Disaster Management

Module 3
University Questions & Answers
Part A (Short Questions)
1. State the different types of disaster response (Dec 21)
Disaster response actions are classified into 10 types:
1. Search and rescue
2. First aid and emergency medical care
3. Evacuation 4. Evacuation centre management
5. Development of Standard Operation Procedure (SOPs)
6. Immediate repair of community facilities and services
7. Relief Aid 8. Coordination and Communication
9. Psycho-social counselling and stress debriefing
10. Medical services.
2. List six international relief organizations (Dec 21)

SOME INTERNATIONAL RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS:

1. Action Against Hunger (AAH),

2. Catholic Relief Services, (CRS - USCC),

3. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC

4. . International Rescue Committee (IRC), 8. Save the Children

5. . United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF),

6.. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR),

7. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA),

8.. US Committee for Refugees (USCR),

3. Explain psychosocial support related with disaster response. (Dec 22)

Psychosocial support (PSS) in disaster response is a set of interventions that help people cope
with the mental health and psychosocial issues that arise after a disaster. PSS can help people
 recover and build resilience, and is an important part of disaster response and community
preparedness.

Some examples of PSS include:

 Listening: Actively listening to survivors and helping them feel calm
 Helping with basic needs: Assisting people in meeting their basic needs
 Connecting with others: Helping people reconnect with loved ones and social support
 Providing information: Helping people connect with information and services
 Promoting safety: Promoting a sense of safety, calming, and social connectedness

4. List any six public health services required in responding to disasters. (Dec 22)

Some public health services required in responding to disasters include:

 Emergency health care: Providing emergency health care
 Disease and disability prevention: Preventing the spread of disease and disability
 Nutritional monitoring: Monitoring the nutritional status of the affected population
 Restoration: Restoring conditions to pre-disaster levels
 Environmental measures: Prioritizing environmental measures over health care needs

5. Define the term 'disaster preparedness. (Dec 23)

Disaster preparedness involves the knowledge and practices developed by governments,
communities and recovery organisations for effectively responding and recovering from the
impacts of hazard.
Disaster preparedness can be of three types
1. Target oriented disaster preparedness
2. Task oriented disaster preparedness
3. Disaster oriented preparedness
6. Define 'relief in the context of disaster management (Dec 23)
In disaster management, relief is the immediate support given to people affected by a disaster to
provide basic needs and minimize suffering. Relief is also known as humanitarian response.

Relief activities include:

 Providing food, water, and shelter
 Establishing relief centers
 Evacuations
 Providing first aid
  Counseling and other support services
 Financial assistance

7. List the strategies for disaster risk management before during and after a disaster. (KTU
model QP)
Some strategies for disaster risk management before, during, and after a disaster include:
 Preparedness
Individuals, communities, businesses, and organizations can plan and train for disasters through
ongoing training, evaluation, and corrective action.
 Mitigation
The early phase of the disaster cycle, mitigation aims to reduce the risk of disasters by
preventing or reducing their cause, impact, and consequences.
 Resilience
Disaster risk management (DRM) activities increase the resilience of people, communities,
society, and systems to resist and absorb disasters.
 Coordination centers
Local, district, and state coordination centers support disaster management groups by
coordinating information, resources, and services.
 Privacy preference
Preserving users' privacy is an additional requirement that must be addressed before, during,
and after an emergency.
 Compensatory disaster risk management
This includes preparedness, response, and recovery activities, as well as a mix of financing
instruments.

8. Differentiate disaster mitigation and disaster prevention with examples (KTU model
QP)
Disaster prevention is the action taken to avoid or stop a disaster from occurring, while disaster
mitigation is the action taken to reduce the damaging effects of an unavoidable disaster:
 Disaster prevention
Actions taken to eliminate the root causes of disaster vulnerability. Examples include:
 Building dams or embankments to prevent flooding
 Regulating land use to prevent settlement in high-risk areas
 Designing buildings to withstand earthquakes
 Immunizing against vaccine-preventable diseases
 Community awareness and education
 Disaster mitigation
Actions taken to reduce the damaging effects of a disaster. Examples include:
 Keeping homes away from floodplains
 Engineering bridges to withstand earthquakes
 Creating and enforcing building codes to protect property from hurricanes
 Buying flood insurance
 Constructing floodwalls around damaged facilities
 Installing new drainage facilities along damaged roads
 Adding fire-suppression systems at facilities damaged by wildfire

PART B
Long answer Questions
1. Explain types of vulnerabilities and approaches to assess them.(14 marks)
Vulnerability is a key factor in determining the impact of a disaster on a community or
individual. There are several types of vulnerability, including: physical, social, economic,
environmental, and attitudinal.

