Awareness and Preventive Mechanisms of Disaster Management in Himachal Pradesh
Intoduction :
The State of Himachal is prone to various hazards both natural and Man made and exposed to various concrete realities. Main hazards consist of earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, snow storms and avalanches, draughts, dam failures, fires – domestic and wild, accidents – road, rail, air, stampedes, boat capsizing, biological, industrial and hazardous chemicals etc. The hazard which however, poses biggest threat to the State is the earthquake hazard. Kangra earthquake in 1905 was the biggest disaster in state caused severe casualities to the state. The State has been shaken by more than 80 times by earthquakes having a magnitude of 4 and above on the Richter scale as per the recorded history of earthquakes. As perthe BIS seismic zoning map five districts of the State, namely Chamba (53.2%) Hamirpur (90.9%), Kangra (98.6%), Kullu (53.1%), Mandi (97.4%) have 53 to 98.6 percent of their area liable to the severest design intensity of MSK (Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale ) IX or more, the remaining area of these districts being liable to the next severe intensity VIII.
The prevention of loss to life and property due to natural calamities is being viewed very seriously by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. In the past the main role played by the Government in the case of various disasters was confined mainly to post-disaster activities that included providing relief and organizing rehabilitation.The implementation of Disaster Management Plans are crucial from the point of view of show-casing Himachal’s achievements and successes in putting in place an appropriate institutional, policy and legal framework for Disaster Management, risk identification, assessment, monitoring and early warning, knowledge management, innovation and education for building a culture of safety and resilience, reducing the underlying risk factors for minimization of vulnerabilities and preparedness for effective response. The Disaster management Plan on disaster reduction is going to be a watershed event at the state level and is likely to significantly influence and determine the course of thinking, strategization and action for ensuing disaster preparedness.
Institutional mechanism :
District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) :
The DDMA will be headed by the District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate as the case may be, with the elected representative of the local authority as the Co-Chairperson. The DDMA will act as the planning, coordinating and implementing body for DM at the District level and take all necessary measures for the purposes of DM in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the NDMA and SDMA. It will, inter alia prepare the District DM plan for the District and monitor the implementation of the National Policy, the State Policy, the National Plan, the State Plan and the District Plan. The DDMA will also ensure that the guidelines for prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response measures laid down by the NDMA and the SDMA are followed by all the Departments of the State Government at the District level and the local authorities in the District.
The DDMA will further ensure that the areas in the district vulnerable to disasters are identified and measures for the prevention of disasters and the mitigation of its effects are taken, ensure that the guidelines for prevention of disasters, mitigation of its effects, preparedness and response measures as laid down by the National Authority and the State Authority are followed by all departments, lay down guidelines for prevention of disaster management plans by the department of the Government at the districts level and local authorities in the district, monitor the implementation of disaster management plans prepared by the Departments of the Government at the district level, lay down guidelines to be followed by the Departments of the Government at the district level for purposes of integration of measures for prevention of disasters and mitigation in their development plans and projects .
State Disaster Management Authority :
The Role of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)/ State Executive Committee (SEC) and the State Departments Section 23 of the DM Act 2005 provides that there shall be a DM plan for every state. It outlines the broad coverage of the plan as well as the requirements of consultation in the preparation of the state plans. It also provides for annual review and updating of the state plan, and enjoins upon the state governments to make provisions for financing the activities to be carried out under the state plans. The state plan prepared by SEC shall be approved by the SDMA
Role :
- Take into account the socio-cultural realities of the state, and should be equity based— recognising the differential needs of all sections of the society, including marginalised groups such as the elderly, pregnant and lactating mothers, children, physically and mentally challenged persons etc. It should specifically address the concerns of women.
- Be in harmony with national, district, block, village and community level plans and should incorporate implementation strategies as well as indicate specific monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The latter should also be able to capture the qualitative outcomes.
- Develop a base line and identify the total risk and also agree on the minimum acceptable level of risk. It must capture all aspects of the DM cycle from preparedness to recovery. However, the initial plan formulation need not await completion of the risk assessment exercise.
