Introduction Concept

A disaster is a natural or man-made (or technological) hazard resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment. A disaster can be extensively defined as any tragic event stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions. It is a phenomenon that can cause damage to life and property and destroy the economic, social and cultural life of people .In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of in appropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of a combination of both hazard/s and vulnerability. Hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability will never become disasters, as is the case in uninhabited regions. Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits more than 95 percent of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries, and losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized countries. Researchers have been studying disasters for more than a century, and for more than forty years disaster research. The studies reflect a common opinion when they argue that all disasters can be seen as being human-made, their reasoning being that human actions before the strike of the hazard can prevent it developing into a disaster. All disasters are hence the result of human failure to introduce appropriate disaster management measures.[7] Hazards are routinely divided into natural or human-made, although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami, resulting in coastal flooding.

Types of Disaster 1) Natural disaster

A natural disaster is a consequence when a natural hazard affects humans and/or the built environment. Human vulnerability, and lack of appropriate emergency management, leads to financial, environmental, or human impact. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster: their resilience. This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability". A natural hazard will hence never result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability. Various phenomena like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods and cyclones are all natural hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year. However, natural hazards can strike in unpopulated areas and never develop into disasters. However, the rapid growth of the world's population and its increased concentration often in hazardous environments has escalated both the frequency and severity of natural disasters. With the tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation, non-engineered constructions which make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable, tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention, developing countries suffer more or less chronically by natural disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties due to natural disasters.

Types of natural disaster

Earthquake An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations may vary in magnitude. Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface is called the epicenter. Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. It is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis (seismic sea waves) and

volcanoes that are actually the human disaster. Many of these could possibly be avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and planning. Volcanic Eruption Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster in several ways. The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock. Second, lava may be produced during the eruption of a volcano. As it leaves the volcano, the lava destroys many buildings and plants it encounters. Third, volcanic ash generally meaning the cooled ash - may form a cloud, and settle thickly in nearby locations. When mixed with water this forms a concrete-like material. In sufficient quantity ash may cause roofs to collapse under its weight but even small quantities will harm humans if inhaled. Since the ash has the consistency of ground glass it causes abrasion damage to moving parts such as engines. The main killer of humans in the immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is the pyroclastic flows, which consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases. Floods A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land.[9] The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water.[10] In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.[11] While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a significant flood unless the water covers land used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area, roads, expanses of farmland, etc. Extratropical Cyclones Cyclone, tropical cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon a cyclonic storm system that forms over the oceans. The deadliest hurricane ever was the 1970 Bhola cyclone; the deadliest Atlantic hurricane was the Great Hurricane of 1780 which

devastated Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados. Another notable hurricane is Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.

2) Man-made disasters
Man-made disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. Examples include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills and nuclear explosions/radiation. War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category. As with natural hazards, man-made hazards are events that have not happened, for instance terrorism. Man-made disasters are examples of specific cases where man-made hazards have become reality in an event. Crime Crime is a breach of the law for which some governing authority (via the legal systems) can ultimately prescribe a conviction which will carry some form of penalty, such as imprisonment or a fine. At least in the view of the legislators, the criminal act will cause harm to other people. Each legal jurisdiction may define crime differently. While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime: for example, breaches of contract and of other private law may rank as "offenses" or as "infractions". Modern societies generally regard crimes as offenses against the public or the state, distinguished from torts (offenses against private parties that can give rise to a civil cause of action). Arson Arson is the criminal intent of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. The definition of arson was originally limited to setting fire to buildings, but was later expanded to include other objects, such as bridges, vehicles, and private property. Arson is the greatest recorded cause of fire. Some human-induced fires are accidental: failing machinery such as a kitchen stove is a major cause of accidental fires. Civil disorder Civil disorder is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe forms of disturbance. Although civil disorder does not necessarily escalate to a disaster in all cases, the event may escalate into general chaos. Rioting has many causes, including large-scale criminal

conspiracy, socioeconomic factors (unemployment, poverty), hostility between racial and ethnic groups and mass outrage over perceived moral and legal transgressions Terrorism Terrorism is a controversial term with varied definitions. One definition means a violent action targeting civilians exclusively. Another definition is the use or threatened use of violence for the purpose of creating fear in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal. Under the second definition, the targets of terrorist acts can be anyone, including civilians, government officials, military personnel, or people serving the interests of governments. Terrorism is a controversial term with varied definitions. One definition means a violent action targeting civilians exclusively. Another definition is the use or threatened use of violence for the purpose of creating fear in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal. Under the second definition, the targets of terrorist acts can be anyone, including civilians, government officials, military personnel, or people serving the interests of governments. War War is a conflict between relatively large groups of people, which involves physical force inflicted by the use of weapons. Warfare has destroyed entire cultures, countries, economies and inflicted great suffering on humanity. Other terms for war can include armed conflict, hostilities, and police action. Acts of war are normally excluded from insurance contracts and sometimes from disaster planning. Technological hazards Industrial hazards Power outage Fire Radiation contamination

Disaster Management
Disaster management (or emergency management) coordinates and integrates "all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters." Emergency management can be further defined as the discipline and profession of applying science, technology, planning and management to deal with extreme events that can injure or kill large numbers of people, do extensive damage to property, and disrupt community life Disaster management does not necessarily avert or eliminate the threats themselves, although the study and prediction of the threats are an important part of the field. Emergency events covered by disaster management can include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, severe weather, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, communications failure and loss, or corruption of critical information

Disaster Management in India

The role of emergency management in India falls to National Disaster Management Authority of India, a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Home Affairs. In recent years there has been a shift in emphasis from response and recovery to strategic risk management and reduction, and from a government-centered approach to decentralized community participation. The Ministry of Science and Technology. Headed by Dr Karan Rawat, supports an internal agency that facilitates research by bringing the academic knowledge and expertise of earth scientists to emergency management. A group representing a public/private has been formed by the Government of India. It is funded primarily by a large India-based computer company and aimed at improving the general response of communities to emergencies, in addition to those incidents which might be described as disasters. Some of the groups' early efforts involve the provision of emergency management training for first responders (a first in India), the creation of a single emergency telephone number, and the establishment of standards for EMS staff, equipment, and training. It operates in three states, though efforts are being made in making this a nation-wide effective group. The Indian Army too plays an important role in most of the rescue operation caused by a disaster.
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National Disaster Management Framework Institutional Mechanisms