Vulnerability assessments help identify which communities are most at risk and why, so that
appropriate measures can be taken to reduce their vulnerability.

Physical Vulnerability
The physical vulnerability of an area also depends on its geographic proximity to the source and
origin of the disasters e.g. if an area lies near the coast lines, fault lines, unstable hills etc.
Examples of physical vulnerability include:
 Proximity to hazard-prone areas: Areas located near fault lines, floodplains, or coastal
regions are more physically vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes.
 Age and quality of infrastructure: Older buildings or poorly constructed infrastructure may
have weaker structural integrity, making them more vulnerable to collapse during
earthquakes or severe weather events.
 Fragile ecosystems: Areas with delicate ecosystems, such as coral reefs or wetlands, are
vulnerable to damage from storms, pollution, or sea-level rise

Economic Vulnerability

Economic vulnerability of a community can be assessed by determining how varied its sources
of income are, the ease of access and control over means of production (e.g. farmland, livestock,
irrigation, capital etc.), adequacy of economic fall back mechanisms and the availability of
natural resources in the area.

Examples of economic vulnerability include:

  Poverty and low income: Individuals or communities living in poverty have limited
resources and means to withstand or recover from the economic impacts of disasters.
 Dependence on specific sectors: Areas heavily reliant on a single industry, such as
agriculture or tourism, are vulnerable to disruptions and economic losses if that sector is
affected by a disaster.

Social Vulnerability
A socially vulnerable community has weak family structures, lack of leadership for decision
making and conflict resolution, unequal participation in decision making, weak or no community
organizations, and the one in which people are discriminated on racial, ethnic, linguistic or
religious basis.
Examples of social vulnerability include:
 Marginalized communities: Vulnerable populations, such as ethnic minorities, indigenous
groups, or migrants, may face social disadvantages that hinder their access to resources,
information, and support during disasters.
 Limited access to healthcare: Communities with limited access to healthcare facilities or
services are more socially vulnerable, as they may face challenges in receiving medical
assistance during emergencies.

Attitudinal Vulnerability

A community which has negative attitude towards change and lacks initiative in life resultantly
become more and more dependent on external support. They cannot act independently. Their
sources of livelihood do not have variety, lacks entrepreneurship and do not possess the concept
of collectivism.

2. Explain core elements of disaster risk management (8 marks, Dec 22, Dec 23)

CORE ELEMENTS/PHASES OF DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Disaster Risk Management Framework In this framework, the disaster risk management process
(cycle) comprises the following main elements:

1. Risk identification and assessment:

This involves determining and analysing the potential, origin, characteristics and behaviour of
the hazard – e.g. frequency of occurrence/magnitude of consequences.

2. Prevention and mitigation:

Planning and implementation of structural interventions (e.g. dams, sea defence) or non-
structural measures such as disaster legislation.

3. Disaster preparedness and emergency management: Activities and measures taken in advance
to ensure effective response to the impact of a hazard, including measures related to timely and
effective warnings as well as evacuation and emergency planning.

3. Recovery/Reconstruction: Decisions and actions taken in the post-disaster phase with a

view to restoring the living conditions of the affected population
 4. Explain factors that decide nature of disaster response (6 marks)
Several factors influence the nature of disaster response, including:
 Preparedness
Individuals, businesses, communities, and organizations can prepare for disasters by planning
and training. Preparedness can include ongoing training, evaluating, and corrective action.
 Monitoring and warning
The ability to monitor hazard precursors, forecast their evolution, and issue warnings is
important.
 Risk knowledge
Understanding the relevant hazards and the vulnerabilities of people and society to those
hazards is important.
 Response capability
Authorities need to have the knowledge, plans, and capacities to take timely and appropriate
action in response to risks.
 Communication
The ability to share information and communicate with disaster management teams is
important.
 Economic possibilities
The economic possibilities of households can affect disaster preparedness.
 Experience with disasters
Experience with disasters can affect disaster preparedness.
 Population's awareness level
The population's awareness level about disasters can affect disaster preparedness

