NDMA IGNOU Unit v Responding to Disasters TM III Refer 28to 55 Only

7/24/2019 NDMA IGNOU Unit v Responding to Disasters TM III Refer 28to 55 Only

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TRAINING MANUAL

BOOKLET III

Responding to Disasters

FOR THE PROJECT ON

Capacity Building

in

Disaster Management

for Government Officials

and

Representatives of Panchayati Raj

Institutions & Urban Local Bodies

at District Level

(An Initiative of National Disaster Management Authority and Indira

Gandhi National Open University)

A-PDF MERGER DEMO
http://www.a-pdf.com/http://www.a-pdf.com/


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National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

The NDMA has the Prime Minister of India as its Chairman. Other members of the Authority,not

exceeding nine, are to be nominated by the chairman. The chairman of the NDMA may designate one

of the members to be the Vice-Chairman of the NDMA. The Vice-Chairman of NDMA has the status

of Cabinet Minister and other members have status of Ministers of State. The NDMA has been assigned

the responsibility of laying down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring

timely and effective response to disaster.

The NDMA has the following responsibilities:

Lay down policies on Disaster Management;

Approve the National Plan;

Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in

accordance with the National Plan;

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan;

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the

Government of India for the purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster

or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects;

Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plan for disaster

management;

Recommend provision of funds for purpose of mitigation;

Take such measures for the prevention of disaster, or mitigation, or preparedness, and capacity

building for dealing with the threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may consider

necessary;

Provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined

by the Central Government;

Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of

Disaster Management (NIDM).


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The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), since its establishment in 1985, has contributed

significantly to the development of higher education in the country through the open and distance

learning mode. IGNOU follows a learner-centric approach and provides seamless access to quality

education, innovative learning, flexible methodology, Information and Communication Technology,

professional skills and training.

The education is disseminated in conventional, as well as emerging inter-disciplinary areas, such as

consumer protection, disaster management, environment, human rights, women empowerment andchild development, participatory forest management, participatory planning, resettlement and

rehabilitation, food and nutrition. Various literacy programmes focusing on community awareness,

education and training in need-based and relevant areas have been successfully undertaken by the

University as a part of its strategy of social intervention and community capacity building.

Extension education is an important component of academic activities of IGNOU. It provides much

needed linkages between the community and the University. The University has established a network

of 43 Regional Centres, 6 Sub-Regional Centres and 1,400 Study Centres all over the country to

provide easy access and effective support services to the learners. These include Programme Study

Centres, as well as Special Study Centres for SC/STs, minorities, differently-abled learners, jail

inmates, and personnel of different wings of Defence and Para-military services.

The University develops its academic programmes through 21 Schools of Study comprising Faculty

trained in distance education methodology. The academic programmes of the University have multi-

media support. The University has facilities for audio, video, radio, television, interactive radio and

video counselling, as well as tele-conferencing. IGNOU has also been identified as the nodal agency

for running a 24-hour educational TV channel called Gyan Darshan. It has the unique distinction of

combining the conventional role of a University with that of an apex body in the promotion, coordination

and maintenance of standards in distance education, through continuous assessment and accreditation

of the Open and Distance Learning institutions.


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Universe of the Project on Capacity Building in Disaster Management for Government

Officials and Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies

at District level.

Project is being undertaken in 11 States, covering the following 54 Districts:

1. Andhra Pradesh:Anantapur, Mahabubnagar, Nellore, Prakasham, Srikakulam.

2. Assam: Barpeta, Cachar.Dhubri, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur.

3. Bihar: Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Sitamarhi, Supaul.

4. Haryana: Ambala, Gurgaon, Panipat, Rohtak, Yamuna Nagar.

5. Himachal Pradesh: Chamba, Kinnaur, Kangra, Kullu, Manali.

6. Kerala: Ernakulam, Idukki, Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanad.

7. Maharashtra: Nasik, Pune, Raigarh, Satara, Thane.

8. Orissa: Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara.

9. Tripura: Dhalai, North Tripura, South Tripura, West Tripura.

10. Uttarakhand: Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi.

11. West Bengal: Bankura, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Purba Medinipur, South Dinajpur.


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TRAINING MANUAL

BOOKLET III

Responding to Disasters

FOR THE PROJECT ON

Capacity Building

in

Disaster Management

for Government Officials

and

Representatives of Panchayati Raj

Institutions & Urban Local Bodies

at District Level

(An Initiative of National Disaster Management Authority

and

Indira Gandhi National Open University)


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PROJECT TEAM NDMA

PROJECT TEAM IGNOU

Prof. Pardeep Sahni

MANUAL COORDINATION

Prof. Pardeep Sahni

Prof. E. Vayunandan

Prof. Uma Medury

Prof. Alka Dhameja

Prof. Dolly Mathew

Dr. Durgesh Nandini

Mr. Amit Jha, Joint Secretary (A)

Ms. Sujata Saunik, Joint Secretary (Policy &Plan)

Mr. S.S. Yadav, Director (Finance)

Ms. Madhulika Gupta, Director (MIT)

Mr. R.K. Singh, Joint Advisor (Policy & Plan)

Ms. Preeti Banzal, Director (CBT)

Mr. P. Thakur, Under Secretary

Mr. Rajendra Prasad, (SO, CBT)

Mr. Naval Prakash (SRO)

Prof. Alka Dhameja

MANUAL FORMATING AND COMPILATION

Mr. Rahul Chhabra

COVER PAGE DESIGN

February, 2012 Indira Gandhi National Open University and National Disaster Management Authority, 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means,

without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University and the National Disaster

Management Authority.

Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

Lasertypesetted at Graphic Printers, 204, Pankaj Tower, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I, Delhi-110091.

Printed at :

Mr. Manjit Singh

PRODUCTION

Prof. Vinod K. Sharma, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.

MANUAL EDITING

Mr. Amit Srivastava

GRAPHICS

Mr. Simanchal Pattnaik and Mr. Manoj Dash

BOOKLET WRITING


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MESSAGE

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was set up in 2005 by the Government of India

as an apex body to spearhead and implement a holistic and integrated approach to Disaster Management.

NDMA has the responsibility for laying down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management and

coordinating their enforcement and implementation for ensuring preparedness mitigation and timely and

effective response to disasters. NDMA has launched a number of initiatives to take the message of

disaster management to all the stakeholders including community at the grass root levels. NDMA has

taken up mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction concerns in Government departments, States, Districts

and civil society, School and College education, technical education,Panchayati Raj Institutions andUrban Local Bodies. NDMA has laid down the framework of capacity building and mainstreaming

DM for various disasters through its National Disaster Management Guidelines.

Communities are the first responders in the event of any disaster and the representatives of local

administrative bodies have a critical role in adoption of the new culture of disaster management in India.

The National Disaster Management Authority is collaborating with the Indira Gandhi National Open

University (IGNOU) to undertake a pilot project on Capacity Building in Disaster Management for

Government Officials and Representatives ofPanchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies at

the District Levels. Under this project, a total of 4050 government officials and 12150 elected representatives

ofPanchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies would be trained in Disaster Management

through Face to Face Training Programmes at the district level in 54 hazard prone districts of 11 States.

The Face to Face Training Programmes will focus on the critical aspects of prevention, preparedness,

mitigation, relief and immediate response, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery with respect to disasters.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University has a long experience of teaching courses in disaster management

and has developed rich knowledge on the subject. This project combines their knowledge with the

various guidelines evolved by NDMA for Disaster Management.

I hope that this project would lead to larger programmes on capacity building of elected representatives

of local bodies in the country and learning attained through such trainings will reach the community via

the identified facilitators. This will help enhance preparedness, strengthen mitigation and fulfill the vision

outlined in the National Policy on Disaster Management 2009, To build a safe and disaster resilientIndia by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster oriented and technology driven strategy

through a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response.