Expected Outputs Nodal agency for disaster management at the national level with appropriate system Creation of State Departments of Disaster Management Setting up State Disaster Management Authorities

Outputs Areas of intervention (i)Constitution of National Emergency Management Authority with appropriate legal, financial and administrative powers. (ii)Roles and responsibilities of the NEMA: -Coordinating multi- hazard mitigation, prevention, preparedness and response programmes. - Policies for disaster risk reduction and mitigation -Preparedness at all levels. -Coordination of response -Coordination of post disaster relief and rehabilitation. -Amendment of existing laws, procedures, instructions. Departments of Relief & Rehabilitation to be re- designated as Department of Disaster Management with enhanced areas of responsibility to include mitigation, prevention and preparedness . (i) State Disaster Management Authority to be headed by the Chief Minister. (ii) The Authority to lay down policies and monitor mitigation, prevention and preparedness as also oversee response.

Agencies/sectors to be involved and resource linkages. Ministries/ Departments of Health, Water Resources, Environment and Forests, Agriculture, Railways, Atomic Energy, Defence, Chemicals, Science & Technology, Rural Development, Road Transport & Highways etc. State Governments/ UT Administration Ministers for Agriculture, Home, Disaster Management, Water Resources, Health, Road & Transport, Civil Supplies, Environment & Forests, Rural Development, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Departments as Members. Disaster Prevention Disaster mitigation/prevention to be mainstreamed into the development process. (i) Each Ministry /Department which has a role in mitigation /prevention will make appropriate outlays for schemes addressing mitigation/prevention (ii) Where there is a shelf of projects /schemes, projects / schemes contributing to mitigation to be given a priority. (iii) Wherever possible schemes/projects in areas prone to natural hazards to be so designed as to contribute to mitigation, and preparedness. (v)Put in place appropriate techno- financial regime (vi)Capacity enhancement of Urban Local Bodies to enforce compliance of techno- legal regimes Ministries / Department of Govt. of India / State Governments /UT Administration State Urban Development Department / Urban Local Bodies State government Land-use Planning and Zoning regulations (i) Legal framework for Land-use planning and zoning regulations to be reviewed. (ii) Zoning regulations to be enforced.
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Ministry of Urban Development Department of Land Resources[MORD] Ministry of Environment and Forests[GOI] State Governments Plan schemes for vulnerability reduction and preparedness. State Governments. to formulate Plan Schemes and submit to Planning Commission State Governments

CASE STUDY- UTTARAKHAND FLOODS

On the afternoon of 16 June, local resident Manav Bisht watched dozens of constables leaving the paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Academy, which stood between his house in Shakti Vihar, a locality in Uttarakhands Srinagar town, and the Alaknanda river that had started swelling from 10 am. The waters threatened to enter the academy building after 5 pm and more jawans were shifted to Pauri, the district headquarters. SSB IG S Bandhopadhyay was aware of the torrential rainfall up in the hills. There was also the flood warning issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). As night fell, the Alaknanda breached the meager embankment and ravaged the academy building. Sometime after midnight, after drowning the 500-metre stretch of the SSB campus, the torrent rose above the 10feet-high boundary wall on the other side and entered Shakti Vihar. Bandhopadhyays timely action saved many lives. But busy evacuating his men, he did not inform the district administration. I didnt need to tell anyone. They could see what was happening. Everyone had information about the heavy rainfall, says Bandhopadhyay. But nobody thought it necessary to warn the residents of Srinagar. So, Bisht, much like his neighbors, was caught unawares when the river entered his house around 1.30 am. Suddenly, there was panic everywhere. Within an hour or so, the entire neighborhood had gone under the roiling waters. Few managed to get hold of any valuables. Bishts family barely managed to escape in the clothes they were sleeping in. About 100 km away, further up in the hills, another river was also in spate. While the Alaknanda was engulfing parts of Srinagar, the Mandakini began battering the temple town of Kedarnath in the early hours of 17 June. Soon after pilgrims and residents of the pilgrimage centre woke up to sights of devastation, a massive landslide sent huge mounds of rock into the Charbari lake, 6 km upstream of Kedarnath. Binod Mantri, a pilgrim from West Bengals Hooghly, was uneasy since 16 June. With no let-up in the rain, worried locals advised him to shift closer to the Kedarnath temple from his hotel by the river. So he checked into the Rajasthan guesthouse with 16 family members and stayed
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indoors as landslides, rain and howling wind battered the town. Next morning, the family was preparing to venture out for a quick breakfast when the torrent entered the room. Mantri and his brother-in-law survived by clinging on to the window grill. Everyone else in the family, all 14 of them, climbed onto beds and were swept away within minutes. The landslide caused a giant splash like a brick dropped in a bucket of water, recalls one of the four Indian Army jawans posted at Kedarnath. The mass of rock smashed against the sand and boulders, giving the river momentum to sweep up more rocks on its way to become the destructive force that wiped clean everything in its path. By nine in the morning, Kedarnath had become a ghost town. Rambara, a settlement downstream, simply disappeared. By 18 June, the magnitude of the disaster became clear. Across 37,000 sq km of the Himalayan state, landslide and floods trapped more than 80,000 tourists, triggering one of the biggest rescue operations by the armed forces and the biggest by helicopters so far. The race against time took its toll even on those who toiled round the clock to save lives. On 20 June, Rudraprayag District Magistrate Vijay Dhaundiyal suffered a heart attack. At least 20 rescue personnel perished, adding to the official death toll of 5,000, which, locals and eyewitnesses claim, will be in the range of 10-20,000 if those who have gone missing are also accounted for. For each survivor, another seems to have died in this unfolding tragedy. Sixty-five-year-old Aishwarya made it alive, along with just seven of her group of 15. Standing beside a bonfire to keep warm, she was having coffee at a roadside shop when the flood waters came. Before she could react, out of nowhere, a pack of mules charged towards her, knocking her over and pushing her into the open fire, said one of her relatives at the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust in Dehradun, the state capital, where she is being treated for severe burns and an injured hip. Against heavy odds, it took even the armys best efforts more than a week to reach the stranded in many areas. We were nervous when we first got here. We didnt know if we would be able to pull this off. But today, we are getting the last of the nearly 300 survivors down from Jungle Chatti, a Fifth Sikh Regiment officer leading the rescue operation in Kedarnath told TEHELKA, while keeping a watchful eye on able-bodied survivors climbing off a rope down a 80-degree, 90-feet-deep drop.
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As of 26 June, there are still 5,000 survivors stranded in the Badrinath and Harsil areas and the rescue work Operation Surya continues despite intermittent rain and worsening weather conditions. While some locals allege that rescue operations have been skewed towards saving pilgrims and foreigners, villagers of Bhagori and Ganeshpur in Uttarkashi are going out of their way to shelter and feed the stranded. With the armed forces and the administration confident that the last few will be rescued in the next couple of days, the worst seems to be over for the visitors. The surviving tourists will return home. Uttarakhand and its people will have to face the consequence of this disaster. Nearly 1 lakh of them have become homeless and there is resentment among the locals that rescue efforts have ignored them so far. With more than 300 reported cases, acute diarrhoea is threatening to take epidemic proportions as rotting corpses have begun to contaminate water sources. Already, the state has estimated the damage to be upwards of Rs 3,000 crore. Insurance companies are looking at claims worth more than Rs 1,000 crore. The Char Dham Yatra has been called off indefinitely. Damaged roads and other infrastructure may take years to rebuild. Religious tourism, the mainstay of Garhwals economy, will now have to start from scratch. In the 2011 census, Uttarakhands population was 1.08 crore. The state hosted 2.68 crore pilgrims and tourists in 2010- 11. Since then, the Garhwal religious circuit saw a four-fold increase in the number of pilgrims as year-round access to the shrines earlier restricted to four months was allowed. According to Yatra Rotation Samiti member Sanjay Shastri, around 1 lakh vehicles 50-60 percent of these not from the state do three trips of the Char Dham Yatra each year. Since 2005-06, the number of taxis and jeeps registered in the state has jumped tenfold. Since 2010, the state has added 4,500 km of road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) alone. Its total road length nearly tripled in the past decade. People became greedy. Everyone went overboard. How long would the mountain suffer thousands of jeeps and buses crawling up and down and accommodate thousands of tourists? All along the banks of the river, there is construction of houses. Where we used to have tents a few