5. What is disaster preparedness? Explain the components of a comprehensive

disaster preparedness strategy. (6 marks)

Disaster preparedness is a set of actions taken to prepare for and respond to a disaster. These
actions can be taken by individuals, communities, organizations, or governments

The essential elements include the following:

 Hazard, risk & vulnerability assessment
 Response mechanisms and strategies
 Preparedness plans
 Coordination
 Information management
 Early warning systems
 Resource mobilization
 Community based disaster preparedness.
 6. Explain various disaster response actions (8 marks Dec 22, Dec 23)
Disaster response actions are classified into various types:
1. Search and rescue
This activity is usually conducted by well-trained volunteers in finding disaster victims,
that is, lost, sick or injured persons in either a remote to access areas such as water
bodies, desert, forest or probably in the course of mass population movement. The search
and rescue operations are often directed at, locating endangered persons at an emergency
incident, removing those persons from danger, treating the injured, and providing for
transport to an appropriate health care facility.
2. First aid and emergency medical care
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by
non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical
treatment can be accessed. Emergency medical care is immediate paramedic attention to
severe wounds and the rapid transportation of the ill or injured to a health facility.
3. Evacuation
Evacuation is an organised movement of people from an area at risk to a safer place.
Types of Evacuation: Precautionary evacuation before disaster
Protective evacuation after disaster
Evacuations for reconstruction purposes
4. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
SOPs are the set of standard procedures which could guide the team in effective operation.
SOPs specify the way in which individuals or units will carry out their functions under the
plan It consist of 4 stages:
1) During normal times 2) Alert/warning and 3) During disaster 4) Rehabilitation
5. Relief Aid
provision of assistance during an emergency that is meant to attend to a person’s immediate
requirements for survival or recovery It may include food, clothing, housing, medical care,
necessary social services and security. Relief aid must be targeted at the most vulnerable
first: Vulnerable children or orphans, females, pregnant women, sick or elderly populations.
6. Coordination and Communication
Good coordination and communication is crucial for combining resources effectively and
efficiently, in order to reach the disaster-affected more rapidly. It contributes to better
cooperation, reduces the level of duplication and helps to ensure a well-organised operation
7. Psychosocial support:
During a disaster, many may lose not only properties, but also dear ones which cause
negative psychological outcomes. Psychosocial support activities include identifying and
referring individuals requiring specialised support through professional mental health
services

7 State and explain the types of disaster mitigation measures. (4 marks Dec 21, Dec 22)
Disaster mitigation measures cane be classifies as
Structural mitigation measures –
This refers to any physical contraction to reduce the impact of disaster which include engineering
measures and construction of hazard resistant protective structure sand infrastructures
Eg: earthquake resistant buildings, sea wall to prevent ocean tides etc.
Non structural mitigation measures
This refers to policies, awareness, knowledge development and operating practices that help in
reducing the risk an dimpact of disasters. Eg: building codes, early warning systems, public
awareness etc.

8. State and explain the types of disaster preparedness. (6 marks Dec 21, Dec 22)
Disaster preparedness can be classifies as
Target Oriented Preparedness –
Preparedness plans may be target specific. For example. Disaster preparedness plans for
vulnerable groups like women, children and old.
Task oriented preparedness
Disaster preparedness can be based on specific assigned tasks or plans for eg: preparation plans
to evacuate people in the case of cyclone.
Disaster oriented preparedness
Preparation plans could be based on specific disasters like cyclones, flood, earth quakes etc.
Preparing children to take cover under furniture during earthquake tremors is an example.