New Delhi

20 June 2011

(M. SHASHIDHAR REDDY)

Vice-Chairman

National Disaster Management Authority

Government of India


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FOREWORD

Accelerated pace of development brings with it the perils of unsafe living, pressures on non-renewable

resources, densely populated spaces and environmental degradation among others. As a consequence,

the frequency of catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides, droughts, and fires has

gone up. We hear of disasters so often that we as individuals are sadly becoming immune to them. We

display concern and anxiety when these calamities happen, but by and large depend on the concerned

stakeholders to do the needful, who on the other hand, have a reactive rather than pro-active approach

to disasters. Stitching up of loose ends takes place after an event and then because of lack of follow-up

in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation, the affected areas are rendered further vulnerable to such

events that keep happening, leading to enormous loss of human resources in particular.

Making disaster management more effective and efficient, against this backdrop, is not just a pressing

concern, but an overarching problem facing the stakeholders in disaster management. Many efforts in

the past, both governmental and non-governmental, have been initiated in this direction. Many committees,

forums and organizations, both national and international, have reiterated the pressing need of managing

disasters. There is no dearth of material in the form of reports, books, articles and manuals on the

subject. From relief and response to preparedness and long-term recovery, all major facets of disaster

management have been examined at length. Yet, the need to revisit the issue is still pertinent, as it opens

up fresh avenues of analyzing its different aspects. This Manual tries to focus on the knowledge, skill

and attitude inculcation on the various facets of disaster management in a novel manner. It emphasizes

the role and relevance of governmental functionaries and representatives at the grassroots level, andreiterates the need for community understanding and participation in the disaster management process.

The interconnection between disasters and development seems to be the core concern of the Manual.

This Manual, which is an integral part of the Project on Capacity Building for Government Officials

and Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies at District Level, addresses

the concern of empowering the officials and functionaries at the grassroots level. These are the people

who are in constant touch with the community. When the disaster strikes they are the immediate responders

along with the community to go to the site with relief. Their training in disaster management is the best

example of preparedness needed for disaster management in the country. Having myself worked in the

area of capacity building of PRIs for over two decades and being deeply involved in Rural Development

interventions both at national and international levels, I am convinced that this Manual will be able to liveup to the expectations of the participants. I am confident that it would be of substance and value to the

grassroots level officials and functionaries, and all those interested in the area of disaster management.

(Professor. M. Aslam)

Vice Chancellor IGNOU


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Training Manuals are meant for the enhancement of knowledge, skills and attitudes of trainees. If this

endeavour succeeds in moulding the mindsets of the target groups of this Project; a ray of satisfaction

would be visible; not to mention the collective joy that would ensue. Many people are involved in such

efforts. Acknowledgement is a small way of expression of gratitude to them. I wish to express my

foremost appreciation for General N.C.Vij, Former Vice-Chairman, National Disaster Management

Authority (NDMA), during whose tenure, the Project was conceptualized. I am equally obliged and

beholden to Shri M. Shashidhar Reddy, Hon'ble Vice-Chairman, NDMA, for his guidance, constructivecriticism, support and blessings towards the final execution of this Project.

I extend deep gratitude to Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Former Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National

Open University (IGNOU) for his support and encouragement. He has been involved with all the initial

phases of the Project. I am indebted to Prof. M. Aslam, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU for his kind cooperation

and support towards the implementation of the project. My deep gratefulness to all those from the NDMA

who have sincerely worked for making this Project a reality. Special gratitude is in place to the senior

officers of the NDMA namely Mr. Amit Jha, Ms. Sujata Saunik, Mr. R.K Singh, Mr. S.S Yadav, Ms.

Madhulika Gupta, and Ms. Preeti Banzal for their constant cooperation, as well as for their content input

on the NDMA. I would also like to thank Mr. P. Thakur, Mr. Rajendra Prasad and Mr. Naval Prakash of

the NDMA Project Team for their valuable help on Manual Draft. Other contributors from NDMA are

also worthy of my deep gratitude. But for them, the important details in the Manual would not have been

clarified. I thus thank Dr. C. Jayakumar (Sr. Consultant Psychological Care), Shri S.N. Mahapatra (Sr.

Consultant Earthquake & Tsunami), Dr. M.C. Abani (Sr. Consultant Nuclear & Radiological Hazards),

Sh. B.B. Gadnayak (Consultant IRS), Dr. T.S. Sachdeva (Consultant Medical Preparedness), Sh.

V.K. Jain (SAO), Dr. A.K. Sinha (SRO) for their noteworthy advice and suggestions.

Professor Pardeep Sahni of the Faculty of Public Administration, IGNOU deserves heartfelt thanks for

conceiving and implementing his vision on the Project. He has coordinated each aspect of the Manual

with enthusiasm. I am truly thankful to Prof. Dolly Mathew of the Faculty for her dedicated compilation

of audio and video components of the Project. Prof. Uma Medury deserves my gratitude for proof

reading Manual booklets thoroughly. Other members of the Faculty namely Prof. E. Vayunandan and

Dr. Durgesh Nandini need to be exclusively thanked for their commitment and sincerity towards the

conduct of Project Workshops in different states of the country. In fact, all Faculty members deserve

earnest thanks for their genuine involvement in the Project Workshops. I express deep appreciation for

the Research and Teaching Assistants of the Faculty, namely Ms. Sandhya Chopra for her assistance on

the audio-video input, and also Mr. Senthamizh Kanal, Mr. Senthil Nathan, Ms. R. Anitha and Ms. G.

Niranjani for their ceaseless help and support in this endeavour. Dr. Rajwant, Former Consultant with the

Faculty, deserves a special thanks for preparing guidelines and slides for the Project Facilitators.

I express my deepest appreciation for the writers of this Booklet Mr. Simanchal Pattnaik and Mr. Manoj

Dash. My earnest thanks to Professor Vinod K. Sharma of the Indian Institute of Public Administration

(IIPA) for meticulously undertaking the content editing of all the 4 Booklets of the Manual. I am truly

beholden to all those who have been involved with the different aspects of the Manual, be it typing of the

manuscript, running errands for the Workshops, and translation tasks. Mr. Lalit Kumar, Mr. Devender Pal

Rawat, Ms.Yogita Vasandani, Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, Mr. Amit Kumar Thakur and Mr. Dheeraj Kumar

thus deserve my heartfelt thanks. I also owe special thanks to Ms. Abha Mishra, Project Officer, GOI

UNDP DRR Programme, New Delhi and Mr. Anshu Sharma of SEEDS, New Delhi for their valuable

comments on the drafts of the Manual Booklets. Deep gratitude is in place to all those who have worked

very hard on the presentation style of the Booklets. I am grateful to Mr. Amit Srivastava for creating the

graphics, Mr. Tamal Basu for finalizing the illustrations, Mr. Rahul Chhabra for designing the cover pages,

Mr. Manjit Singh for printing, and Graphic Printers for laser composition of the Booklets.

(Alka Dhameja)


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INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

The Pilot Project on Capacity Building in Disaster Management for Government Officials and

Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies at District Level is a joint effort

of Indira Gandhi National Open University and National Disaster Management Authority. The Project is

aimed to build and strengthen the capacity of the target groups in the areas of disaster prevention,

preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.It is being undertaken in selected 11 States, identified on the basis of their vulnerability to various natural

and man-made hazards. These States have been selected from all five Regions namely North-East

(Assam, Tripura); North (Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand); East (Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal);

West (Maharashtra); and South (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala); covering the following 54 districts, 4 from

Tripura and 5 from each of the other ten identified States under the Project:

Andhra Pradesh: Anantapur, Mahabubnagar, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam.

Assam: Barpeta, Cachar, Dhubri, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur.

Bihar: Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Sitamarhi, Supaul.

Haryana: Ambala, Gurgaon, Panipat, Rohtak, Yamuna Nagar.

Himachal Pradesh: Chamba, Kinnaur, Kangra, Kullu, Manali.

Kerala: Ernakulam, Idukki, Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanad.

Maharashtra: Nasik, Pune, Raigarh, Satara, Thane.

Orissa: Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara.

Tripura: Dhalai, North Tripura, South Tripura, West Tripura.

