DISASTER

MANAGEMENT
&
MITIGATION
UNIT 1
 Disaster Management & Mtigation
What is Disaster management & Mitigation?
❑ To manage the damage caused by a disaster and to
lighten the e ect as much as possible
Why do we learn it?
❑ When disasters strike there is a large scale damage
to life and property.
❑ Disasters can strike anywhere and everybody can
be a ected.
❑ So to reduce the harm and damage caused by a
disaster and to have a general awareness among the
public DMM is taught.
 Course Objectives
Designed to impart domain knowledge, values,
capacities and skills to:
❖ Describe the basic types of hazards and their
potential consequences.
❖ Demonstrate a critical understanding of key
concepts in disaster risk reduction and humanitarian
response
❖ Recognize issues, debates and challenges arising
from the nexus between paradigm of development
and disasters.
 Course Objectives
❖ Critically understand the strengths and
weaknesses of disaster management approaches,
planning and programming in India.
❖ Respond to disaster risk reduction initiatives and
disasters in an e ective, humane and sustainable
manner.
❖ Describe the basic concepts of the emergency
management cycle (mitigation, preparedness,
response, and recovery.
❖ Understand the roles of government agencies in
emergency management
 Course Outcomes
❑ Develop an understanding of the key concepts,
de nitions a key perspectives of All Hazards
Emergency Management.
❑ Understand the Emergency/Disaster Management
Cycle.
❑ Develop a basic under understanding of Prevention,
Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.
❑ Develop a basic understanding for the role of public
an private partnerships
 References
❑ “Disaster Mitigation: Experiences & Re ections” by
Pardeep Sahni
❑ “Natural Hazards & Disasters” by Donald Hyndman
& David Hyndman
❑ “Disaster Management in India; MHA; GOI”
Published in 2011
❑ National Disaster Management Act; 2005.
❑ National disaster Management Policy; 2009
 What is a Hazard?
Hazard may be de ned as “a dangerous
condition or event, that threat or have the
potential for causing injury to life or damage to
property or the environment.
Hazards are of two types
Natural Hazards
Man-made Hazards
 What is a Disaster?
Disaster is an event or series of events, which
gives rise to casualties and damage or loss of
properties, infrastructures, environment, essential
services or means of livelihood on such a scale which
is beyond the normal capacity of the a ected
community to cope with.
The United Nations de nes disaster as “the
occurrence of sudden or major misfortune which
disrupts the basic fabric and normal functioning of the
society or community”.
India’s geo-climatic conditions as well as its high
degree of socio-economic vulnerability, makes it one
of the most disaster prone country in the world.
 What is a Disaster?
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 de nes
disaster as
“a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence
in any area,
arising from natural or man made causes,
or by accident or negligence
which results in substantial loss of life or human
su ering or damage to, and destruction of, property,
or damage to, or degradation of, environment,
and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond
the coping capacity of the community of the a ected
area”.
 Disaster
A Disaster is not bound by political, social, economic
or geographic boundaries. When it occurs it impacts
all.
Globally, there has been an increase in the number of
natural disasters over the last few years.
The impact of a calamity does not remain con ned to
the physical destruction but transcends beyond it and
impacts the socio-economic conditions of a ected
persons.
 Di erence Between
Hazards & Disasters
Hazards are always prevalent, but the hazard
becomes a disaster only when there is greater
vulnerability and less of capacity to cope with it.
In other words the frequency or likelihood of a
hazard and the vulnerability of the community
increases the risk of being severely a ected
 Types of Hazards
Natural hazards are hazards which are caused
because of natural phenomena with
meteorological, geological or even biological
origin.
Examples of natural hazards are cyclones,
tsunamis, earthquake and volcanic eruption
which are exclusively of natural origin.
Landslides, oods, drought, res are socio-
natural hazards since their causes are both
natural and man made. For example ooding
may be caused because of heavy rains,
 Types of Hazards
Manmade hazards are hazards which are due
to human negligence.
Manmade hazards are associated with
industries or energy generation facilities and
include explosions, leakage of toxic waste,
pollution, dam failure, wars or civil strife, Railway
accidents, Civil aircraft crashing etc.
 Categories of Hazards
Geological –
Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcanic eruption,
Landslide, Dam burst, Mine Fire.
Water & Climatic Hazards –
Tropical Cyclone, Tornado and Hurricane,
Floods Drought, Hailstorm, Cloudburst,
Landslide, Heat & Cold wave, Snow Avalanche,
Sea erosion.