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years ago, we have five-storey buildings. At some point or the other, nature had to hit back. This was it, says Gaurav Singh, who runs a tea stall in Guptakashi village. And this is when things have gone to plan. After an emotionally-charged political struggle, the creation of the Uttarakhand state in 2000 promised its people their right over the hills, forests and water. At the time, many professed that the new state could build its economy without compromising its pristine hills, by focussing on it and other soft-skill industries. Instead, Uttarakhand decided to go big on tourism, the only industry it had known until then. In 2001, the state constituted the Uttarakhand Tourism Board and chalked up its tourism policy with the vision to make Uttaranchal synonymous with tourism. The focus was on drawing higher numbers of tourists and bigger investment into the state. From 1 crore in 2001, the number of visitors to the state grew to 3 crore in 2010. Over the decade, a number of schemes and tax rebates for building tourism infrastructure ensured development of pristine destinations and mushrooming of hotels and resorts. The state raised the budgetary allocation for tourism by 224 percent in the 10th Plan. At present, 22 tourism projects worth Rs 1,840 crore are coming up on the public-private partnership (PPP) model and account for 47 percent of the total investment in the PPP schemes under implementation in the state. While promoting unrestricted growth in tourism, the new state decided to exploit its hydropower potential as well. Former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal prepared a Vision 2020 statement to make Uttarakhand a prosperous state. With the theme Pahad Ka Pani, Pahad Ki Jawani, the plan was to harness the natural resources of the state in an optimal manner and create more jobs.The state has a capacity to produce at least 40,000 mw of power from hydel projects. Therefore, we have planned to install several hydel power units in the state. The surplus power will be sold to other states. We have invited investors and the response has been very encouraging. To rope in local talent and provide jobs, we have decided to employ local youths in mini hydel power projects, Pokhriyal was quoted as saying in 2010. The result: 73 hydel projects on the Alaknanda, Mandakini and Bhagirathi, and several more on other rivers of the state.Unbridled tourism and construction of dams on rivers had one common demand: newer and
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wider roads across the state.Uttarakhand started widening its roads in 2002. Till then, all roads here were two-lane, except for the Tehri road, which was widened up to the dam site in the 1990s. The story was to repeat under BC Khanduri, the then surface transport minister. A Month After Uttarakhand Disaster, 5748 Still Missing Out of Rs five lakh to be given to the next of kin of the missing, Rs 3.5 lakh will be paid by the Centre and the rest by the respective state governments

Dehradun, 15 July (PTI): The deadline for locating 5,748 people still missing in the Uttarakhand disaster ended today, exactly a month after the catastrophe, but Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said they will not be declared dead yet. Bahuguna, however, said the process of paying monetary relief of Rs 5 lakh each to the kind of those dead and missing in the flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains that struck the hill state on June 15 will commence from tomorrow. He also said the mission to trace the missing will continue. But if the missing persons are found, the family will have to return the relief money, he said at a joint news conference with Union Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla. When asked whether the missing are being presumed dead, Bahuguna said, This is hoping against hope but we cant declare them dead. When asked whether the missing are being presumed dead, Bahuguna said, This is hoping against hope but we cant declare them dead. Setting a deadline, the Chief Minister had said last week that those who are still missing will be presumed dead if they remain untraced till July 15.After tabulation of lists of missing persons received from other states and the ones available with us a total of 5,748 persons are missing till date out of which 934 are from Uttarakhand, he said. The mission to find them out will go on as we still hope that the missing surface and return to their homes.

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. UTTRAKHANDUTTRAKHAND Who is Responsible Who is Responsible for this for this Man or Nature ??Man or Nature ?? . Natural Reason...?Natural Reason...? The rainfall was above benchmark which is above 375 percent From 14 to 17 June 2013, Indian state of uttrakhand and nearby are received heavy rainfall. A multi- day cloudburst ,centered on the state Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides. Which led to heavy floods near Which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat, Kedar Dome,Gobindghat, Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand Due to Continuous Rain the Chorabari .Due to Continuous Rain the Chorabari Glacier melted and this triggered the Glacier melted and this triggered the flooding of the Mandakini river flooding of the Mandakini river Is Only Nature faulty..?faulty..? MAN MADE REASONS.?