Uttarakhand: Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi.

West Bengal: Bankura, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Purba Medinipur, South Dinajpur.

From each district, 300 people shall be trained under the Project, out of which 75 will be Government

officials and 225 will be the representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local

Bodies (ULBs). Thus, in all, 16,200 Government Officials (GOs) and representatives of PRIs/ULBsshall be trained in Disaster Management under this Project.

Objectives of the Project have been to:

Build and strengthen the capacity of Government Officials and representatives of PRIs and ULBs

in the areas of disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.

Encourage the GOs as well as PRI and ULB representatives to enlist the support of local institutions,

NGOs, CBOs, etc., for community awareness, as well as capacitate the officials and local institutions

to procure the support from other relevant quarters.

Reinforce the skills of officials and representatives in appropriate hazard assessment, vulnerability

analysis, resource analysis and local capacity assessment.

Develop the required disaster management knowledge base of the GOs, as well as PRI and ULBrepresentatives.

Formulate training modules, including standardized training methodology, technical support for

organizing training programmes on emergency preparedness and management for the officials and

representatives.

Develop community based disaster management systems for their specific needs in view of the

regional diversities and multi-hazard vulnerabilities through a consultative process.


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Disseminate important concepts of NDMA Guidelines in the various regional languages through

multi-media technologies.

Enable officials who are functioning at the district levels to be better equipped to deal with natural

disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides and other natural phenomena that are likely to

cause damage.

Train the team of district officials to enable them to introduce basic guidelines/procedures and

become aware of safety and evacuation techniques, as well as seismic-resistant constructions.

Equip the functionaries at district level to immediately arrange for basic relief work, in case ofcommon natural/man-made disasters without waiting for help/ instructions from external sources.

Methodology of Execution:

In the identified 54 multi-hazard districts, a systematic methodology has been adopted under the Project,

which includes:

1. Identification of Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs), in each of the 11 States for organization

of Pilot Face-to-Face Training Programme (FFTP) for Training Need Analysis (TNA).

2. Development of background material and audio and video programmes to be provided to the

participants of FFTPs.

3. Translation of background material in Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, and

Telugu.

4. The Study Centre Coordinator has been identified as the nodal officer representing IGNOU for

carrying out the following activities pertaining to the Project:

To be in touch with the Nodal Officer from the District Administration to get the names of the

participants for attending FFTPs. NDMA is responsible for passing on the names and contact

details of the Nodal Officers to the Study Centre Coordinator, once the same is finalized and

conveyed by the district administration.

To organize the Capacity-Building exercise through 8 FFTPs of two day duration each, to be

attended by 35-40 participants identified by the district administration for each FFTP.

2 Resource Persons identified from different fields of study from each Study Centre have

been assigned to conduct 8 FFTPs of two day duration each.

Mock Drill of around two hours on the second day of each FFTP has been provisioned to

demonstrate skills and methods required in rescue operations, including first aid techniques/

skills.

The Main Stakeholders of the Project are:

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

State Governments

State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)

District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) District Administration

The Project aims at training the participants who shall further help the community to undertake required

tasks for effective disaster management.


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INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKLET

Disasters are calamitous, but if not responded to properly, they can turn even moredevastating. This

Booklet titled Responding to Disasters comprehensively deals with the concepts of Evacuation,

Search and Rescue by underlining their principles and cardinals. The key concepts in the Booklet

provide explanation to the terms like Buffer Stock Maintenance, Casualty Site Management,

Corporate Social Responsibility, Counselling, Critical Incident Stress De-briefing, EpidemiologicalProcedures and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Adequate response is dependent on the effectiveness

of the stakeholders involved. The Booklet attempts to bring home this point by elucidating the role

of Civil Defence, Non-Governmental Organizations, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Disaster

Response Force.

The Booklet explains disaster response management under two broad categories, namely Disaster

Response Management for Response Activities and Disaster Response for Specific Disasters. Response

activities focus on different response tasks such as Incident Response System, damage assessment,

relief distribution, health planning, shelter management, water purification, sanitation options, logistics

management, stress management; and relief to livestock. Responding to disasters such as earthquakes,

fires, cyclones and floods form a part of disaster-specific response management. The Booklet alsoexplains the functions of various response teams like carcass disposal, shelter management, water

and sanitation, quick first-aid, damage assessment, trauma counselling, as well as medical assistance

and first-aid. It analyzes the constraints in response and the ways of overcoming them. The Booklet

will help you all in understanding the nature of activities involved in different types of disasters; and

familiarize you with the response required of you in disaster aftermath.


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CONTENTS

SECTION TOPIC PAGE

Abbreviations 12

RESPONDING TO DISASTERS

1.1 Evacuation 15

1.2 Relevance of Search and Rescue 16

1.2.1 Characteristics of SAR 17

1.2.2 Basics of Search and Rescue 18

1.3 Concepts to Remember 19

1.4 Role of Stakeholders in Response 221.5 Disaster Response Management 28

1.5.1 Incident Response System 29

1.5.2 Damage Assessment 34

1.5.3 Relief Distribution 36

1.5.4 Shelter Management 39

1.5.5 Health Planning 42

1.5.6 Water Purification 44

1.5.7 Sanitation Options 46

1.5.8 Warehouse Maintenance 48

1.5.9 Relief to Livestock 50

1.5.10 Stress Management 51

1.5.11 Logistics Management 55

1.6 Disaster Response for Specific Disasters 56

1.6.1 Earthquakes 56

1.6.2 Cyclones 57

1.6.3 Floods 58

1.6.4 Droughts 59

1.7 How Does Disaster Response Actualize? 60

1.8 Overcoming the Constraints in Response 80

1.9 Dos and Donts 83

References 87


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12

ABBREVIATIONS

AIM : Anna Institute of Management

AC : Area Commander

ATI : Administrative Training Institute

BDMC : Block Disaster Management Committee

BDO : Block Development Officer

BSF : Border Security Force

CBO : Community Based Organization

CBRN : Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear

CEO : Chief Executive Officer

CD : Civil Defence

CISF : Central Industrial Security Force

CMO : Civil Military Operations

CRPF : Central Reserve Police Force

CRF : Central Reserve Force

CS : Chief Secretary

CSSR : Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue

CSR : CorporateSocial Responsibility

CWD : Civic Works Department

DC : Disctrict CollectorDDA : Detailed Damage Assessment

DDMA : District Disaster Management Authority

DDMP : District Disaster Management Plan

DGHS : Directorate General of Health Services

DM : Disaster Management

DMD : Disaster Management Department

DMT : Disaster Management Teams

EMR : Emergency Medical Response

EOC : Emergency Operations Centre

ESF : Emergency Support Function

FFTP : Face-to-Face Training Programme

GoI : Government of India


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13

GPDMP : Gram Panchayat Disaster Management Plan

IC : Incident Commander

ICDS : Integrated Child Development Services

ICMR : Indian Council of Medical Research

ICP : Incident Command Post

IGNOU : Indira Gandhi National Open University

IMD : India Meteorological Department

IRS : Incident Response System

IRT : Incident Response Team

ITBP : Indo-Tibetan Border Police

L&FS : Logistic and Finance Section

L&FSC : Logistic and Finance Section Chief

MHA : Ministry of Home Affairs

MFR : Medical First Response

NBC : Nuclear Biological Chemical

NCC : National Cadet Corps

NCMC : National Crisis Management Committee

NDMA : National Disaster Management Authority

NDRF : National Disaster Response Force

NEC : National Executive Committee

NGOs : Non-Governmental OrganizationsNICD : National Institute for Communicable Diseases

NISA : National Industrial Security Academy

NO : Nodal Officer

NRHM : National Rural Health Mission

NSS : National Service Scheme

NYKS : Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan

NYC : National Yuva Cooperative

OSC : Operation Section Chief

OS : Operation Section

PDMP : Panchayat Disaster Management Plan

POL : Petroleum Oil and Lubricant

PRIs : Panchayati Raj Institutions


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14

PS : Planning Section

PSC : Planning Section Chief

PSSMHS : Psycho-Social Support and Mental Health Services

PTSD : Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PWD : Public Works Department