Environmental Hazards –
Environmental pollutions, Deforestation
 Categories of Hazards
Biological – Human / Animal Epidemics , Pest
a acks, Food poisoning, Weapons of Mass
Destruction
Chemical, Industrial and Nuclear Accidents –
Chemical disasters, Industrial disasters, Oil
spills/Fires , Nuclear.
Accident related –
Boat / Road / Train accidents / air crash, Rural /
Urban res Bomb /serial bomb disasters, blasts,
Forest res, Building Collapse, Electrical
accidents, Festival related, Mine ooding
 What is Vulnerability?
Vulnerability may be de ned as
“The extent to which a community, structure,
services or geographic area is likely to be
damaged or disrupted by the impact of
particular hazard, on account of their nature,
construction and proximity to hazardous
terrains or a disaster prone area.”
Vulnerabilities can be categorized into physical
and socio-economic vulnerability.
Physical Vulnerability
 Physical Vulnerability?
Includes notions of who and what may be
damaged /destroyed by natural hazard such as
EQ or oods.
Based on the physical condition of people and
elements at risk, such as buildings,
infrastructure etc; and their proximity, location
and nature of the hazard.
Relates to the technical capability of building
and structures to resist the forces acting upon
them during a hazard event.
For Ex se lements which are located in
hazardous slopes are said to be physically
 Physical Vulnerability
Many landslide and ooding disasters are
linked to the physical location and proximity to
such potentially dangerous areas.
Unchecked growth of se lements in unsafe
areas exposes the people to the hazard.
In case of an earthquake or landslide the
ground may fail and the houses on the top may
topple or slide and a ect the se lements at the
lower level even if they are designed well for
earthquake forces.
 Socio-Economic Vulnerability
The degree to which a population is a ected by a
hazard will not merely lie in the physical components
of vulnerability but also on the socioeconomic
conditions.
The socio-economic condition of the people also
determines the intensity of the impact.
For example, people who are poor and living in the
sea coast don’t have the money to construct strong
concrete houses.
They are generally at risk and loose their shelters
when ever there is strong wind or cyclone.
Because of their poverty they too are not able to
 VULNERABILITY
India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large
number of disasters.
More than 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone to
earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity;
Over 40 million hectares (12%) of its land is prone to
oods and river erosion;
Close to 5,700 kms, out of the 7,516 kms long
coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis;
68% of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts;
Its hilly areas are at risk from landslides and
avalanches.
Moreover, India is also vulnerable to Chemical,
Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)
emergencies and other man-made disasters.
 VULNERABILITY
Disaster risks in India are further compounded by
increasing vulnerabilities related to
changing demographics and socio-economic
conditions,
unplanned urbanization,
development within high-risk zones,
environmental degradation,
climate change,
geological hazards,
epidemics and pandemics.
Clearly, all these contribute to a situation where
disasters seriously threaten India’s economy, its
population and sustainable development.
 What is a Capacity?
Capacity can be de ned as “resources, means
and strengths which exist in households and
communities and which enable them to cope
with, withstand, prepare for, prevent, mitigate or
quickly recover from a disaster”.
People’s capacity can also be taken into
account.
Capacities could be:
Physical Capacity
Socio-economic Capacity
 Physical Capacity
People whose houses have been destroyed by
the cyclone or crops have been destroyed by
the ood can salvage things from their homes
and from their farms.
Some family members have skills, which enable
them to nd employment if they migrate,
either temporarily or permanently.
 Socio-Economic Capacity
In most of the disasters, people su er their
greatest losses in the physical and material
realm.
Rich people have the capacity to recover soon
because of their wealth.
In fact, they are seldom hit by disasters
because they live in safe areas and their
houses are built with stronger materials.
However, even when everything is destroyed
they have the capacity to cope up with it.
 What is Environmental Stress?
It is the pressure on the environment caused by human
activities (like pollution) or by natural events (like
drought) leading to the degradation of the environment.
The occurrence of unfavorable environmental factors
such as
moisture de cit / excess,
high radiation,
low and high temperature,
salinity of water and soil,
nutrient de ciency or toxicity
and pollution of atmosphere, soil and water
which will a ect the normal functioning and growth
of all living and growing humans, animals and
 Environmental Stress & Strain
Any environmental factor potentially unfavorable to
living and growing humans, animals and plants is
termed as stress.
The e ect of stress on living and growing humans,
animals and plants is called strain.
Any living and growing humans, animals and plants
subjected to stress is in a state of strain.
