DISASTER MANAGEMENT – CONTRIBUTION
OF SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER LEARNING M Kavita Rao1
Abstract
The effective disaster management is primarily based on scientific knowledge and its
dissemination through education. The scientific and academic institutions contribute to this
important function. While the scientific institutions generate the basic scientific knowledge
and its applications, the academic organizations such as schools and universities disseminate
the knowledge and equip the general public in the mitigation and preparedness for disaster
and its management. This paper addresses these fundamental aspects and teaching
methodologies for disaster management.
Keywords: Disaster management, scientific organizations, educational institutions.
Introduction:
The conservation of property and lives during disasters, both natural and man-made is
referred as Disaster Management. This involves three major components and stock holders,
i.e., (1) scientific and academic institutions that are involved in the knowledge generation,
disaster assessment, development of scientific methods to address the disaster conditions, and
knowledge dissemination through the public outreach programs. (2) The agencies involved in
the disaster management plans and executions through various government departments,
under the advice of Government and Scientific/Academic Institutions. (3) General public who
are the most affected by the disaster including the vulnerable groups and end beneficiaries of
the disaster management. The disasters are both natural and man-made. The natural disasters
arise from geological (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes, and slope failures such as landslides),
atmospheric (e.g., climate change driven extreme rain fall, heat waves, snow fall, drought,
and cyclones), and biological (pendemic diseases). The man-made disasters are wars,
terrorism, pollution driven disasters, and chemical industry related disasters. Because the
disasters are of diverse types, the disaster management would also involve different methods
and strategies. For example, the biological and geological disasters would be handled by
different organizations involved in the specialized disciplines. The Indian Council of Medical
Research addresses the biological disaster management like epidemic control; the Indian
Meteorological Department handles the disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones.
1 Staff Scientist, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad
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Similarly, every scientific and academic institution specializes in specific fields of disaster
research and development and applications. Monitoring is another important operation of the
research and academic organizations. This helps to understand the present condition and
future forecasting. For example, monitoring of the formation of cyclones and their migration
trajectories are very important for the coastal disaster management. Similarly, the epidemics
are monitored by the medical and health organizations. In all the cases, the disaster
management is implemented through the Government departments.
The effective disaster management begins with knowledge base. For example, the
management of pendemics such as COVID-19 requires the fundamental knowledge on the
biology of viruses, its behavior, and disease generation processes. Hence, a Scientific
Organization plays an important role in understanding the biology of the pandemics. When
this first step is achieved, the drug research takes over the next operation as to how the
potential drug molecules interact with the viruses, and the target medicines are discovered. In
addition, mitigation plans are also developed based on the scientific information and is passed
on to the implementing agencies for the public awareness. This operation involves education
and training to both the implementing agencies and general public. When the disaster occurs
unexpectedly, it affects all the three components of the disaster management (scientific
organization, implementing departments and general public). The immediate response to the
disaster would originate from all components. Scientific organization supplies the knowledge
base to the implementing organization and it finally reaches the general public. Because the
scientific organizations are the knowledge providers, they undertake the most crucial role of
the disaster management, although the implementation leads to the final fruit.
Disaster management education is another important step in the prevention of natural disaster
in the case of man-made disasters.1 On the other hand, preparedness is necessary for the
natural disasters that cannot be stopped from occurring. In this case, the effective
management and preparedness are the keys. The school students and teachers can be
equipped with the disaster mitigation plans for effective spreading at the gross-root levels.
The higher educational institutions like the universities can play an effective role in disaster
management education at the higher levels so that graduates and professor can contribute to
the disaster management at very high level.2 While the scientific organizations generate the
basic knowledge, the academic institutions disseminate the knowledge, as it understands both
the basic knowledge and effective teaching methods. However, the higher educational
institutes may lack adequate experience in the disaster management of real world problems.
