MODULE 3
PRE & POST DISASTER
MANAGEMENT
I. PRE DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Preparedness
• Preparedness is usually regarded as comprising measures which enable
governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to respond
rapidly and effectively to disaster situations. Examples of preparedness
measures are:
• formulating and maintaining valid and updated counter-disaster plans
which can be brought into effect whenever required;
• special provisions for emergency action, such as evacuating populations or
moving them temporarily to safe havens;
• providing warning systems;
• emergency communications;
• public education and awareness; and
• training programs, including exercise and tests.
Pre-disaster activities
focused on reducing the
human and property
losses caused by a
potential hazard. It
includes Prevention,
Mitigation and
Preparedness.
Mitigation
• Is an ongoing efforts to lessen the impact of disaster have on people and property.
In other words, Action within this segment usually takes the form of specific
programs intended to reduce the effects of disaster on a nation or community.
• The following actions or programs are generally regarded as coming under the
heading of mitigation:
• enforcement of building codes;
• land-use regulations;
• safety regulations relating to high-rise building, control of hazardous substances, etc;
• safety codes governing land, sea, and air transport systems;
• agricultural programs aimed at reducing the effects of hazards on crops;
• systems to protect key installations such as power supplies and vital communications; and
• developments in infrastructure, such as the routing of new highways away from disaster-prone
areas.
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
II. POST DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Introduction
• Disaster management is fundamentally disaster risk management. Sum total of all activities, programmes and
measures which can be taken up before, during and after a disaster with the purpose to avoid a disaster, reduce its
impact or recover from its losses is called Disaster Risk Management.
• There are three stages of the disaster risk management which are collectively called Disaster Management Cycle.
Broadly, there are six phases in Disaster Management Cycle viz. Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Response,
Recovery and Reconstruction.
• While Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness include Pre-disaster activities focused on reducing the human and
property losses caused by a potential hazard; Response, Recovery and Redevelopment include the Post-disaster
initiatives taken in response to a disaster with a purpose to achieve early recovery and rehabilitation of affected
victims and communities.
Response
• Are activities during disaster. In other words, Response measures are
usually those the decisions and actions which are taken immediately
following disaster Impact.
• Such measures are mainly directed toward saving life and protecting
property, and to dealing with the immediate disruption, damage, and
other effects caused by the disaster.
• Typical measures include:
• implementing plans;
• activating the counter-disaster system;
• search and rescue;
• providing emergency food, shelter, medical assistance, etc.;
• surveying and assessing; and
• evacuating
• Assistance by regional, national, international bodies.
Recovery
• Are activities following the disaster. In other words, Recovery is the process by which
communities and the nation are assisted in returning to their proper level of functioning
following a disaster. Recovery phase starts after the immediate threat to human life has
subsided. The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to
some degree of normalcy.
The recovery process can be very protracted, taking 5–10 years, or even more.
Typical activities include:
• restoring essential services;
• restoring of repairable homes and other buildings/installations;
• providing temporary housing;
• measures to assist the physical and psychological rehabilitation of persons who have
suffered from the effects of disaster
• long-term measures of reconstruction, including the replacement of buildings and
infrastructure that have been destroyed by the disaster
RESTORATION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
• is a concept that relates to the preparedness and response to serious incidents
that involve the critical infrastructure of a region or nation.
• Some critical Infrastructure sectors are - Banking and finance, Transportation,
Power, Information and communications, Federal and municipal services,
Emergency health services, Fire departments, Law enforcement agencies, Public
works.
• Critical Infrastructure Protection involves:
1. Identifying Critical Infrastructures
2. Determining the threat from all hazards against identified critical infrastructures
3. Analyzing the vulnerabilities of only credibly threatened infrastructures
4. Assessing risk of the degradation or loss of a critical infrastructure
5. Applying protective or resiliency measures to credibly threatened and
vulnerable critical infrastructures unacceptable to risk
[Link]
Damage and Loss Assessment
• The Damage and Loss Assessment (DLA) is a methodology that was initially developed
by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) in
1972.
• It has since been improved through close cooperation of WHO, World Bank, Inter
American Development Bank, UNESCO, ILO to capture the closest approximation of
damage and losses due to disaster events.
• It is a flexible tool that can be adapted to specific disaster types and government
ownership requirements.
• The DLA Methodology bases its assessments on the overall economy of the affected
country.
• It uses the national accounts and statistics of the country government as baseline data
to assess damage and loss.
• It also factors in the impact of disasters on individual livelihoods and incomes to fully
define the needs for recovery and reconstruction.
ROLE OF ENGINEERS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT
ROLE OF IT IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
CASE STUDY I - Pre Disaster Management: Odisha Super
Cyclone 1999
CASE STUDY II: “International Cooperation in a Post-
disaster Scenario: A Case Study from Gujarat, India”
• The earthquake of January 26, 2001 (magnitude 7.7, USGS) devastated the
entire state of Gujarat in Western India, causing extensive loss of life and
property.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE CASE STUDY
Community Need - This was the first lesson. In both villages, many day-to-
day issues required attention and focus. They did not want just to rebuild
their houses but to use the rehabilitation program as an opportunity for
village development.
Community ownership and participation - Chairmanship of the village level
committee was given to the head of the village, which was very significant in
showing that ownership belonged to the people and community. Regular
meetings at the village level, and the local decision-making process helped to
implement this.
• Inter-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder cooperation - Rehabilitation is
a very complex problem and should be approached from various
different disciplines, with the participation of various stakeholders.
The current project team consisted of civil engineers (structural
engineers), planners, architects, social scientists, administrators, and
policy makers
• Livelihood issues - The major livelihoods are farming, livestock
herding, masons (and related construction workers) and laborers. Of
these, agriculture and livestock are the most seriously affected by
climatic conditions. Another important livelihood alternative was
small scale handicraft industries for the women, which included gum
collection, embroidery, folk-art, and painting.
• Sustainability issues - NGOs and/or other role players are very
important. At the village level, small scale CBOs (community based
organizations), which would be responsible for the sustainability
effort in each village, were formed.