However, the true causes of the epic .However, the true causes of the epic tragedy is growth of tourism, unchecked tragedy is growth of tourism, unchecked Rapid increase of roads, hotels, shops Rapid increase of roads, hotels, shops and multistory housing in ecologically and multistory housing in ecologically fragile areas and unplanned construction fragile areas and unplanned construction are the reason for landslide are the reason for landslide The Uttrakhand Disaster have been The Uttrakhand Disaster have been officially termed a natural calamity officially termed a natural calamity caused by cloudbursts and caused by cloudbursts and unprecedented heavy monsoon rainfall. Unprecedented heavy monsoon rainfall.

Also Rapid growth of Also Rapid growth of hydroelectricity dams that hydroelectricity dams that disrupt water balances and this disrupt water balances and this also triggered the action of also triggered the action of disaster.

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Several rivers are being diverted through tunnels for these projects leading to major disasters in the state. More than 220 power and mining projects are running in 14 river valleys in Uttarakhand.

19. Deforestation is also one of the most important Deforestation is also one of the most important factor of uttrakhand disaster, which cause factor of uttrakhand disaster, which cause frequently landslide. Frequently landslide.

RESCUE OPERATIONRESCUE OPERATION The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Security Force, Border Police (ITBP), Border Security Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Public Works Department and local Public Works Department and local administrations worked together for quick administrations worked together for quick rescue operations. Rescue operations.

Several thousand soldiers were Several thousand soldiers were deployed for the rescue missions deployed for the rescue missions.

Helicopters were used to rescue people Helicopters were used to rescue people ITBP jawans distribute medicines to stranded pilgrims during in Uttarakhand rescue operation. Local people distribute food to rescued pilgrims near IAF base camp in Harass. the Navy had sent 45 naval divers, and the Navy had sent 45 naval divers, and the Air force had deployed 43 aircraft including Air force had deployed 43 aircraft including 36 helicopters.36 helicopters. By 21 June 2013, the Army had deployed By 21 June 2013, the Army had deployed 10,000 soldiers and 11 helicopters,10,000 soldiers and 11 helicopters,

From 17 June to 30 June 2013, the From 17 June to 30 June 2013, the IAF airlifted a total of 18,424 people -IAF airlifted a total of 18,424 people - flying a total of 2,137 sorties and flying a total of 2,137 sorties and dropping landing a total of 3,36,930 groping landing a total of 3,36,930 kg of relief material and equipment of relief material and equipment
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Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas and announced 1000 crore (US$160 million) aid package. Areas and announced 1000 crore (US$160 million) aid package.

In this rescue operation one helicopter has getting this rescue operation one helicopter has get crashed and 20 bodies has found on the site crashed and 20 bodies has found on the site

The woods has been brought to the site with The woods has been brought to the site with helicopter for the funeral of the people who died in helicopter for the funeral of the people who died in uttrakhand flood uttrakhand flood.

Several state governments also announced Several state governments also announced financial assistance: financial assistance: The governments of Tamil Nadu, Odisha,The governments of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 5Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 5 crore each. Crore each. The governments of Haryana, Maharashtra The governments of Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi 10 crore each, and Delhi 10 crore each, Uttar Pradesh Government crore, Uttar Pradesh Government 25 crore,

Also US announced that the US will Also US announced that the US will provide further financial aid of US provide further financial aid of USD $75,000.$75,000.The US Ambassador to India extended ate US Ambassador to India extended a financial help of USD $150,000 through the financial help of USD $150,000 through the United States Agency United States Agency

33. Statics. Government as also announced 2 laths for Government as also announced 2 laths for total damaged houses in flood total damaged houses in flood 15201520 roads get Damaged roads get Damaged 154154 bridges get Damaged bridges get Damaged 22322232 has Fully damaged houses has Fully damaged houses 18001800 were Missing persons were Missing persons 822822 were Deaths occurred in flood (official were Deaths occurred in flood (official estimates)estimates)34.

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Causes Man-made reasons for Uttarakhand disaster

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, two hill states in the Himalayan range, are so far the worst hit by the extreme rains that struck northern India in the wake of monsoons that set in early this year. Media reports say nearly 60 persons have died in Uttarakhand, and an estimated 60,000 pilgrims are stranded. Heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc on the region because of the fragile nature of the Himalayan range and poor soil stability in its steep slopes. But it is man-made factors that have compounded the scale of the disaster. Unabated expansion of hydro-power projects and construction of roads to accommodate ever-increasing tourism, especially religious tourism, are also major causes for the unprecedented scale of devastation, say experts. "The valleys of the Yamuna, the Gang and the Alaknanda witness heavy traffic of tourists. For this, the government has to construct new roads and widen the existing ones," says Maharaj Pandit, professor with the Department of Environmental Sciences in Delhi University. He says that a study should be conducted to assess the carrying capacity of the Himalaya and development should be planned accordingly.

Roads destabilizing mountains

"A new (mountain) range like the Himalaya will remain steady if not tampered with much. But the huge expansion of roads and transport is bringing the mountains in Uttarakhand down," says Pandit. Road, he says, is a major destabilizing factor for a mountain and it is a new phenomenon for the Himalaya. Pandit, who is in Uttarakhand for a research project, recounts an observation. "I was sitting at the Prayag bridge for tea and started counting the number of buses crossing it. Within seven to eight minutes, 117 buses crossed," he says. Data with the Uttarakhand State Transport Department confirms this. In 2005-06, 83,000-odd vehicles were registered in the state. The figure rose to nearly 180,000 in 2012-13. Out of this, proportion of cars, jeeps and taxis, which are the most preferred means of transport for tourists
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landing in the state, increased the most. In 2005-06, 4,000 such vehicles were registered, which jumped to 40,000 in 2012-13. It is an established fact that there is a straight co-relation between tourism increase and higher incidence of landslides.

