prevention aims at nipping disaster potential in the bud, hence is essential for safeguarding development. Hence, disaster vulnerability can be reduced overtime through planned interventions towards building resilience through public policy. This necessitates consistent attempts at vulnerability reduction through plan budget allocations for disaster mitigation with a view to integrating disaster management with mainstream development planning

In its tenth year of publication, The World Disasters Report, 2003, brought out by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, called for disaster risk reduction targets to be added to the international development goals for 2015 and beyond. These targets could include reducing by half, the number of people killed and affected by disasters and increasing the number of governments with dedicated plans and resources for risk reduction programs.
The World Disasters Report, 2003 contains criticism of over-reliance on high-profile aid operations, to save lives when long-term investment in disaster mitigation at the local level have proven to be much more effective. No international aid effort was necessary when the worst hurricane since 1944 hit Cuba in 2002, but only five people died. Local mechanisms were in place to evacuate 700,000 people from Havana and other threatened areas. Of the 53,000 people rescued from the floodwaters in Mozambique’s two great floods, local people saved 34,000.
Building Community Resilience: Stress on Social Capital
The follow up report, that is, the World Disasters Report, 2004, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has ‘community resilience’ as its central theme. Community involvement and active participation in vulnerability reduction efforts are being emphasised as essential strategy for effective policy towards vulnerability reduction. The Report notes that, building community resilience for coping with disasters is the right strategy to adopt, instead of misdirected international aid, most of which does not reach the needy. It has been seen that people have been able to survive most adverse conditions on the strength of their capacities. Therefore, the aid community is advised to concentrate on the capacities of the vulnerable communities rather than their vulnerabilities and aim at building/reinforcing the same as part of practical strategy to counter- effect vulnerabilities and help people successfully combat disasters. In the same vein, the Report calls for dispelling the myth of helpless victims; hence, the requirement of study of the resources and resilience of vulnerable communities to discover ways to augment them to further facilitate/strengthen self- help on the part of at risk communities. In Swaziland, HIV/AIDS and drought are endemic. But Chief Masilela informed Red Cross that his community would prefer irrigation and seeds, not food aid, to grow crops, craft their own recovery and retain their dignity. A woman in Mumbai, to quote another instance, has chosen to reside in a low cost dwelling in a flood prone area because that would leave her money to finance her daughter’ education (World Disasters Report, 2004).
This is following realisation of the fact that active cooperation of communities is vital for achieving real gains in both policy formulation and implementation. Synergetic partnership between the government and people is essential to have a clear understanding, for instance, of the cultural characteristics and organisational requirements in different societies/situations, respectively and accordingly, specific policy requirements, as per assessed particularities/peculiarities, following insights into a society’s behaviour and its interactions with the physical and natural environment, for example, shifting cultivation among tribes in North-East or burning firewood for cooking among tribal communities and poorer segments generally, which were recently indicted as major causes of global warming. This is envisaged as a practical strategy to target vulnerabilities through ‘relevant’ policy, based on articulate concerns by people themselves, in keeping with the particular requirements of that place. The same is crucial for the success 3
of any policy measure, particularly planned strategies for environment protection, where community involvement has proven to be a necessary requirement.
There is need for awareness of the fact that unplanned urbanisation is creating newer risks. It creates a case for general upgrading of administrative services as a long-term mitigation strategy, particularly building capacities at the local level with active participation of the people, since, as borne out by experience, national, or even international interventions are likely to be less effective in tackling persistent problems like poor schools, poor quality housing, sanitation, drainage, etc. The same has been realised in successive experiences with disasters around the world, particularly, during the Bam (Afghanistan) Earthquake, when 34 search-and-rescue teams from 27 countries flew to the city and saved 22 lives but, meanwhile, local Red Crescent teams pulled 157 people alive from the rubble, using far fewer 'sniffer' dogs. Investing in local response capacities therefore saves lives and money; which is the main inference (Ibid).
Post- Modern Trends

Post-modern cultural values premised on democratic pluralism and quality of life