Environmental stresses di er from mechanical
stresses.
The humans, animals and plants are able to erect
barriers between the body and environmental stress
by expending energy.
 Environmental Stress & Strain
Environmental stresses always cause certain amount
of injury which is irreversible and is a plastic strain.
Hence, an environmental stress is de ned as any
environmental factor capable of inducing a potentially
injurious strain in living organisms.
The living organism may show physical strain e.g.
cessation of cytoplasmic streaming or a chemical
strain e.g. a shift in metabolism.
If the strain is severe, the organism may su er a
permanent set i.e. injury or death.
 Environmental Stress
Temp Water Radiation Chemical
High - Heat
Low Salt Wind
Ionization Sound
Chilling Freezing Oil Spills Electrical
Gas Leaks Magnetic
Pesticides Geographic
De cit – Drought
Excess – Flood
EQ in Sea – Tsunami
Events of Disasters Globally between
1900 - 2009
Disaster Types Decades
1900 10 20 30 40 50 60
-09 -19 -29 -39 -49 -59 -69
Hydro - 28 72 56 72 120 232 463
Meteorological
Geological 40 28 33 37 52 60 88
Biological 5 7 10 3 4 2 37
Total 73 107 99 112 176 294 388
Events of Disasters Globally between
1900 - 2009
Disaster Types Decades
60 70 80 90 2000 Tot
al
-69 -79 -89 -99 -09
Hydro - 463 776 1498 2034 3529
8880
Meteorological
 Worst Disasters: India: recent Past
Kashmir Floods – Sep 2014, 500 plus dead, Caused
by continuous torrential rainfall, 2600 villages in
Jammu a ected, 357 villages in Kashmir completely
submerged, 50 bridges damaged, Rs 5000 – 6000
Crores property loss.
U arakhand Flash Floods – June 2013, Caused due
to heavy and deadly cloudburst, 5700 plus dead,
100,000 pilgrims trapped.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami – Dec 2004, Caused by an
Earthquake in the Indian ocean near Indonesia,
Measuring 9.1 – 9.3 for 10 minutes, Third largest EQ
ever recorded, Force generated equivalent to 23,000
Hiroshima type atomic bombs. Overall death toll –
 Worst Disasters: India: recent Past
Kashmir Floods – Sep 2014, 500 plus dead, Caused
by continuous torrential rainfall, 2600 villages in
Jammu a ected, 357 villages in Kashmir completely
submerged, 50 bridges damaged, Rs 5000 – 6000
Crores property loss.
U arakhand Flash Floods – June 2013, Caused due
to heavy and deadly cloudburst, 5700 plus dead,
100,000 pilgrims trapped.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami – Dec 2004, Caused by an
Earthquake in the Indian ocean near Indonesia,
Measuring 9.1 – 9.3 for 10 minutes, Third largest EQ
ever recorded, Force generated equivalent to 23,000
Hiroshima type atomic bombs. Overall death toll –
 Worst Disasters: India: recent Past
Gujarat Earthquake – Jan 2001, Intensity 7.6 – 7.9 for
2 mins, 20,000 dead, 1,67,000 injured, 4,00,000
homeless.
Chennai oods – November 2015, 1246 mm of rain
recorded, 3 times normal amount, Complete
population of Chennai a ected, more than Rs 50,000
crores lost. 10,000 structres damaged.
Odisha Super Cyclone – 1999, Death toll more than
10,000, 2,75,000 houses destroyed, 16,70,000
rendered homeless.
Latur Earthquake – 1993, 20,000 plus dead, 10,000
injured, 50 villages destroyed.
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 Human Ecology
What is ecology?
Ecology is usually de ned as the study of interactions
of organisms with their environments and each other.
It is an interdisciplinary eld that includes biology,
geography, and Earth science.
What is human ecology?
Human ecology is the study of the interactions of
humans with their environments, or the study of the
distribution and abundance of humans.
Human ecology is an interdisciplinary and
transdisciplinary study of the relationship between
humans and their natural, social, and built
environments.
 Human Ecology
Human ecology may be de ned
A. From a bio-ecological standpoint as the
study of man as the ecological dominant in plant and
animal communities and systems;
B. From a bio-ecological standpoint as simply
another animal a ecting and being a ected by his
physical environment; and
C. As a human being, somehow di erent from
animal life in general, interacting with physical and
modi ed environments in a distinctive and creative way.
Di erent Approaches & Relation With
Human Ecology
A large number of disasters are caused due to human
activity and the exploitation of the environment by the
humans.