Threat from dams

The Gang in the upper reaches has been an engineers playground. The Central Electricity Authority and the Uttarakhand power department have estimated the rivers hydroelectric potential at some 9,000 MW and have planned 70-odd projects on its tributaries. In building these projects the key tributaries would be modifiedthrough diversion to tunnels or reservoirsto such an extent that 80 per cent of the Bhagirathi and 65 per cent of the Alaknanda could be affected. As much as 90 per cent of the other smaller tributaries could be affected the same way. Pandit says that rampant construction, be it of roads, or dams, has led to land use change and the cumulative effect is getting reflected in the extent of damage rains have caused.

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EFFECT ON HUMAN LIFE AND ECONOMICAL LOSS

Farmers and tourism Farmers reliant on seasonal tourism to supplement their incomes during the monsoon months are particularly affected. Uttarakhand is a popular destination for foreign tourists and local pilgrims: "Forty seven million domestic tourists and [half a] million foreign tourists were expected in the current fiscal year," according to Shekhar Ambati at Aide et Action. But the flash floods, he said, eroded this economic base. The tourism industry is one of the largest employers in the region, hiring locals as porters, guides, drivers, naturalists and translators. Others rent out their mules, offering tourists rides on rocky terrain. The tourist economy supports local artisans and makers of traditional handicrafts, opens up jobs as caterers and cooks through the hospitality sector, and enables families to establish small businesses such as tea stalls, souvenir shops or grocery stores. Ambati fears the destruction of the "lifeline of religious tourism" will snowball, affecting the number of tourists arriving in the region and further endangering farmers' incomes. Quoting small business owners and vegetable sellers at the main market in the town of Rudraprayag, Eilia Jafar of Care India told IPS that farmers are starting to feel the effect of scant agricultural yields. "The number of daily wage laborers coming to the main market has reduced to a great extent," Jafar told IPS. Road conditions have deteriorated significantly since the floods: some were washed away; others have been made impassable by debris, which is having a negative impact on the market and economy, Jafar said. Farmers who relied on the tourist infrastructure to sell their produce are among the worst affected. "The state's chamber of commerce and industry estimates that Uttarakhand has lost revenue earnings of over $20bn (13bn) from its tourism sector alone in the current fiscal year on account of torrential rains that devastated the state," Ambati said.

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Government interventation With tourism unlikely to recover for at least two to three years, the situation calls for intervention from the government to ensure farmers have food and livelihood security in the short term. Experts have suggested that the government: Subsidies agriculturists' losses with higher minimum support prices or procurement prices; Begin soil restoration, watershed management and afforestation efforts and take steps to clear encroachments in order to begin long-term recovery; Start removing the debris in tourist circuits; Conduct a postmortem of the state government's reaction (or lack thereof) to precise forecasts made by the Indian meteorological department; Brainstorm and implement employment generation schemes, harness local resources optimally to mitigate outward migration and strengthen the local economy to safeguard against future disasters or natural calamities; and Ensure the reconstruction of tourist infrastructure conforms to the state's safety code

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN UTTARAKHAND

When thousands got swept away by floods in Uttarakhand on the night of June 16, little help reached the mountains till at least a day had passed. Though the weather department had issued a warning, the magnitude of the disaster shows that neither was it heeded nor was any effort made to prepare for a calamity that ought to have been anticipated.

The catastrophe from which the flood-hit areas of Uttarakhand could take years to recover has put the role of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under sharp scrutiny. The effectiveness, if not the relevance, of the body which is headed by the country's executive head, the prime minister, is being questioned.

NDMA, which is headquartered in south Delhi's upscale Safdarjung Enclave, states that its vision is "to build a safer and disaster-resilient India by developing a holistic, pro-active, multidisaster and technology-driven strategy for disaster management..." This vision was far from visible when the waters came cascading down the slopes in Uttarakhand.

Ask NDMA Vice-Chairman Shashidhar Reddy, who is equal to a cabinet minister in status, and he says that his office received information of the disaster 30 minutes after the floods had caused havoc in the upper regions of Uttarakhand. A rescue team, he says, left immediately by road to reach Dehradun by morning. That it would be stranded for two days, with most reads blocked, is a fact that the team realised only after it reached there. But then rescue is not the core function of NDMA. In Uttarakhand, that task was taken over by the Indian Air Force which airlifted hundreds of victims to safety. But, preparedness and coordination is NDMA's job, agrees Reddy. Even so, a day later when floods hit Srinagar, there was no alert for the people there.

The Disaster Management Act of 2005, which led to the creation of NDMA in September 2006, states that the authority's responsibilities include "laying down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring timely and effective response to disaster." NDMA can also issue directions to state or district disaster management authorities. While Uttarakhand has a state disaster management authority, which is headed by its chief minister, it has none at the district level. All states and districts are supposed to have disaster management authorities, but so
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far only 11 states set them up. And most districts, except for those in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Gujarat, don't have them.

In Uttarakhand, the guidelines for the state's disaster management authority are relief-centric. They mention nothing on what needs to be done in terms of preparedness. There is no guideline on how buildings should be constructed in flood-prone regions or a map of safe zones where people can head to. While NDMA does have guidelines for floods, these, too, are silent on where people in a flood-hit area should go for safety. There is also no mention of how weather warnings can be conveyed to people in sensitive areas at the earliest and without creating a panic.

NDMA members admit that there was no system in place to warn people and stop the pilgrims from heading to unsafe areas, or even to shift them to safe places. "There were no helipads. There was no arrangement to secure some telecom lines in disaster-prone places," says T Nanda Kumar, a member who specialises in drought management. "We, and the states, have to create or identify the safe zones. If we warn people (about an impending flood), they might just go back to their hotels which could also get washed away," he says.

Of NDMA's act of omission in Uttarakhand, Reddy says, "The disaster was a great learning experience. With every disaster, we learn more." But then, only a year ago, in 2012, flash floods had washed away buildings in Uttarkashi, but few lessons seem to have been learnt from that incident, say environmentalist. Not once has the Uttarakhand state disaster management authority met since it was set up in 2007. According to the Disaster Management Act, NDMA can issue directions to the state government on what the state authority needs to do. But Reddy says he cannot interfere in state issues as that would disturb the federal structure. "Compare this with Japan, where the world's greatest nuclear disaster took place. They decided not to have any more nuclear reactors in coastal areas," says Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, an environment think tank.