9. Identify the standard operating procedures to be followed during a disaster stage and
explain. (8 marks Dec 21, Dec 22)

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

SOPs are the set of standard procedures which could guide the team in effective operation. SOPs
specify the way in which individuals or units will carry out their functions under the plan
It consist of 4 stages:
1) During normal times
2) Alert/warning and
3) During disaster
4) Rehabilitation
1. During Normal Times:
Formulate and distribute disaster preparedness plans
Produce maps of Wards/Village Tracts showing areas most vulnerable to disasters.
Make a list of vehicles and motor boats that can be used for emergency work
Create shelters and safe locations for use during disasters Conduct educational talks on natural
disasters and rehearse periodically for the local
community Provide organising and training activities.
2. Alert/warning stage:
Dissemination of news obtained through early warning systems to the community. Administrative
bodies and NGOs to fly warning flags in the vulnerable areas of the Ward/Village Tract. Alert and
mobilise members of the Security services, Auxiliary Fire Brigade, communication agencies, the Red
Cross, Youth, members of People’s Strength and NGOs. Make the necessary arrangements to
evacuate the public to safe locations
3. During Disaster Stage:
Safeguard the road and water transport routes
 Evacuate the community from vulnerable areas to safe locations Operate relief camps and
supervisory centres. Keep available relief and aid supplies at the ready to launch relief operations
quickly and effectively
4. During Rehabilitation Stage:
Conduct field inspections in affected areas as soon as possible and provide the necessary
assistance and support.
Make arrangements to provide health care and social protection to disaster victims. Clear
collapsed buildings and trees as quickly as possible; restoration of transportation, electricity and
water supply and telephone and telegraph services as soon as possible.
reclaim contaminated wells and ponds for access to clean water and dig new wells fordrinking
water.

10. Define disaster risk reduction. Explain measures for disaster risk reduction (8 marks,
Dec 22)
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is the practice of developing and implementing policies, strategies,
and practices to reduce the risk of disasters:
 Prevent new disasters: Reduce the risk of new disasters
 Reduce existing disasters: Reduce the risk of existing disasters
 Manage residual risk: Manage any remaining risk
 Analyze and reduce causal factors: Systematically analyze and reduce the factors that cause
disasters

The following measures should be taken for disaster risk reduction:

1. Governance
2. Risk identification, assessment, monitoring and early warning
3. Knowledge management and education
4. Reducing underlying risk factors
5. Preparedness for effective response and recovery.
1. GOVERNANCE: Governance, as defined by UNDP, is the exercise of political, economic and
administrative authority in the management of a country's affairs at all levels. Governance is the
umbrella under which disaster risk reduction takes place. The existence of public awareness, political
will and sufficient capacity are key to making disaster risk reduction (DRR) an underlying principle in all
relevant development sectors. With its significant experience in DRR, democratic governance, and
development, UNDP is taking forward the practical and conceptual work on DRR governance and
mainstreaming. Governance influences the way in which national and sub-national actors (including
governments, parliamentarians, public servants, the media, the private sector, and civil society
organizations) are willing and able to coordinate their actions to manage and reduce disaster-related
risk. Good governance include broad participation, transparency, accountability, efficiency and
responsiveness.
2. RISK IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND EARLY WARNING Risk identification (RI) is a
set of activities that detect, and identifies all potential risks that could have a negative impact. It
includes identifying the amount of exposure and vulnerability of a disaster.
 3. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION
Knowledge management is a process of sharing information within an organization and spread among
the peoples. It is the process of acquiring information about a hazard from higher authorities and taking
preparedness prior to the hazard. It can be done through awareness classes.
5. PREPAREDENESS FOR EFFECTIVE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY Disaster preparedness involves the
knowledge and practices developed by governments, communities and recovery organisations
for effectively responding and recovering from the impacts of hazard.

11. Define relief in disaster management. Identify principles guiding relief. (6 marks, Dec
22, Dec 23)

In disaster management, relief is the immediate response to a disaster to provide basic needs to
those affected. It includes:
 Food, water, and clothing
 Temporary shelter
 Emergency health care
 Preventing disease and disability
 Repairing vital services like transport and telecommunications
 Relocation
 Rescue

Principles guiding Relief

 Response to disasters must have humanitarian imperative.
 Aid is provided based on needs alone and must be done without discrimination of any
kind (race, creed or nationality of the recipients).
 Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint.
 Aid agencies do not to act as instruments of government foreign policy.
 That culture and custom are respected in response and relief activities.
 Disaster response is built on local capacities.
 Ways be are developed to involve programme beneficiaries in the management of relief
aid.
 Relief aid would reduce future vulnerabilities to disaster as well as meeting basic needs.
 Accountable to both those we seek to assist and those from who we accept resources.
 Information, publicity and advertising activities shall recognise disaster victims as
dignified human beings and not hopeless objects.