Activities like Deforestation, Urbanization, Pollution
are causing disasters.
There are several approaches to use the environment
and the earth natural resources to control and reduce
disasters.
These are
Landscape Approach
Ecosystem Approach
 Landscape Approach
“Landscape approaches” seek to provide tools and
concepts for allocating and managing land to
achieve social, economic, and environmental
objectives in areas where agriculture, mining, and
other productive land uses compete with
environmental and biodiversity goals.
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The landscape approach relates to conservation,
agriculture and other land uses.
 Landscape Approach
Landscape approach is being exible enough to adapt
to change, and integrating multiple objectives for the
best possible bene ts.
Landscape of man as an environment that has been
shaped and managed by human activity. There are
very few landscapes globally that have not been
in uenced by humans.
It seeks to address the increasingly complex and
widespread environmental, social and political
challenges that transcend traditional management
 Landscape Approach
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There is no new land and water resources are limited
so we have to manage the land and water
resources we have sustainably and for multiple
stakeholders and bene ts.
The landscape approach enables progress between
di erent interests and drivers.
The landscape approach is promoted and used
mainly within the agriculture and forestry sector,
and sustainable water management has so far has
not been a key focus.
 Landscape Approach
Tenure and rights issues critical for landscape
approaches to work.
Empowerment of local communities must be central to
sustain natural resources for future generations.
Youth and women have to be integrated in land use
planning initiatives.
Integrating water management in the landscape
approach discourse will make it even more e ective.
 Ecosystem Approach
An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of living
communities, including micro-organisms, plants,
animals and humans, and their nonliving environment
interacting as a functional unit in a given area.
Ecosystems are thus viewed as integrated human-
ecological systems that work together to provide the
range of goods and other bene ts necessary to
support life, livelihoods and human well-being.
 Ecosystem Approach
The Ecosystem Approach can make a valuable
contribution to managing disaster risk and mitigating
the impacts of disasters.
An ecosystem approach to disaster risk reduction is
one where ecosystems make a key contribution to
enhancing people’s livelihoods.
The Ecosystem Approach is an e ective strategy to
manage or restore ecosystems and their services
while focusing on human livelihood needs.
 Ecosystem Approach
Ecosystems provide valuable protective services,
including bu ers such as mangrove forests and
coastal wetlands.
Be er management of ecosystems can assist disaster
-ridden societies in alleviating poverty and achieving
economic growth.
Taking ecosystem management into account in
disaster preparedness and post-disaster situations
can decrease the vulnerability of people’s lives and
livelihoods.
 Ecosystem Approach
There are ve reasons to integrate ecosystem-based
management in disaster risk reduction and
development planning:
1. It can decrease vulnerability to natural disasters.
2. Natural disasters have a high cost.
3. It costs less to prevent disasters than it does to x
the damage they cause.
4. At-risk populations depend on ecosystems for their
livelihoods.
5. Natural disasters and the responses to them have a
negative impact on biodiversity.
 Ecosystem Approach
Ecosystem management can contribute to more
e ective reduction of disaster risk in two major ways.
Well-managed ecosystems can mitigate the
impact of most natural hazards, such as landslides,
hurricanes and cyclones.
In addition, productive ecosystems can support
sustainable income-generating activities and are
important assets for people and communities in the
aftermath of a disaster.
 Ecosystem Approach
For ecosystems to make these contributions, it is
essential that they be factored into relief and
rebuilding e orts in the post-disaster response phase.
Not taking care of critical ecosystems after a major
disaster can cause signi cant economic and
environmental losses, and impose hardships on
already vulnerable communities.
 Ecosystem Approach
Why it is important to integrate ecosystems and long-
term livelihoods concerns into disaster risk reduction?
1. It can decrease vulnerability to natural
disasters like climate change increasing frequency of
extreme hydro-meteorological events such as heat
and cold waves, Cyclones, windstorms and ooding.
2. Natural disasters have a high cost. Natural
disasters have a negative impact on economic growth
and disproportionately a ect the poor. More impact
on less developed countries and poor populations.
 Ecosystem Approach
3. It costs less to prevent disasters than it does to x
the damage they cause.
• Natural barriers are cost-e ective insurance against
many types of natural disasters.
• Preventing loss is signi cantly less expensive than
reconstituting livelihoods, and prevention measures
need to be mainstreamed into disaster risk reduction.
• Such measures include investing in ecosystems such
as sand dunes, mangrove belts, coral reefs, wetlands
and use of forested slopes as barriers.