The list of things NDMA could have done but did not do is long. The authority has failed to get states to prepare for calamities they might be vulnerable to. Nothing on its website indicates the
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risks for states. NDMA has not mapped the flood-prone areas or the safe zones, though it has spent Rs 1,300 crore in the six years that it has been in existence. In this respect, other agencies too are to blame. NDMA has no means of forecasting floods. It can only broadcast what the Central Water Commission forecasts. But CWC has no forecasting station in Uttarakhand, though it has one in Srinagar. And it did not make any forecast about the Uttarakhand floods. CWC said that the rivers flow very fast and forecasts can only be made a few hours in advance.

"Though NDMA has a big role to play, it has failed significantly,'' says Thakkar. He blames the lack of coordination between the ministry of earth sciences, state governments and NDMA for this. Take the example of Uttarakhand. Funds were sanctioned in 2008 for the state to install Doppler radars, but this has not been done. A Doppler radar detects precipitation intensity, wind direction and speed, and can help in early forecast of severe storms and heavy rainfall. This can help in issuing advance and accurate weather warnings. An NDMA member blames the ministry of earth sciences for not setting up Doppler radars in Uttarakhand, but does not say if NDMA pushed for it. Rather than raise an alarm, NDMA also kept silent when hydropower plants were being sanctioned in the state. As power plants came up, millions of cubic tonnes of muck were deposited in the rivers which added to the force of the disaster.

There are also no standard operating procedures on how various departments should react in the event of an earthquake or flood. Asked about these failings, Reddy says that workshops were held in various states, but there was a lack of interest. "Ministries don't listen to NDMA as it has no teeth," says an insider. "We don't require teeth," says Reddy, blaming the apathy of the states and the bureaucracy. "I have met bureaucrats who don't want to talk of prevention. They want to wait for disaster," he says.

Last year, the home ministry set up a committee to review the Disaster Management Act of 2005 with an ex-member as its chairman. The committee reported that NDMA should be pruned and only five of its nine members should be retained. The five-year tenure of these members, it added, should be not extended. Currently, the vice-chairman is in his third tenure as member, while some other members are into their second tenure.

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No specific qualification is needed to become a member nor is there a selection procedure. Critics within NDMA say that if members are to be effective, only those with administrative experience or with experience in a disaster situation, as superintendent of police, district magistrate or collector, should qualify. Despite the criticism, most members have rich experience backing them: B Bhattacharjee is a former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre with expertise in nuclear energy related issues; JK Sinha is a IPS officer; KM Singh retired as director general in the Central Reserve Police Force; Major General J K Bansal (retd) served in the Army Medical Corps and pioneered the Radiation Disaster Medical Management Centre; T Nanda Kumar is an administrative officer with experience in drought management; Muzaffar Ahmed is a health expert; Harsh K Gupta specialises in seismology; and V K Duggal is a former Union home secretary.

NDMA clearly does not lack experience. But this doesn't help when its national executive committee, which is chaired by the home secretary and is supposed to evaluate the work done by NDMA and the states, does not meet to discuss the issues. In its report tabled this April, the Comptroller and Auditor General had slammed NDMA saying: "The NDMA which was conceived as the apex planning and supervising body was found ineffective in its functioning in most of the core areas. It neither had information and control over the progress of work at the state level nor was it successful in implementation of projects. Coordination between NDMA and nodal ministries for various disasters need to be improved" It further said that the national executive committee has not met since 2008, thus affecting evaluation of disaster preparedness.

While NDMA has been inviting flak from various quarters, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its disaster response arm, has been more visible. NDRF was seen in action in Bihar during the floods in 2008, in Sikkim during the earthquake in 2011 and now in Uttarakhand. But even NDRF has been criticised for lacking infrastructure and preparedness. In Sikkim, the force landed without any arrangement for food and tents for its personnel, creating confusion. Though NDMA's record of coordination leaves much to be desired, last year NDRF did try to form a national grid with the 10-lakh strong Civil Defence and Home Guard - the civilian paramilitary arms of the Indian police. The idea was to have a large peace force of volunteers
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trained to cope with disaster.

Reddy, meanwhile, vehemently defends NDMA. "What is wrong is the attitude of the people who think that disaster is all about rescue and not preparedness. If states, districts, and various ministries understand that disaster preparedness and planning can reduce damage, we would be able to function," he says. "We were set up for a paradigm shift in thinking," which, he admits, has not happened.

Ask him about NDMA's targets and deadlines for this year and Reddy says there are no targets as such. "We want to look at crowd management." As for plans for hill stations and tourist spots in mountains where similar incidents could take place, he says there are none. On whether NDMA should be held accountable for the damage and the delayed rescue, he asks: "Accountable for what?" Reddy reiterates that states have all the power and NDMA can only coordinate with them. NDMA, he says, cannot force states to do anything. It can only create model guidelines. NDMA has drawn guidelines on 18 different types of disaster, including floods and landslides. But these have not inspired states to give area-specific action plans for disaster management. As CAG points out, there were no provisions to make the national guidelines binding on states. A member of NDMA candidly admits: "We need to change or we will remain ineffectual."

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Lessons from Uttarakhand: When 'development' is destruction To avert another Uttarakhand-type catastrophe, we must change course. We should stop pandering to the Indian elite's insatiable appetite for electricity, which is driving reckless dam construction, says Praful Bidwai It will take years to roll back the physical, psychological, social, economic and ecological damage wrought by the terrible floods in Uttarakhand, which killed more than 1,000 people. The deeper causes of this epic tragedy were not natural, but manmade. They ensured that cloudbursts and heavy rainfall, which routinely occur in Uttarakhand's upper hills, turned into a catastrophe. The causes include official policies and governance failures: aggressive promotion and runaway growth of tourism; unchecked, unplanned development of roads, hotels, shops, mines and multistoreyed housing in ecologically fragile areas; and above all, the planned development of scores of environmentally destructive hydroelectricity dams. This was an invitation to calamity. My past experience as a member of the ministry of environment and forests' expert appraisal committee on river valley projects confirms the contribution of dams, which is further discussed below. This time, however, the floodwaters, laden with laths of tonnes of silt, boulders and debris from dam construction, found no other outlet than hundreds of villages and towns. Some buildings were covered under several feet of mud.