QRMT : Quick Reaction Medical Teams

RC : Relief Camp

RCC : Reinforced Concrete Cement

RO : Response Officer

RDA : Rapid Damage Assessment

SA : Staging Area

SAR : Search and Rescue

SDMA : State Disaster Management Authority

SDO : Sub-Divisional Officer

SDRF : State Disaster Response Force

SEOC : State Emergency Operations Centre

SOS : Save Our Souls

TNA : Training Needs Analysis

TOT : Training of Trainers

ULB : Urban Local Body

VDMP : Village Disaster Management PlanVIP : Ventilated Improved Pit


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15

RESPONDING TO DISASTERS

An ounce of practice is far better than tons of precepts

(High Powered Committee Report, 2001)

The first priority in the response phase is to minimize loss of lives, in any disaster situation, by

undertaking search and rescue, as well as evacuation efforts for the affected people. The first

responder is the community and initial help comes only from them. This help needs to be converted

into a methodical and trained response if disaster management has to be effective. Each disaster

invokes a different type of response. For instance, response in earthquake aftermath would be

different from that of the aftermath of cyclones or floods. If evacuation, search and rescue remain

pertinent in each aftermath, their degree would vary from disaster to disaster, being minimum in case

of droughts. The fundamentals of disaster response rest on the principles of effective evacuation,

search and rescue. We have to be very clear about their meaning, nature and scope.

1.1 EVACUATION

Evacuation is the organized withdrawal from

an area for purposes of protecting the safety

of the areas inhabitants.

Types of Evacuation

Preventive: This is done much before

the disaster. On the first sight of warning,

peo ple are evacuat ed from the

vulnerable sites to safer places.

Protective:Sometimes, evacuation is

done as a precautionary measure to

guard against spread of diseases or an

impending disaster. Aim is to protect community from catastrophic situations.

Rescue-oriented:This type of evacuation is focused on rescue operations; where people have

already been hit by a disaster and have to be taken/flown to safer places. Thus, this type of

evacuation falls under Search and Rescue (SAR).

Reconstructive: This process of evacuation involves resettlement of evacuees in shelters

reconstructed at safe locations; thereby, this process follows SAR.

Phases of Evacuation

Warning

Order to Move

Source: ndma.gov.org


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16

Actual Evacuation

Evacuation Centre Management

Return to Former or New Place

DID YOU KNOW?

Plan for Actual Evacuation should:

Identify a safe place for evacuation

Ascertain shortest and safest route

Prepare alternative routes

Plan evacuation of livestock

Place road signs along evacuation routes

Prepare evacuation schedules and groupings

1.2 RELEVANCE OF SEARCH AND RESCUE

Graphic 1: Rescue Operation in Earthquake Aftermath

Search and Rescue or SAR, as it is called, is a technical activity rendered by a group of specially

trained personnel, who rescue and attend to the casualties under adverse conditions, where life is


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under threat. Search and rescue is organized in close cooperation with the community with a team

orientation. It is a procedure carried out immediately after a disaster to look for survivors and dead

ones.

DID YOU KNOW?

Searchis a methodical process, undertaken with the help of community and experts to

find out the whereabouts of disaster victims.

The first life saving procedure is Rescue of victims of disaster, without aggravating the

existing damage to their health and safety. Rescue operations often become haphazard

and hazardous due to fear and panic that grips nearly every unprepared individual

during a sudden disaster event. Hence, through prior training, education, mock exercises

and awareness among the local population, more lives can be saved and disabilities or

injuries can be minimized. Rescue is a team effort that needs coordination and planning

amongst the members for an optimum response operation. After the assessment, the

rescue team is generally in a position to adequately plan the rescue operation, which is

based on certain specifications such as manpower, equipment, and methods called the

rescue resources.

These are the most critical operations that are generally performed by local volunteers,

voluntary organizations and emergency agencies.

1.2.1 Characterstics of SAR

The characteristics of SAR process are:

Rescuers or manpower include trained

personnel and volunteers.

Tools or equipment depend on their

availability and needs of the situation. For

example, storm or earthquake damage may

require tools for lifting debris, whereas flood

damage may require boats, ropes, and life

preservers.

Time may be very limited for some victims. The first 24 hours after a disaster have been called

the Golden Day. This is the period during which injured or trapped victims have an 80 per

cent chance of survival if rescued. Thus, the method adopted by rescuers is most critical. They

have to be very particular about certain factors, which aim to:

i) Rescue the survivors trapped under the debris, from the damaged buildings or from

a cyclonic storm surge, flood, earthquake and fire.ii) Provide First-Aid services to the trapped survivors and dispatch them for medical

care and triage.

iii) Take quick and necessary actions for temporary support and protection to the

endangered/collapsed buildings or structures.

Source: Disaster Relief Activities mod.go.jp


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iv) Hand-over, recover and dispose-off the bodies of the deceased.

v) Train, demonstrate and raise awareness on how to use the local material for self-

rescue amongst the community people; and

vi) Form Disaster Response Teams.

DID YOU KNOW?

To avoid the problems associated with spontaneous actions, rescue efforts should be

planned and practiced in advance. The decision to attempt a rescue should be based on

two factors:

Risks involved

Overall goal of doing maximum good to the maximum number of people

1.2.2 Basics of Search and Rescue

Proper assessment saves time and improves better performance. Thus, it is essential to collect

information on the extent of the damage, assess the approach to the damaged area, ascertain theparticulars of the damage, and determine if any further damage is likely to occur. The assessment

can be done through two methods:

Sample Surveys

Interaction with community and concerned officials who can provide data

Search and Rescue is rendered by trained personnel, who follow the 3 key principles during the

survey or assessment:

LOOK: See physically the incidents and make a thorough visual inspection.

LISTEN: Listen to all sources of information from the community, and government records etc.Assess the community data regarding people in danger.

FEEL: Feel convinced regarding the facts, the gravity of the dangers involved and ones own

capacity to respond.

Source: Gujarat State Disaster/newshopper sulekha.com


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Rescue may be necessary when the individuals are:

Trapped under the ruins of collapsed buildings.

Buried under mud or landslide.

Cut off due to floods or damage to communication routes.

DID YOU KNOW?

The rescue parties must observe the following rules:

Do not trample over ruins

Do not remove rubble unless one is sure of not causing further collapse of building

or structure

Use manual method of removing the rubble

Use spades and pickaxes and be careful with the persons trapped underneath gas,

water pipes and high voltage electric cables

EXERCISE 1

LIST THE BASICS OF EVACUATION, SEARCH AND RESCUE

1.3 CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER

Buffer Stock Maintenance

Maintenance of buffer stocks means the advance stock piling at the

vulnerable pockets in terms of personnel and material resources. In

the planning stage, decision is taken on the buffering of relief materials

in the vulnerable pockets. Depending on the assessment of seasonal

vulnerability, time is fixed to go for buffer stock. Pre-buffering of

relief materials are kept in the identified place. This way of buffering

helps the community to sustain the entire period of disaster, be it

floods or droughts.

Casualty Site Management

Casualty site management is the management of the casualties

at the site of disasters. The basic aim is to prevent deaths,

disabilities and diseases. It means immediate care and

attention to the victims. The activities include the provision

of medical facilities, and transportation of the affected to the

health camp. The principle to be adhered to is to rescue

victims without aggravating their existing injuries.

Clinical Casualty Management

It deals with the management of the casualties, once they arrive at the hospital emergency. Response

begins with Communication, Transport, Hospital Alert, Expansion of the Casualty Area, Security,

Hospital Triage, Clinical Care, Support Services Medicines, Blood Bank, Light Arrangements,

Engineering, Sterilization, Medical Records etc., Public Relations and Information System, Medico-

legal Aspects, Discharge System, Documentation, and Disposal of Dead.