• Community preparedness and reducing population
vulnerability through development planning are also
important.
 Ecosystem Approach
4. At-risk populations depend on ecosystem services
for their livelihoods.
• Poor populations are more vulnerable to natural
disasters; they depend on environmental resources
for protection and livelihoods.
• Therefore, investing in natural barriers and
mainstreaming disaster risk and ecosystem
management in development planning is likely to
make a major contribution to the goal of achieving
sustainable livelihoods for the poor.
 Ecosystem Approach
5. Natural disasters and the responses to them have a
negative impact on biodiversity.
• Disasters can a ect biodiversity through the spread
of invasive species, mass species mortality and loss
of habitat.
• Poorly planned post-disaster response and
reconstruction work often do more damage to
biodiversity than the disaster itself.
• This in turn threatens the ecosystem services —
including food and medicinal plants and animals,
clean water and air and bu ers from extreme natural
events — that are critical to people’s livelihoods.
 Recommendations of Ecosystem
Approach
Eight practical recommendations Ecosystem
Approach for implementing an integrated approach to
disaster management.
1. Invest in e ective early warning and preparedness
measures.
1. Establish e ective emergency response procedures
which include a basic three-point environmental
contingency plan (protecting water supplies,
safeguarding hazardous materials, and protecting
 Recommendations of Ecosystem
Approach
3. Engage in rapid environmental assessments and
post-disaster clean-up operations that include
minimum environmental standards to minimize long-
term recovery problems.
4. Integrate long-term development planning —
particularly related to site selection, construction
materials, waste management and zoning — into
recovery and reconstruction initiatives.
5. Rehabilitate and restore ecosystems for livelihoods.
Invest in restoring and maintaining ecosystems for
protection, provisions and biodiversity and ensure the
participation of local people in this work.
 Recommendations of Ecosystem
Approach
6. Invest in mitigation strategies to strengthen natural
and arti cial defences and invest in local capacity-
building.
7. Coordinate risk reduction measures at the regional,
national and local levels.
8. Institutionalize and integrate ecosystem-based
management, development planning and disaster
management.
 Perception Approach
Risk perception research began with an early focus
on understanding why experts and laypeople had
such contrasting viewpoints on risk.
Why, for example, the layperson was far more fearful
of a less likely risk, such as a nuclear meltdown, in
comparison to more common risks such as driving.
The technical study of risk perception deepened
scienti c understanding of how factors such as
probability, likelihood, magnitude, consequence (e.g.
outcome) and aggregation of risks may in uence a
person’s risk perception.
 Perception Approach
• Early hazards research in the 1930s focused on
individuals and households and centred on hazard
education as a vehicle for risk reduction through
preparedness.
• Increasing a person’s knowledge regarding the
hazard was assumed central for reducing risk.
• A paradigm shift in the 1990s towards vulnerability
analysis focused more on the social production of
risk, asserting that inequalities in exposure to
hazards needs to be be er accounted for in risk
management.
 Perception Approach
• In the health sciences, a paradigm shift from a
focus on disease diagnosis and identi cation of
risk factors to greater consideration of social and
environmental conditions causing disease also
occurred in the 1990s.
As a result, there is no consensus on the phrase ‘risk
perception’, nor is there a simple answer linking risk
perception to preparedness behaviour and no
singular perspective or scale from which
preparedness is viewed.
Conclusion
ANY QUESTIONS?
 Quiz 1
Q 1. What is a disaster and what is the
di erence between disaster and hazard?
Q2. What are the various types and categories of
hazards? Mention in detail the various categories of
hazards.
Q3. Explain the ecosystem approach to disaster
management.
Q4. What is the environmental stress caused by
the following:-
(a) Water
(b) Temperature.
Designed to impart domain knowledge, values, capacities and skills to:
Demonstrate a critical understanding of key concepts in disaster risk
reduction and humanitarian response
Recognize issues, debates and challenges arising from the nexus between
paradigm of development and disasters
Critically evaluate disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response policy
and practice from multiple perspectives
Critically understand the strengths and weaknesses of disaster
management approaches, planning and programming in India.
Respond to disaster risk reduction initiatives and disasters in an e ective,
humane and sustainable manner.
 Environmental Stress
Temp Water Radiation Chemical
High - Heat
Salt Wind
Low
Ionization Sound
Chilling Freezing Oil Spills Electrical
Gas Leaks Magnetic
Pesticides Geographic
De cit – Drought
Excess – Flood
EQ in Sea – Tsunami