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Uttarakhands action plan to minimize effects of climate change Smarting under the effects of an unprecedented natural calamity in June, the Uttarakhand government is working on a Rs 9,000-crore action plan to minimize the impact of climate change in the state. The plan was presented on Tuesday by the State Council for Climate Change to chief secretary Subhash Kumar, who approved it and asked officials to give final touches to it within ten days, with inputs from all departments. It will be then sent to the Centre for approval, official sources said. Under the plan, Rs 80 crore would be spent on works in the agriculture sector. This will involve improvement of soil health in the plains, and conservation of soil and water in the hills. Integrated farming, rained agriculture will be promoted, and "Village Knowledge Centres" will be established for a group of villages, they said. There will also be pre- and post-harvest management, crop insurance, marketing and technical support, they said. To promote forest and bio-diversity, Rs 832 crore will be spent on increasing the number of trees, improving the condition of degraded forests and increasing their density, along with management of human-wildlife conflict. Work will be done to increase fodder availability for animal husbandry, 19 nurseries would be set up, and quality of veterinary hospitals would be improved. As part of disaster management, Rs 369 crore are needed for study of climate parameters, community-level planning, threat perception, management of all important water reservoirs, rehabilitation of endangered villages and study of socio-economic conditions in remote areas. A sum of Rs 104 crore will be spent on human resource related issues such as green buildings, integrated behavioral change, increase in mobile emergency vehicles and skill development. Under urban development, all urban bodies would be provided solid waste management facility, sewage treatment, pollution control projects, along with planned development and rainwater harvesting. Rs 108 crore will be spent on water resources under which a state water policy would be formulated, along with catchment area treatment, flood control and preventing misuse of water. Studies will be conducted on bearing capacity of tourist destinations, responsible and balanced

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INITIATIVE TAKEN BY TATA IN UTTARAKHAND DISASTER MANAGEMENT Due to the massive rains that have destroyed a major part of the region, Uttarakhand has been reeling under a tragedy of enormous proportions. It is unquestionably one of the most terrible disasters of recent times. Even though relief work continues in full swing, much more needs to be done with numerous villages having suffered casualties and destruction of life and property. The Tata group, through the Tata Relief Committee and the Himmotthan Society (the working unit of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust / Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust in Dehradun for programmes located in the Himalayan region), in collaboration with the Government of Uttarakhand, has been working on a war footing towards providing relief to impacted local communities in three districts of the state. The Tata Relief Committee, headed by Rajiv Chauhan, and Himmotthan, headed by Dr Malavika Chauhan, have come together and have held meetings with key personnel in the government machinery, including the Commissioner, Forests and Rural Development; Secretary, Rural Development; and the Secretary, Disaster Management; to discuss, operationalise and coordinate relief efforts of the Tata group. A number of people belonging to the Tata group are on the ground in Uttarakhand to assess the situation, and assist the relief work. A core Tata team has been set up to address the relief measures at Uttarakhand. Dr Mukund Rajan, Chief Ethics Officer, Tata Sons, and Chairman, Tata Council for Community Initiatives, also met government officials in Dehradun to ease the efforts being put in by Tata company representatives towards relief activities.The companies are extending support not only through manpower, but also by providing relief materials to the affected. The relief activities taken up by Tata companies are: Tata Chemicals: To ensure safe drinking water, Tata Chemicals is providing 5,000 Tata Swach water filters to the affected. About six people, including a doctor, from Tata Chemicals' Babrala plant are assisting the government in relief activities and have set up set up the base at Rudraprayag. Besides ensuring safe drinking water, Tata Chemicals has also started planning an afforestation process to restore the flora and fauna that was destroyed in the flood. The company has offered to send in its agriculture and horticulture experts to assess the damage with reference to land and has put together a list of volunteers who are on standby. The company has also suggested ways to resume agriculture activities in the affected areas. These include: Identifying short duration hybrid varieties of paddy, maize, bajra and vegetables. Developing special seed packs of these crops, suitable for small size plots of approximately 200sq mt.

