DISASTER MANAGEMENT

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the
apex body for Disaster Management in India. Setting up of NDMA and the creation of an enabling
environment for institutional mechanisms at the State and District levels is mandated by the Disaster
Management Act, 2005. NDMA is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster
Management. India envisions the development of an ethos of Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness
and Response.
The Indian government strives to promote a national resolve to mitigate the damage and destruction
caused by natural and man-made disasters, through sustained and collective efforts of all Government
agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and People’s participation. This is planned to be
accomplished by adopting a Technology-Driven, Pro-Active, Multi-Hazard and Multi-Sectoral strategy
for building a Safer, Disaster Resilient and Dynamic India.
The NDMA Logo reflects the aspirations of this National Vision, of empowering all stakeholders to
improve the effectiveness of Disaster Management in India. NDMA has 5 major divisions viz. Policy
& Plans, Mitigation , Operations & Communications & Information & Technology , Administration and
Finance.

One of the most sobering lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is that disasters can befall
any community, at any time. While infectious disease represents one form of disaster, it
could just as readily be a hurricane, flood or chemical spill. According to the United
Nations, a disaster is any event that seriously disrupts a community or society’s ability
to function; a disaster’s impact may be human, economic or ecological.

Emergency management, also referred to as disaster management, means preparing

for potential calamities and responding to them as quickly, strategically and effectively
as possible. Typically, this involves following the basic disaster management cycle,
which comprises five crucial stages.

Effective and ethical leadership during a disaster requires a number of essential skills.
One of the best ways to hone them is through enrollment in an online leadership and
management program, whether that means pursuing a full degree or a certificate
program.

What is Disaster Management?

One of the biggest challenges of disaster, or emergency, management is the need to be
prepared for a wide range of contingencies. A good place to begin a discussion of
disaster management is by considering what constitutes a disaster.
Defining Disaster

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies:
“More people are becoming vulnerable to disasters or are forced to cope with acts of
violence, financial crises and growing uncertainty, often without adequate support from
their governments.” Disasters can be either natural or human-made events and can
include pandemics, technological disasters or environmental cataclysms.

Disaster types include the following:

• Earthquakes
• Tornadoes
• Hurricanes
• Pandemics
• Volcano eruptions
• Wildfires
• Floods
• Mass shootings
• Acts of terror
• Nuclear explosions
• Chemical emergencies

There were 10 weather and climate-related disasters each exceeding $1 billion in

losses in the U.S. within the first half of 2020, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. The number of disasters resulting in billion-dollar loses has
been steadily rising, from 29 disasters in the 1980s to 119 disasters in the 2010s. In
addition to this increase, cascading disasters, such as a hurricane during the COVID-19
pandemic, reinforce the need for effective and ethical leadership across all sectors and
levels of government.

Managing Disasters

Specifically, disaster management is about organizing and directing resources to cope

with a disaster and coordinating the roles and responsibilities of responders, private
sector organizations, public sector agencies, nonprofit and faith-based organizations,
volunteers, donations, etc. The ultimate goal of the disaster-management leader is to
minimize the event’s impact, something that involves preparedness, response, recovery
and mitigation.

The 5 Stages of the Disaster-Management Cycle

When properly implemented, the disaster-management cycle can lessen the impact of a
catastrophic event. It can also incorporate the policies and emergency responses
needed for a full, expedited recovery. The cycle involves the following five stages:
1. Prevention

The best way to address a disaster is by being proactive. This means identifying
potential hazards and devising safeguards to mitigate their impact. Although this stage
in the cycle involves putting permanent measures into place that can help minimize
disaster risk, it’s important to acknowledge that disasters can’t always be prevented.

Prevention involves scenarios such as the following:

• Implementing an evacuation plan in a school, for example, showing teachers how

to lead students to safety in the event of a tornado or fire
• Planning and designing a city in a way that minimizes the risk of flooding, for
example, with the use of locks, dams or channels to divert water away from
populous areas

2. Mitigation

Mitigation aims to minimize the loss of human life that would result from a disaster. Both
structural and nonstructural measures may be taken.

• A structural measure means changing the physical characteristics of a building or

an environment to curb the effects of a disaster. For example, clearing trees
away from a house can ensure that dangerous storms don’t knock down the
trees and send them crashing into homes and public buildings.
• Nonstructural measures involve adopting or amending building codes to optimize
safety for all future building construction.

3. Preparedness

Preparedness is an ongoing process in which individuals, communities, businesses and

organizations can plan and train for what they’ll do in the event of a disaster.
Preparedness is defined by ongoing training, evaluating and corrective action, ensuring
the highest level of readiness.

Fire drills, active-shooter drills and evacuation rehearsals are all good examples of the
preparedness stage.

4. Response

Response is what happens after the disaster occurs. It involves both short- and long-
term responses.

Ideally, the disaster-management leader will coordinate the use of resources (including
personnel, supplies and equipment) to help restore personal and environmental safety,
as well as to minimize the risk of any additional property damage.
During the response stage, any ongoing hazards are removed from the area; for
example, in the aftermath of a wildfire, any lingering fires will be put out, and areas that
pose a high flammability risk will be stabilized.

5. Recovery

The fifth stage in the disaster-management cycle is recovery. This can take a long time,
sometimes years or decades. For example, some areas in New Orleans have yet to
fully recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It involves stabilizing the area and
restoring all essential community functions. Recovery requires prioritization: first,
essential services like food, clean water, utilities, transportation and healthcare will be
restored, with less-essential services being prioritized later.