Source: Serve as a Buffer Stock/article.wn.com

Source: Mass Casualty at dipity.com


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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

CSR is also known as corporate responsibility, corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, responsible

business, sustainable responsible business, or corporate social performance. It is a form of corporate

self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism,

whereby business monitors and ensures its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms.

Corporate or business houses have to share the responsibility for the impact of its activities on the

environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders, and all other members of the public

sphere.

Counselling

It means providing of techniques and tips for coping with trauma and stress in a scientific and

methodical manner. A methodical counselling programme is always at the heart of handling post-

trauma stress disorder; a common consequence of a disaster situation, most evident in children and

women. A good counselling programme has to be generally based on empirical ratings, case studies

and clinical expertise. It must involve coping techniques based on description, classification and

diagnostic pattern of disaster related experiences.

Critical Incident Stress De-briefing

It is quite common for rescue workers to develop high levels of stress, due to

high magnitude of the disaster and the enormity of needs, and also due to

feeling of powerlessness, helplessness and hopelessness in a disaster situation.

The exposure to dead bodies can be very stressful. Therefore, it is necessary

that all workers be given an opportunity for emotional debriefing during their

work and also at the end of their work. Debriefing helps in mental health

recovery of the disaster workers. Debriefing involves going through, in detail,

the sequence of events as experienced by the workers, and helping the worker

to cope with stress more positively.

Epidemiological Surveillance

Epidemiological methods help in measuring and describing the causes and consequences of the

natural and man-made disasters. With the help of epidemiological methods, it is possible to gauge

the needs of population affected by disaster, relate the disbursal of resources to their needs, check

the adverse effects, review the efficacy of various health programmes, and prepare better plans for

the future. The common tools recognized for this purpose are rates, ratios and proportions. These

tools help in describing the distribution and magnitude of health and disease in the population. They

help in:

1) Preparing strategies to lessen morbidity and mortality in future, by identifying the risk factors.

2) Planning for warning and evacuation system.

3) Developing guidelines, and education and training programmes for generating public awareness

and preparedness.

4) Anticipating the future health consequences of disasters, and

5) Collecting and analyzing data for taking short-term and long-term decisions.

Source: Management: An

Integrated Approach to

Therapy/bookadda.com


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Graphic 2: Medical Surveillance at a Temporary Shelter

Epidemiological Procedures

For the distribution and the determinants of the disease, these procedures follow a scientific course

of action, or a standardized pattern, such as:

1. Defining the population to be studied

2. Defining the disease for study

3. Describing the distribution of the disease (descriptive epidemiology) by the factors of Time,

Place and Person

4. Measuring the disease

5. Formulating a hypothesis

6. Testing the hypothesis to determine the cause of the disease (analytical epidemiology)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is most visible in disaster aftermath, and thus psycho-social

support interventions help individuals, families and groups to build

human capacities, restore social cohesion and infrastructure along

with maintaining their independence, dignity and cultural integrity.

The greater the trauma, the more severe is the psychological distress

and social disability. The magnitude of psychological trauma and

subsequent experiences due to disasters like earthquakes and

tsunamis may be severe for a majority of people. The magnitude of

trauma in lesser gravity disasters may be less severe. The response process by government and non-

government organizations is directly related to the severity of the experience and is prolonged in thecase of higher magnitude disasters.

Psycho-Social Support and Mental Health Services (PSSMHS)

Apart from logistic and material help, the disaster-affected community requires PSSMHS. Psycho-

Social support in the aftermath of disasters helps in reducing the level of actual and perceived stress,

and in preventing adverse psychological and social consequences amongst disaster-affected community.

Source: Stress Management/wn.com


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The PSSMHS shall be considered as a continuum of the interventions as an important component

of general health services in disaster situations. Psycho-social support will comprise the general

interventions related to the larger issues of promoting or protecting psycho-social well-being through

relief work, meeting essential needs, restoring social relationships, enhancing coping capacities; and

promoting harmony among survivors. The individual psycho-social responses/reactions are directly

related to the type of trauma and severity of the disaster.

DID YOU KNOW?

Experiences in recent major disasters in India indicate that there is an increased

awareness about the role of PSSMHS. There is a need to create psycho-social support

to develop protective barriers for the community to reduce the long-term effects of disasters.

These protective resources are themselves vulnerable to the impact of disasters and they

decline or deteriorate in their capacities. In order to tap the community resources, three

important dimensions have been identified in the NDMA Guidelines: Human Capacity

(Physical and Mental Health), Social Ecology (Social Relations), and Cultural Capacity

(Communitys Values, Beliefs and Practices). These dimensions are complementary in

nature for the total well-being of people and the community.

EXERCISE 2

MAKE NOTES ON THE FOLLOWING:

CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE

PSSMHS

PTSD

1.4 ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN RESPONSE

1) NGOsThe NGOs perform a very important role in disaster response.

As per the NDMA Guidelines on NGOs, they:

Seek to strengthen local responses to prevent and address

issues of exploitation, trafficking and abuse.

Raise community awareness to identify and protect vulnerable

children.

Increase access to health, education, and shelter for working children.

Increase skills training and economic alternatives for youth and families.

Reintegrate and rehabilitate the destitute.

Provide psycho-social support; community reintegration; counselling and access to basic services.

Facilitate media campaigns on vulnerable issues.

Pursue policies to increase public and private funding.

Create awareness on womens maternal health; and

Provide avenues to promote equity and equality in access to services and benefits to dalits,

minorities, elderly, women and other disadvantaged sections of the society.

Source: Sansthan Society/

Working Gurgaon.olx.in


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2) Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)

NYKS was started in 1972 by the Ministry of Education (Now,

Ministry of Human Resource Development) with the objective

of providing the non-student rural youth with an opportunity to

help them grow and involve themselves in the nation-building-

activities. It is an autonomous organization of the Ministry of

Youth Affairs and Sports, Central Government, India. It has

undertaken the promotion of the National Yuva Co-operative

Society as a way to harness and channel the productivity

capacity of young people. The National Yuva Cooperative

(NYC) was developed to encourage economic ventures by

young people reflecting the spirit of self-help, participation and

co-operation. NYKS is fully involved with disaster response work in different states. In fact, their

cooperation is being sought to operationalize disaster management programmes. It aims to:

Promote and undertake employment oriented and income generating activities

Finance viable projects proposed by members

Provide services, raw materials, and assistance to young people

Create and provide marketing networks and support Provide skill development training

Promote and support community service activities

Encourage self-help groups, entrepreneurship and micro-enterprises among youth

Promote e-commerce; and

Help in increasing agricultural production as well as agro-based and rural-based industries

3) Civil Defence (CD)

Civil Defence (CD) in India operates under the statutory authority of the CD Act 1968. The organization

was raised in the year 1963.The aims of CD include saving of life, minimizing damage to property,

maintaining continuity of production in industries and keeping the public morale high in the event ofhostile attack.

CD Act has been amended, involving CD in disaster management framework. CD is a community

based voluntary organization and community will always be the first responder in the event of disaster.

They also play a stellar role in the field of public awareness and community capacity building. The

personnel of this organization are trained in fire fighting, medical preparedness, search and rescue,

communication and welfare, etc. All these services are related to disaster management and the

Government of India has taken adequate steps to revamp CD setup in the country.

DID YOU KNOW?

A group of 5 NSS Scouts and Guides Project Officers from vulnerable districts inTamil Nadu have been trained at Anna Institute of Management (AIM), Chennai. Project

Officers of National Service Scheme (NSS) were identified as Master Trainers from

Cuddalore District and were sensitized in disaster management. These 5 Master Trainers

in-turn organized the same sensitization training programme for all the 54 NSS

Programme Officers in the district. Information regarding disaster management,

importance of knowing the principles and practice of first-aid, especially during mass

Source: Nehru Yuva Kenra/gyws.org


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calamities, and various steps to be taken while encountering natural disasters were dealt

during this training programme. As part of implementing Disaster Risk Management

Programme, disaster management has been included as a subject in the training

curriculum of NCC, NSS Scouts and Guides, NYKS, Civil Defence, Sainik Boards etc.