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Accordingly, groups of three volunteers will visit the affected areas where they will distribute small packs of seeds and help with the logistics. Tata Projects: To avoid a breakout of any kind of water-borne epidemic, Tata Projects is installing RO plants in the affected areas to supply purified safe drinking water. Tata Motors is assisting Tata Projects in transporting the RO plants. Tata Power: Floods and landslides have completely destroyed the infrastructure in the area, and affected villagers have spent their nights in darkness. To remedy this, Tata Power has supplied 5,000 solar power lamps. Also engineers and technicians have helped the Uttarakhand Power Corporation (UPCL) restore electricity in several regions. Tata Motors: The company is supplying vehicles, as per requirement, to transport RO plants and for transporting people landing at airports / Dehradun / anywhere else in Delhi, as required. Tata Motors also arranged for a godown for storage of relief materials. Besides this, the company has also requested each of its employees to donate one day's salary towards rehabilitation efforts. Tata Consulting Engineers and Tata Housing Development Company are working together towards a low cost housing solution to provide shelters to those who lost their homes in the floods. In the long-term, Tata Housing will be working with the Uttarakhand government to find a low cost and long term housing solution for the people who have lost their homes. Tata Global Beverages: The company has procured 7,000 bottles of Tata Water Plus from Hyderabad to be distributed. Besides Tata Tea supplying tea in the area, a rural tea marketing initiative is already in operation at several Himmotthan clusters and can be expanded to the current areas over the longer term to improve livelihoods. Tata Communications: Tata Communications has handed over 25 satellite terminals to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to facilitate faster communication among relief teams. Tata Teleservices: The company has offered to provide mobile base stations in Dehradun or locations affected that do not have connectivity to enhance communication between relief teams. Tata Business Support Services: The company has offered to create a dashboard monitoring system to keep track of the progress being made by the on-site teams. Tata Institute of Social Sciences: The faculty of disaster management from TISS is carrying out assessments of all three major impact areas in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh to make the relief efforts as effective as possible. Tata Steel: Teams from Tata Steel were the first to trek through non-existent paths to reach villages that had become inaccessible due to the landslides. The teams were quick to assess the
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situation and speed up relief efforts. Moreover, the company will be providing pre-fabricated homes to the people who lost their homes in the floods. Titan Industries: Titan Industries is managing the warehouse in which relief materials have been stored, besides sending food and other items to around 400 families in the affected areas in Pindar Valley. The company has offered the manpower required for accounting and also for repacking at the godown. Blood donation camps have been organised by the watches and jewellery divisions in Dehradun. Employees have volunteered a day's salary and offered their services for the relief effort. Indian Hotels: Taj Hotels has expressed its readiness to set up its kitchens at key points in the affected areas. Hotel staff will prepare fresh food which can be transported wherever required. The hotel will run these mobile kitchens for a period of 1-2 months. The hotel will also offer hospitality-based skill training to the affected. Individuals will be taken in batches to the company's skill training centres in Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata to attend three-month residential courses. About 200 people who have lost their livelihoods can receive such training. Tata Power Delhi Distribution: UPCL has requested Tata Power Delhi Distribution to depute its engineers and workers for taking up restoration work of 33KV and 11KV lines at locations in Uttarkashi and Ukhimath in Rudraprayag district, and Joshimath and Narain Bagar in the district of Chamoli. UPCL has put in a request for teams of five people (including one engineer and four workers) at each location to carry out conductor stringing work, pole erection, etc. for the restoration of these lines. Tata Steel Processing and Distribution: Employees of Tata Steel Processing and Distribution, Pantnagar, have expressed their willingness to work as volunteers at affected areas. Employees at the company's plant at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, made a collection and bought items like puffed rice, grams, tetra packs of juice, towels, dhotis, etc. with the proceeds. These items were given to those affected in Rishikesh. Rallis: In association with Goonj, an NGO, Rallis has started collecting relief materials in kind. Employees from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai have been urged to contribute dry food (rice, pulses, biscuits), blankets, woolens, old flex banners, umbrellas, cooking utensils, solar lamps, torches, candles, batteries, matchboxes, etc. Donation boxes have been placed in the company's offices at Belapur, Turbhe and Nariman Bhawan. The collected items will be sent to the relief camps set up by Goonj. Voltas: Voltas has donated a sum of Rs10 lakh towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Uttarakhand. Moreover, the employees have donated Rs 4 lakh to Himmothan towards relief
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efforts. The company has also distributed relief packets among families in the Pithoragarh region. The company has also organised blood donation camps to help those affected. Trent: Retail businesses such as Croma, Westside and others have established a system to collect food, money and clothing from their customers. Several other Tata companies are also working together to distribute relief packages that include food for the affected. Employees from several companies who aren't at the disaster zone are also doing their bit by donating a day's salary to aid the relief efforts. Information for donations If you would like to donate funds towards the relief efforts in Uttarakhand please contact Himmotthan Society.

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Recommendations 1. The first and the foremost is to restructure the National Policy on disaster management reflecting the holistic approach involving prevention, mitigation and preparedness in pre-disaster phase with appropriate additional funding, along with the so far existent policy of the postdisaster relief and rehabilitation under crisis management. 2. Creation of awareness for disaster reduction is urgently needed amongst policy makers, decision makers, administrators, professionals (architects, engineers and others at various levels) financial institutions (banks, insurance, house financing institutions) and NGOs and voluntary organizations. 3. Creating awareness for improving preparedness amongst the communities, using media, school education, and the network of the building centre. 4. Appropriate amendments in the legislative and regulatory instruments (state laws, master plans, development area plan rules, building regulations and bye-laws of local bodies) along with strengthening of the enforcement mechanisms at different levels. 5. Capacity building at local and regional levels for undertaking rapid-assessment surveys and investigations of the nature and extent of damage in post disaster situations. 6. Conducting micro-zonation surveys of large urban areas falling in the disaster prone regions and preparing appropriate preparedness and mitigation plans on an urgent basis. 7. To ensure use of disaster resistant construction techniques in all housing and other buildings to be undertaken under the Central and State schemes. 8. Making mandatory, the use of disaster resistant codes and guidelines related to disaster resistant construction in the houses and buildings in all sectors of the society by law and through incentives and disincentives. 9. To create a suitable institutional mechanism at national/state level to advise and help the existing disaster relief set up in formulation and updating of short and long range action plans for the preparedness, mitigation and prevention of natural disasters. (the mechanisms suggested are establishment of a National Scientific and Technical Committee at Central level and Natural Disaster Mitigation Centres at State levels). 10. To promote the study of natural disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness as subjects in architecture and engineering curricula. 11. To create detailed database on hazard occurrences, damage caused to buildings and infrastructure and the economic losses suffered and ensure its accessibility to interested researchers for effective analysis of costs of disasters and benefits of mitigative actions.
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Conclusion
Disaster Management has to be a multi-disciplinary and pro-active approach. Besides various measures for putting in place institutional and policy framework, disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness enunciated in this paper and initiatives being taken by the Central and State Governments, the community, civil society organizations and media also have a key role to play in achieving our goal of moving together, towards a safer India. The message being put across is that, in order to move towards safer and sustainable national development, development projects should be sensitive towards disaster mitigation. Our mission is vulnerability reduction to all types of hazards, be it natural or manmade. This is not an easy task to achieve, keeping in view the vast population, and the multiple natural hazards to which this country is exposed. However, if we are firm in our conviction and resolve that the Government and the people of this country are not prepared to pay the price in terms of massive casualties and economic losses, the task, though difficult, is achievable and we shall achieve it. We have taken the first few but significant steps towards vulnerability reduction, putting in place prevention and mitigation measures and preparedness for a rapid and professional response. With a massive awareness generation campaign and building up of capabilities as well as institutionalization of the entire mechanism through a techno legal and techno financial framework, we are gradually moving in the direction of sustainable development. Our vision 2020 is to build a safer and secure India through sustained collective effort, synergy of national capacities and peoples participation. What looks a dream today will be transformed into reality in the next two decades. This is our goal and we shall strive to achieve this goal with a missionary zeal. The path ahead, which looks difficult today, will become a lot easier as we move along together. Disaster management occupies an important place in this countrys policy framework as it is the poor and the under-privileged who are worst affected on account of calamities/disasters

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