Ultimately, this stage is about helping individuals, communities, businesses and

organizations return to normal or a new normal depending on the impact of the disaster.

Developing Skills for Disaster Management

To effectively coordinate this cycle, disaster-management leaders must develop a
number of critical skills. The skills necessary for each stage of the cycle are as follows:

Prevention

During the prevention stage, strong analytical skills help leaders identify potential
threats, hazards and high-risk areas. Problem-solving abilities are also invaluable in
identifying the best ways to avoid or diminish the likelihood of catastrophic events.

Mitigation

Planning is an important skill during the mitigation stage; the disaster-management

leader will need to develop strategies and structural changes that can help mediate
potential threats. Spreading awareness is also critical, as community members must be
made aware of the steps they can take to prepare for all contingencies.

“Of the five stages, mitigation is the most crucial because, if done correctly, it can
reduce the impact of the next emergency or crisis,” explains Claire Connolly Knox,
associate professor and emergency and crisis management academic program
coordinator at the University of Central Florida. “As per the National Institute of Building
Science, for every $1 spent on mitigation, there is a $6 savings post-disaster. Mitigation
can include changes to building codes as seen following Hurricane Andrew in 1992 or
reinforcing infrastructure as seen in coastal communities in response to sea-level rise
and climate change.”

Preparedness
During the preparedness stage, it’s important to be skilled in training people to respond
to disasters. It’s important to stay organized, which is the best way to ensure readiness.
Oral and written communication skills prepare laypeople and emergency-response
personnel for action in worst-case scenarios.

Response

The ability to quickly make decisions is crucial here, as the response stage is time-
sensitive. Another valuable skill is delegating essential tasks to other volunteers or
emergency responders.

Recovery

As disaster-management leaders help their communities recover, the most essential

skills are empathy, understanding and relationship building; indeed, without earning the
trust of the community, any recovery efforts are likely to come up short.

Becoming a Leader in Disaster Management

Some leaders have more experience than others with handling disasters; ultimately,
though, this is a field in which every business or community leader should hone their
skills. Any organization or municipality can be hit with a disaster sooner or later, whether
that’s something as minor as a temporary power outage or as threatening as a
hurricane, earthquake, bomb threat or active shooter.

The COVID-19 pandemic has really brought this home, as many business owners have
confronted the crisis at hand. To ensure the safety of customers as well as employees,
business leaders have shifted to remote work environments, implemented new
communication infrastructures, and embraced new standards of office hygiene and
sanitization. While no business leader could have precisely predicted the effects of the
coronavirus, those companies that had some disaster plan in place are likely a step or
two ahead of others.

Those looking for a career solely focused on mastering the disaster-management cycle
have many opportunities to do so; some examples of jobs in this field include crisis-
management lead, disaster-assistance specialist and emergency-planning coordinator.
These roles all call for various levels of responsibility in preparing a company or a city
for cataclysmic events. To find work in any of these positions, as well as to sharpen all
the skills needed for success, earning a master’s degree in emergency and crisis
management can be a big step forward.

Types of Disaster
Natural Disasters

According to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent

Societies Natural Disasters are naturally occurring physical phenomena
caused either by rapid or slow onset events that have immediate impacts on
human health and secondary impacts causing further death and suffering.
These disasters can be [5]:

• Geophysical (e.g. Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis and Volcanic

Activity)
• Hydrological (e.g. Avalanches and Floods)
• Climatological (e.g. Extreme Temperatures, Drought and Wildfires)
• Meteorological (e.g. Cyclones and Storms/Wave Surges)
• Biological (e.g. Disease Epidemics and Insect/Animal Plagues)

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction characterises Natural
Disasters in relation to their magnitude or intensity, speed of onset, duration
and area of extent e.g. earthquakes are of short duration and usually affect a
relatively small region whereas droughts are slow to develop and fade away
and often affect large regions [1].

Man-Made Disasters

Man-Made Disasters as viewed by the International Federation of Red Cross

& Red Crescent Societies are events that are caused by humans which occur in
or close to human settlements often caused as a results of Environmental or
Technological Emergencies. This can include [3]:

• Environmental Degradation
• Pollution
• Accidents (e.g. Industrial, Technological and Transport usually
involving the production, use or transport of hazardous materials)

Complex Emergencies

Some disasters can result from multiple hazards, or, more often, to a complex
combination of both natural and man-made causes which involve a break-
down of authority, looting and attacks on strategic installations, including
conflict situations and war. These can include [6]:

• Food Insecurity
• Epidemics
• Armed Conflicts
• Displaced Populations

According to ICRC these Complex Emergencies are typically characterized

by [6]:

• Extensive Violence
• Displacements of Populations
• Loss of Life
• Widespread Damage to both Societies and Economies
• Need for Large-scale, Humanitarian Assistance across Multiple
Agencies
• Political and Military Constraints which impact or prevent
Humanitarian Assistance
• Increased Security Risks for Humanitarian Relief Workers

Pandemic Emergencies

Pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan "all" and δῆμος demos "people") is an
epidemic of infectious disease that has spread across a large region, which can
occur to the human population or animal population and may affect health
and disrupt services leading to economic and social costs. It may be
an unusual or unexpected increase in the number of cases of an infectious
disease which already exists in a certain region or population or can also refer
to the appearance of a significant number of cases of an infectious disease in a
region or population that is usually free from that disease. Pandemic
Emergencies may occur as a consequence of natural or man-made disasters.
These have included the following epidemics.

Aspects of Disaster Management

The International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies defines
disaster management as the organisation and management of resources and
responsibilities for dealing with all the humanitarian aspects of emergencies,
in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the
impact of disasters