The Programme envisages to discuss the strategy to include disaster management as part

of their training and link the volunteers at State, District, Block, Gram Panchayat and

village levels for effective disaster management.

4) Police Personnel

Police personnel are generally the first to arrive at disaster site. Police have a well-developed

communication system, wider-reach in the local area and familiarity with the local terrain. This makes

them better equipped to deal with disasters, primarily by maintaining security and law and order in

disaster affected area. NDMA, SDMA and some other organisations are constantly conducting training

programmes for the police personnel in Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR), Medical

First Response (MFR), and flood rescue.

5) Fire Services

Fire at the time of disaster or a fire disaster itself can kill within a few seconds, cause severe injuries and

permanent disfigurement. That is why the role of the fire brigade personnel in disaster response is of

utmost importance. Fire personnel must possess knowledge and skills in use of advanced fire-fighting

equipment such as Mist Technology Cylinder, worst case scenario, emergency preparedness, evacuation

of injured and burn casualty triage. The NDMA holds Mock Drills and Table Top exercises on fire

safety measures and effective fire services.

6) Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Body Representatives

The entire response process is based on certain specific tasks, in which Panchayati Raj and Urban

Local Body Representatives perform a facilitative role. These are:

Gathering Information

a) Ascertaining the places/people likely to be affected by disasters.

b) Providing prior warning.

c) Finding out the degree of damage in the aftermath of disaster.

d) Gathering information on victims.

e) Assessing risks and vulnerability on the

basis of information gathered.

Search, Rescue and Evacuation

a) Preparing SAR Kits.

b) Chalking out rescue methods and

resources.

c) Arranging transport facilities.

d) Activating the control room.

e) Arranging for emergency

communication facility. Source: Rescue/tripwow.trip.advisor.com


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f) Formulating disaster rescue and relief teams.

g) Prioritizing the use of Hand Grasps, Ropes, Ladders, Boats, Fire Extinguishers, Pulleys,

Sacks, Sickles, Hammers and Knots.

Clearing the Debris

a) Organizing volunteers to clear the debris.

b) Assessing the loss of lives and infrastructure.

c) Following standard debris removal procedures.

Providing for Temporary Shelter

a) Recycling of rubble.

b) Erecting of interim houses for livestock

and community.

c) Removing the garbage and polluting

material from around the shelters.

Maintaining Buffer Stocks in

Warehouses

a) Arranging for food, water and clothes.

b) Providing pesticides and lighting in

warehouses.

c) Providing for fire safety measures.

d) Inspecting the stores.

e) Cleaning and sanitizing warehouse area.

f) Examining the stocks.

g) Keeping the records.

Distributing Relief Material

a) Storing the relief material in clean

places and adequately maintaining

warehouses.

b) Making a plan for distribution.

c) Segregating dry rations from cooked

(wet) rations and livestock food from

human food.

d) Segregating food items from non-

food items.

e) Distributing standard relief material.

f) Preparing vulnerability indices for relief distribution, keeping in view the needs of children,

aged, women and disabled.

Source: At the Earthquake Disaster/monsters and critics.com

Graphic 3: Distribution of Relief Items

at a Disaster Affected Site


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g) Preparing feeding schedules.

h) Allotting relief duties to volunteers.

Managing Logistics

a) Preparing a list of contact persons.

b) Making/chalking out alternate routes to the affected areas.

c) Documenting the cargo and relief material.

d) Determining costs and expenditure of response work.

e) Preparing time schedules.

f) Keeping a record of all relief work.

g) Appointing/recruiting volunteers, relief officers and other personnel.

h) Liaisoning with non-government relief agencies at the national and international levels.

Formulating Strategies to involve the Community

a) Disseminating relevant information on relief work to

the community through meetings, distribution ofpamphlets and leaflets, as well as use of community

radio.

b) Generating awareness on the need to ration relief

supplies and hygiene maintenance.

c) Impressing upon the community to keep their

temporary shelters as clean as possible, and take

recourse to immunization programmes.

d) Telling community to take cognizance of the advice given by the health workers and

doctors in the area.e) Organizing regular meetings with community and community leaders.

f) Involving people in preparing relief schedules and allotting them specific relief duties.

g) Generating awareness on traditional wisdom to cope with crises.

Community Awareness Programmes being conducted by the NDRF

Source: Watershed Management Training

Camp/flickr.com


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7) National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

Mock Exercises conducted by NDRF

The NDRF performs a major role in disaster response. Presently, this Force is constituted of ten

battalions. Each battalion is mandated to provide 18 self-contained specialist search and rescue

teams of 45 personnel, each including engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medical/paramedics. The total strength of each battalion is approximately 1,158. These NDRF battalions are

located at 10 different locations in the country based on the vulnerability profile to cut down the

response time for their deployment. During the preparedness period/in a threatening disaster situation,

proactive deployment of these forces is carried out by the NDMA in consultation with state authorities.

AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY OF NDRF BATALLIONS


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Regular and intensive training, familiarization with the area of responsibility, carrying out mock drills

and joint exercises with the various stakeholders form the key functional parametres of this Force.

Four training centres have been mandated to be set up in Kolkata, Latur, Bhanu and Hyderabad

by respective paramilitary forces to train personnel from NDRF battalions of respective forces. The

NDRF units are mandated to impart basic training to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)

in their respective locations. Further, one national-level Disaster Management Academy will be set

up at Nagpur to conduct Training of Trainers (TOT) programmes, and to meet other national and

international commitments.

DID YOU KNOW?

When Cyclone Aila hit the coast of West

Bengal on May 25, 2009 with a wind

speed of 100-110 kms per hour and storm

surge with high waves (25 feet), NDRF

promptl y re sponded to the cal l of

Government of West Bengal, and 14 teams

(600 personnel) of NDRF from Kolkata

and Mundali were rushed to the spot.

Along with them 84 boats, life buoys, life-

jackets, fishing nets, relief materials and

medicines were provided in the affected

areas of district 24 Pargana, North and

South, for rescue and relief operations.

During the operation NDRF personnel

rescued around 2000 trapped persons including school children and evacuated them to

safer places. NDRF teams distributed about 50 truckloads of relief material to the

affected people. NDRF personnel distributed medicines to 30,000 cyclone victims and

food packets to 16,000 homeless victims of Sandesh Khali, Hingalganj, Hasanabad,

Sagar Island, Namkhana, Pathar Pratima and Gosaba areas of these districts.

EXERCISE 3

WHO ARE THE IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS IN RESPONSE? BRIEFLY NOTE

DOWN THEIR FUNCTIONS.

1.5 DISASTER RESPONSE MANAGEMENT

Response Management constitutes the functions of planning, execution and coordination. Planning in

the pre-disaster phase is the responsibility of various authorities created under the DM Act, the execution

of the plans has to be carried out by the various line departments of the Government and the existing

administrative structure in the country. For proper planning and ensuring the smooth execution of plans,bodies like NDMA, National Executive Committee (NEC), SDMA and State Executive Committee

(SEC) have been created at the National and State Level. At the District level,planning, execution

and coordinationof all the activities related to disaster management have been vested in the DDMA

headed by District Magistrate. The Chairperson of the Zila Parishad has, however, also been placed as

the Co-Chairperson of the DDMA to elicit community participation in Disaster Management. The

responsibility for disaster response clearly lies with the District Magistrate being the head of the District

administration.