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This short coming may be removed by the collaboration between the educational institutions
and industrial and professional bodies (Thayaparan et al., 2014).3
After deadly effect of Ebola, SARS and MERS on the human populations across the World,
Bill Gates opined (or warned) that ‘We are not ready for the next epidemic’ in his TED Talk
in 20154.It was about our lack of collective preparedness towards preventing, mitigating,
responding and recovering from a pandemic. Like anticipated, the nCovid-19 outbreak has
exposed the fragility of our systems and is still testing humanity and its wisdom. Amidst the
current pandemic India is burning with migrant worker crisis across the Nation – a cyclone in
West Bengal– a lethal gas leak in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and several industry-
environmental accidents.
With so many natural, biological, technological and societal disasters mounting on us,
disaster management has become the language of survival. This brings us to the most
important question that deserves our consideration ‘have we invested enough of our time,
energies and money in things that matter?’
As defined by the World Health Organisation, ‘disaster is an occurrence that causes damage,
ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services on a scale
sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community.’5
Disaster Management, therefore, calls for efforts from all spaces and corners of society –
from Government to Non-Government organizations, Universities to Training Centers,
Community to Individual. The contribution of Academic and Scientific organizations in
Disaster Management is often unrealized and limited to imparting formal education and
minimal training. These Institutions which are the hotspots of learning, research and
innovation are failing to equip students/youth with sufficient knowledge and skill to
proactively engage during hazards and post hazards. Equipping them only with the skills to
survive in a capitalist economy is in a way sacrificing future generations to the harshness of
disasters and also depriving the community of their potential contribution.
Need for introduction of free and compulsory course on Disaster Management:
Disaster management is a social science that has been developed through experience,
observation and research over a period of time. An in-depth understanding and training in this
field is essential to everyone because no one is immune of facing a disaster. In the times of
disaster, a common man becomes the first responder and therefore, Disaster Management has
to be made compulsory course in all disciplines and it should be offered freely to people other
than students by the National institute of Disaster Management – an organisation under the
statute, National Disaster Management Act 2005, is responsible to plan, promote, train and
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International Journal of Research in Applied Management, Science & Technology
undertake research in the area of Disaster Management. For students, the University Grant
Commission, a statutory body endowed with the responsibility of coordination, determination
and maintenance of standards of university education in India, has to introduce Disaster
Management course at UG level across the universities/colleges. Though UGC has proposed
to the Universities to introduce a Compulsory course of Disaster Management at all levels
covering the subjects relating to earthquake, leakage of hazardous material/gases, bomb blast,
explosion, incidence of terrorism besides financial emergencies relating to health, loss of
person or property, incidents relating to Act of God.6 But a limited number of universities7
have included Disaster Management in their Short term and Inter Disciplinary Refresher
Courses spanning over 1-2 weeks out of 935 State, Central, Private and Deemed
Universities.8
Role of Scientific and Academic Institutions in disaster management
The contribution of Scientific and Academic institutions is not time-bound and extends across
all the phases of the disaster and the results are both immediate and futuristic. With
Cooperation, Collaboration and Contribution in all the phases of disaster cycle they play a
significant role:
In building community awareness and filling knowledge gaps
Being the second most populated nation and in the era of fake news, there is an urgent need
for building of community awareness. At the time of disaster, these institutions can, with the
use of know-how, student population and goodwill, could easily get into the fabrics of society
and reach the vulnerable groups, break the myths surrounding the disasters and enlighten
them on the Do’s and Don’ts. Awareness building is the first and foremost step in dealing any
problem more particularly in case of virus-related epidemics given its contagious nature and
symptomless transmission. For instance, usage of Covid-19 masks was recommended by the
WHO9 to avoid the spread of the virus, however people were not sensitized about the
potential risks and disadvantages about their usage. Such knowledge gaps can be filled
through intervention of Academic and Scientific institutions with the help of technology and
social media.
In scientific research providing immediate, mid-term and long-term solutions:
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), a premier organization which has
several laboratories under its control, has played a significant role in understanding the
processes that influence climatic and extreme events and has made remarkable contributions
to the areas of natural hazards assessment, disaster mitigation, shelter planning, etc.
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In the context of the pandemic COVID-19, the CSIR has adopted a strategy of fighting
against the said pandemic by setting up five technology verticals to address the current
scenario. These verticals aim at establishment of multiple laboratories of research basing on
the need for the sake of generation of more employment in rural areas and to ensure food, and
other incidental medical infrastructure to fight against the COVID-19 keeping in view the
standards prescribed by the WHO.10
In law and policy making and their effective implementation:
The information accumulated during a disaster could help in research and policy
proposals. Academicians can participate in the policy making through constructive
criticism. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed glaring gaps in our
domestic laws. We do not have a rationally structured law to invoke and therefore, the
States were advised by the Union government to invoke the Epidemic Diseases Act of
1897 to address the pandemic within their territories. This 123-year-old colonial law
doesn’t even define what a disease is, let alone an epidemic or a pandemic. A new bill
titled Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bio-
Terrorism and Disasters) Bill was drafted in 2017 to replace the Epidemic Diseases
Act of 1897. However, it failed to be the law. The Academic Institutions can
therefore, by closely observing the needs of the people and vulnerable groups and the
effect of improper implementation of policies can by the way of recommendations
support the Government agencies in making better laws and pol icies for future.
In development of inter-professional Collaboration through curriculum and practice
Collaborative effort has to become the new normal. It is not practically possible for the Police
force, the doctors, health care workers, psychologists, NGOs, Institutes etc., to work in
isolation. It is essential for them to collaborate in order to effectively influence with the pre,
during and post disaster phases. The need for inter-professional collaboration arises because
of the interdependency of the professional needs and because of the need for a holistic
approach towards prevention, reduction and recovery. This can be achieved by introducing
collaborative practices in the undergraduate curriculum. Drills and workshops have to be
conducted amongst the aforementioned professions and other stakeholders involved from the
learning stage ensuring smooth inter-professional collaboration at the time of crisis.
In Capacity building by engaging Medical Students contribute during hazards
Disasters create plethora of safety and health concerns for workers in the affected areas and
they call for capacity building on a large scale. There is need to promote hands on practical
training and capacity building to optimize the resultant learning for effective response and
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International Journal of Research in Applied Management, Science & Technology
recovery.The doctor-patient ratio in India is less than what was prescribed by the WHO. We
have 1 doctor for every 1456 population as against 1 doctor for 1000 population prescribed
by WHO. Keeping that in view and the huge demand of health workers during the hazards,
medical students who are the future professionals need to be trained in disaster management
and emergency medicine.
In providing online training during disasters:
The e-learning industry offers a swift and effective remedy in times when social distancing
and lock downs have become the new norm for the purpose of capacity building and to
prepare the learners to cope with the life post disaster. The Academic institutes on their web
portals are in a prominent position to educate and train their students and anyone who is
interested by collaborating with Educators, Industry professionals and experts through
webinars. For instance, the ‘Nyaya forum’ created by NALSAR educating the young lawyers
and students.
Therefore, it can be rightly said that the preparedness of our society in our fight for survival
against the multitude disasters is reflected in the preparedness of the Academic and Scientific
institutions in disaster management.
References
1. Singh, D., (2014) Disaster management education in India: Issues and challenges, Conference
paper, DRVC 2014, 2nd Disaster Risk & Vulnerability Conference, 24–26 April 2014,
Department of Geology, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, India
2. Ahmad, R. (2007) Roles of the University in disaster management, Malaysian Journal of
Medical Sciences, Vol. 14, No. 2, July 2007 (1-3)
3. Thayaparana, M., Malalgodaa, C., Keraminiyagea, K., and Amaratungab, D. (2014) Disaster
Management Education through Higher Education – Industry Collaboration in the Built
Environment, Procedia Economics and Finance, Vol. 18, p. 651 – 658, doi: 10.1016/S2212-
5671(14)00987-3
4. https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready
5. WHO (2002), Disasters & Emergencies Definitions, Training Package WHO/EHA Panafrican
Emergency Training Centre, Addis Ababa, March 2002 retrieved from
https://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/7656.pdf
6. https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/9302498_UGC-letter-reg-Disaster-Management1.pdf
7. ibid
8. List of Universities in India, retrieved from : https://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/Consolidated%
20list%20of%20All%20Universities.pdf
9. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-
hub/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-and-masks
10. https://urdip.res.in/covid19/
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