NDRF personnel shifting school children during

Cyclone Aila


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For the purpose of better understanding, response can be divided into 2 categories:

1) Disaster Response Management for Response Activities

2) Disaster Response for Specific Disasters

To comprehend disaster response management better, let us try to understand the following

activities:

I. Incident Response System

II. Damage Assessment

III. Relief Distribution

IV. Shelter Management

V. Health Planning

VI. Water Purification

VII. Sanitation Options

VIII.Warehouse Maintenance

IX. Relief to Livestock

X. Stress Management

XI. Logistics Management

1.5.1 INCIDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM

The NDMA guidelines on Incident Response System (IRS) recommends that there will be Incident

Response Teams (IRTs) at the State, District, Sub-Division, and Block levels comprising players like

Responsible Officer (RO), Incident Commander (IC), Operation Section Chief (OSC), Planning SectionChief (PSC) and Logistic and Finance Section Chief (L&FSC). The guidelines have given a suggestive

list of officers who can perform the concerned activities. The idea is to pre-designate officers to perform

different functions and to train them on their responsibilities so that whenever there is a disaster, everyone

knows who has to perform what duty and how will it be done. This will remove adhocism in responses

and make the response process smooth and effective. The Chief Secretary (CS) and District Magistrate

have been designated as Responsible Officer (RO) and overall in-charge of Disaster Response in their

jurisdiction.

Organizational Structure for Disaster Response

a. Coordinating Arrangements at the National Level

The DM Act, 2005 has created a body called the National Executive Committee or NEC under the

Home Secretary for coordination of response at the national level. It consists of the Home Secretary as

the ex-offcio chairman and secretaries of agriculture, atomic energy, defence, drinking water supply,

environment and forests, finance (expenditure), health, power, rural development, water resources and

the Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff on the Chiefs of Staff Committee as members.

Source: agricrop.nic.in


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Prior to the enactment of the DM Act, 2005, the GoI had already created a National Crisis Management

Committee (NCMC) headed by the Cabinet Secretary and all the secretaries as members.

DID YOU KNOW ?

By convention, the NCMC gets involved in very serious crisis and disasters. The NEC

has to statutorily get involved in all disasters. The chairperson of the NCMC / NEC

will function as Chief Coordinator for the management of disasters at the National

level. The constitution of the NCMC / NEC has been designed with the purpose tocover all lead and support functions.

b. Coordination of Response at the State Level

In any disaster response, the initial efforts would always be taken by the District Administration. However,

when Districts are overwhelmed in any situation, the support necessarily has to come from the State

and National levels. In case an incident is beyond the control of a District administration or a number of

Districts are affected, the RO of the State will consider the setting up of an Area Command and

designate an Area Commander (AC). He may consider the Divisional Commissioner to act as AC or

may deploy appropriate/suitable officer irrespective of seniority. The RO may also deploy somesupporting staff to assist him. The hierarchical representation of RO with State EOC, Headquarters

IRT and its lower level of IRTs at District levels are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig.1 Disaster response structure at state level - Hierarchical representation of RO with State

EOC, Headquarters IRT and its lower level of IRTs at District levels (Source: National Disaster

Management Guidelines on Incident Response System)

DID YOU KNOW ?

The State Government / CS will designate various officers of line departments for the

corresponding IRS positions to perform duties as enumerated in the NDMA IRS

Guidelines. The RO may delegate some of his functions to the Secretary, DM of the

State, for the day-to-day supervision and management of the incident / disaster response.

He will however remain fully briefed by EOC and IC and be aware of all developments

and progress of response activities at all times.


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c. Coordination of Response at the District Level

The District Magistrate/DC is the head of the District administrative set up and chairperson of the

DDMA as per the DM Act, 2005. He has been designated as the RO in the District.

The complete IRS organizational structure at District level is depicted in Fig. 2. The structure may be

activated as and when required. For monitoring and support of incident response, the RO will involve

all required Emergency Support Function (ESF) and headquarter IRT to support the on scene IC.

Under the RO, there will be IRT at District, Subdivision and Block level, who will work in closecoordination with EOC and report to RO.

Fig: - 2 The disaster response structure at District level - Hierarchical representation of RO

with District EOC, District Headquarters IRT and its lower level of IRTs (Source: National

Disaster Management Guidelines on Incident Response System).

On receipt of information regarding the impending disaster, the EOC will inform the RO, who in turn

will activate the required IRT and mobilize resources. The scale of their deployment will depend on the

magnitude of the incident.

At times, the information about an incident may be received only on its occurrence without any warning.

In such cases, the local IRT (District, Sub-Division, Tehsil / Block) as the case may be, will respond

and inform the higher authority, and if required seek reinforcement and guidance.

DID YOU KNOW?

There could even be such situations when the District officials may have no expertise

in operationalizing the response, like for CBRN disasters. For such disaster situations

the OSC should be identified in advance, so that he could be easily mobilized to lead

the OS as Section Chief. NDMA has already issued detailed guidelines on management

of such response vide National Disaster Management Guidelines on the management

of Nuclear and Radiological emergencies which should be followed. Other Section

Chiefs will be selected according to the suitability and capability of the officer.

d. Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)

EOC is an off-site facility, which will be functioning from the State / District headquarters, and which is

actually an augmented control room having communication facilities and space to accommodate the

various officers of ESFs.


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DID YOU KNOW?

ESF is a combination of various line departments of Government and other agencies

whose services are generally required during disaster / incident response. These officials

will be able to take decisions on the spot under the guidance of RO and will be able to

assist the RO in achieving the incident objectives. RO will also ensure that the line

departments do not issue parallel and contradictory instructions to their field level

officers.

Facilities Required for Responding to Disaster

For effective response, the following facilities may be required to be established depending on the

needs of the incidents / disaster situation.

a. Incident Command Post (ICP)

The ICP is the location at which the primary command functions are performed. The IC will be located

at the ICP. There will only be one ICP for each incident / disaster. This also applies to situations with

multi-agencies or multi-jurisdictional incidents operating under a single or unified command.

DID YOU KNOW ?

The ICP can be located with other incident facilities like Incident Base. For the initial

location of the ICP, the nature of the incident, whether it is growing or moving and

whether the ICP location will be suitable in size and also safe for the expected duration

of the incident should all be taken into consideration. Larger and more complex

incidents will require larger ICP.

The ICP may also be located at Headquarters of various levels of administration of

State (State, District, Sub-Division, Tehsil / Block). In case of total destruction or reasons

of non-availability of any other space, the ICP may be located in a vehicle, trailer or

tent with effective communication system.

b. Staging Area (SA)

The Staging Area (SA) is an area where resources are collected and kept ready for deployment for

field operations. These may include things like food, vehicles and other materials and equipment. The

SA will be established at a suitable area near the affected site for immediate, effective and quick

deployment of resources. The resources should be so arranged that it is easy to move any required

resources whenever needed.

DID YOU KNOW ?

More than one SAs may be established if required. School and college playgrounds,community halls, cyclone shelters, Panchayat Offices, stadia etc., may be used as SA.

In case of total destruction of buildings in an incident, tents or temporary shelters may

be used for such purposes.

c. Incident Base

All primary services and support activities for the incident are usually located and performed at the


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Incident base. The Logistic and Finance Section will also be preferably located here. Normally base is

the location where all uncommitted / out-of-service equipment and personnel to support operations are

located.

DID YOU KNOW ?

There will be only one Base established for each incident and normally it will not be

relocated. In locations where major incidents are known to occur frequently, it is

advisable to pre-designate possible base locations and plan their layouts in advance.

d. Camps

Camps are temporary locations within the general incident area, which are equipped and staffed to

provide rest, food, drinking water and sanitary services to the responders. These are separate facilities

which may not be located at the Incident Base. Camps may be in place for several days and they may

also be moved depending upon incident needs; while the Incident Base remains at the same location.

e . Relief Camp

All support services to the affected communities are usually provided in the Relief Camps (RCs). They

will be established as per demands of the situation.

DID YOU KNOW ?

The resources required for the establishment of RC will be provided by the LS and it

will be maintained and managed by the Branch or Division of the OS deployed for the

purpose. It may be established at the existing buildings like Schools, Community Halls,

Cyclone Shelters, etc., or tents may also be used for such purposes. While establishing

the RC, priority will be given for cleanliness of the RC.

f. Helibase / Helipad

A Helibase is the main location for parking, fueling and carrying out the maintenance of the Helicopters.It may also be used for loading and unloading of relief materials. Helipads are temporary locations in the

incident area where Helicopters can safely land and take off. The Helibase is often located at the

Airport or at another location decided by the District administration in consultation and approval by the

agency operating the Helicopter. Helipads are established and used for operational purpose only like

loading and unloading of personnel and equipment, and other relief materials etc.

Community Participation in Disaster Response

A number of community based organizations like PRIs, NGOs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Youth

Organisations, Volunteers of NYK, Civil Defence (CD) and Home Guard, etc., and personnel of

different projects funded by Government of India like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Integrated

Child Development Services (ICDS), etc., normally volunteer their services in the aftermath of anydisaster.

In the IRS structure, these organizations and volunteers are placed in the OS where the skills and

services of the community may be utilized systematically in the form of Single Resource, Strike Team

and Task Force. The incharge of the respective Incident Response Teams (IRTs) should identify such

community resources and they should be encouraged and trained to be a part of the IRT.


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EXERCISE 4

NOTE DOWN THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR DISASTER

RESPONSE AT THE NATIONAL, STATE AND DISTRICT LEVELS AND

DI FFERENT FACILITIES REQUI RED FOR EFFECTIVE DISASTER

RESPONSE.

1.5.2 DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

Immediately after the disaster, there is an urgent need

of damage assessment. The objectives are to know

the impact of disaster, mobilize resources for better

rescue and relief, garner detailed information on the

extent of damage and its severity; and also develop

strategies for reconstruction and restoration facilities.

It entails collection and analysis of information

pertinent to disasters and disaster response. Damage

is assessed with regard to loss of infrastructure such

as buildings, standing crops, agricultural area,livestock, forest cover and vital installations.

Thus, damage assessment is the process of determining the:

Impact, which a hazard has had on the affected area.

Needs and priorities for immediate emergency measures to save and sustain the lives of survivors.

Resources available for use.

Possibilities for facilitating and expediting longer-term recovery and development.

Damage assessment is done through:

Data Collection

Information Assimilation and Dissemination

It is useful to distinguish between the terms data and information,as data are simply units of

information including perceptions, numbers, observations, facts or figures. Data sometimes conflict

with one another, for example, when two individuals report widely differing perceptions of the same

event. Information, on the other hand, is useful data. Data become information when it can be

translated into meaningful, relevant and understandable language, specially about particular people at a

particular time and place, for a particular purpose. (Remember what is information to one person

may simply be useless data to another).

Data collection, which is an on-going activity, depends on:i) Expertise and advice of survey specialists

ii) Use of sample surveys

iii) Cultural attitudes

iv) Personal preferences

Based on detailed damage assessment, the government should finalize estimation of funds required and

Source: www.ndmaindia.nic


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fund generation mechanisms. The state government should explore sources of funding required for

disaster recovery from central government through National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster

Response Fund, and necessary steps should be taken to represent the cause of the state government to

the central government. After the normalcy returns, the damage assessment team carries out a detailed

study of the damaged houses, livelihood assets and crops etc. Usually the Panchayat Extension Officer

is made responsible for carrying out such assessment assisted by the damage assessment teams.

Assessments must be carefully planned and managed. A sequence of activities is involved and each of

them must be planned in detail. These activities typically constitute the assessment process, which aims

to:

Identify information needs and sources of reliable data

Collect data

Analyze and interpret data

Report conclusions, forecast and provide alternatives to planners and decision-makers

DID YOU KNOW?

All data collection strategies are subject to problems of bias. Bias is the degree to which

the conclusion drawn from data observation deviates from the true situation. Sometimes

bias emanates from asking the wrong question, sometimes from asking the wrong people

and, sometimes, from the biased perception of the observer or reporter of data.

Source: Damage Assessment/oldpatriot.blogspot.com


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Damage Assessment is usually conducted in two phases viz.

Rapid Damage Assessment and Detailed Damage Assessment

RAPID DAMAGE ASSESSMENT DETAILED DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA)

emphasizes on a rapid appraisal of thesituation and extent of damage to

provide resources for effective reliefand rescue. RDA is to be conducted

by the Planning Section of theIncident Response Team (IRT),

responsible for response management.The Planning Section (PS) of the IRT

may be provided support of the localcommunities. The list of the

stakeholders of PS of the IRT is givenin the Annexure - XI of the IRS

guidelines of NDMA. The RDA report

is mandated to be submitted to theIncident Commander (IC) for effective

planning of response andsimultaneously submitted to the

District Collector by the IC.

Detailed Damage Assessment is supposedto be done at the district level during the

recovery stage involving skilled personnel

from various line departments. The aim ofthis assessment is to estimate theeconomical and financial aspects of

damage, the detailed building damage,agricultural damage, and property damage.

It also aims at retrofitting or strengtheningof houses, roads, bridges, hospitals,

schools, warehouses, railway tracks andother infrastructure.

Any State Development Authority team

must be headed by the District Collector

and should comprise the District ReliefOfficer, Executive Engineer PWD, ChiefMedical Officer of the affected district,members of prominent NGOs working in

the district and any other expert at thediscretion of the District Collector.

The team should also have two externalobservers from the State Disaster

Management Authority and DistrictDisaster Management Authority (DDMA)

respectively. The other issues of disasterresponse including relief (entitlement,

disbursal and monitoring), recovery andrehabilitation need to be comprehensively

addressed in the Calamity Relief Fund

Norms (Drought, Flood and Earthquake)issued by the Disaster Management /

Relief Department.

1.5.3 RELIEF DISTRIBUTION

As we all know, relief distribution is a strategicexercise conducted by the Operations Section of

the IRT. It needs to be seen that relief material is

effectively; fairly and justly distributed to all the

needy ones. We must also keep in view that this

exercise also has to be a sensitive one. Care

needs to be taken to pay extra focus on theSource: Disaster Relief/allhealthcare.monster.com


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vulnerable i.e., the children, aged, destitute and lactating women, as well as the physically and

mentally disadvantaged. There is a need to undertake the following activities:

Respect Culture and Custom of the communities and countries where relief distribution takes

place.

Build Disaster Response on Local Capacities by employing local staff, purchasing local

materials and trading with local companies. Where possible, involve local communities in

planning and implementation, and co-operate with local government structures.

Involve Programme Beneficiaries in the Management of Relief Aid through effective

relief and lasting rehabilitation. It can be best achieved where the target beneficiaries are

involved in the design, management and implementation of the relief programme.

Distribute Relief with an aim to reduce Vulnerabilities to a Future Disaster through

sustainable lifestyles. Attention should be paid to environmental concerns in the design and

management of relief programmes.

Hold Yourselves Accountable to the Community and the Donorby acting as an institutional

link in the partnership between those who wish to assist and those who need assistance during

disasters. Recognize the obligation to ensure appropriate monitoring of aid distribution and

carry out regular assessment of the impact of disaster assistance.

Recognize Victims as Dignified Humans and not Mere Objects in Information, Publicity

and Advertising Activities through interaction with the media. Try and project an image of

the disaster situation; where the capacities and aspirations of disaster victims are also highlighted,

and not just their vulnerabilities and fears.

The Process of Distributing Relief Material

Relief is distributed in many forms,

in camps, through air drops and also

through the communication systems

in place. It is expected that the

materials distributed shall minimizesuffering of the affected population.

It is the primary responsibility of the

state to take care of its citizens

suffering due to natural or man-made

disaster; hence, it is responsible for

distribution of relief at the time of

emergencies. Other than Operations

Section of the IRT; relief operation

is also done by international

agencies, NGOs, corporate bodies,

civil society organizations and local

communities. Therefore, to control or stop duplication of effort, the IC and the Operation Section

Chief (OSC) of the IRT should access the external relief support provided by agencies other than

government, and support them to distribute it to the affected communities.

You, as government officials and members of PRIs and ULBs, are responsible for implementation

of different programmes of the government. It is expected of you to take the lead in distribution of

Source: Food Relief Camp/Google Images


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Documents

NDMA IGNOU Unit v Responding to Disasters TM III Refer 28to 55 Only