- Include a reference to the components of the state Human Resource Development (HRD) plan for DM, which specific emphasis on features specifically such as: Involvement, besides the Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs), of other sectoral training and educational institutions in the exercise level Preparedness and Mass Casualty Management, district and state level.
- Availability of mobile hospitals and/or plans for acquiring the same.
- Take note of the fact that seven battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), co-existing with the proposed National Disaster Mitigation Resource Centres (NDMRCs) have already been positioned at nine different locations to cover the entire state
- Include the essentials of a scientific approach in damage assessment exercise so that timely and adequate relief can be provided.
- Identify emergency management problems with spatial aspects appropriate for Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS can be part of the solution to many emergency management problems. Evaluation the costs of institutionalising GIS as an emergency management tool in terms of staffing, training, data collection, hardware and software.
- Lay due emphasis on the conduct of mock exercises and drills for different disasters. These exercises are essential for role clarity of the stakeholders concerned at the district and for synergising coordination of various emergency support functions. In case of water and climate related hazards, exercises in different vulnerable areas of the state may be planned before the onset of the rainy season. For other kinds of disasters, exercises may be planned at regular intervals as considered appropriate.
- Describe the mechanism of convergence of existing national, state, district and local resources level. It is here that there is greater need for inter-disciplinary coordination and monitoring. The facilities of the DM cells in all administrative training institutes should be fully utilised and strengthened to contribute to the development of DM related skills.
- Interface with Panchayati Raj Institutes/ CBOs, NGOs and the community at large and utilising their assistance should be clearly brought out. viii) A mechanism must be put in place to ensure that the plan is updated on a regular basis (at least once in a year) and is able to accommodate changes over time. To earmark funds for prevention and integration of disasters in their development plans and projects.
- Describe nodal department(s) for involvement of NGOs, CBOs, corporate sector, youth organisations, educational institutions, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), urban local bodies, media and other stakeholders—and the modalities of such partnerships.
Engineers & Architects
The role of engineers and architects is crucial in reducing earthquake risks by ensuring that the construction adheres to the norms of seismic safety. They engineers and architects play an important role in design and construction of built environment and industrial infrastructure. Large scale damage to houses and industrial infrastructure in the past major earthquakes indicate that earthquake resistant features were not incorporated in these buildings. In view of this it is necessary that engineers and architect should have adequate knowledge and capacity to design earthquake-resistant structures. So change in engineering and architecture curriculum in Under Graduate courses was felt to be equally important as disaster mitigation aspects were not the part of the then existing curriculum for the engineers and architect. It was therefore necessary to review the then curriculum prescribed for polytechnics, engineering colleges (both at undergraduate and post graduate level) and architecture colleges with a view to include disaster preparedness and mitigation aspects in the curriculum for some the of disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes and fire by adequately including the structural designs, retrofitting of existing buildings and related aspects in the
curriculum.
Awareness about Disasters :
The key to reducing loss of life, personal injuries, and damage from natural/ man made disasters is widespread public awareness and education. People must be made aware of what type hazards they are likely to face in their own communities. They should know in advance what specific preparations to make before an event, what to do during a hurricane, earthquake, flood, fire, or other likely event, and what actions to take in its aftermath.
Equally important, public officials and the media — television, radio, and newspapers — must be fully prepared to respond effectively, responsibly, and speedily to large-scale natural emergencies. They need to be aware, in advance, of procedures to follow in a crisis that threatens to paralyze the entire community they serve, and they need to know how to communicate accurate information to the public during a natural disaster.
Inclusion in School Syllabus:
In order to enhance awareness level of disasters, management plan in school syllabus at various levels must be introduced , at many places in schools in Himachal mock drills are performed, nukad natak in villages and cities in clooaboration with NGO's are performed.
Early warning :
Rain gaugea are planted to measure the rain water, Prompt Action should be taken by govt. if IMD ( Indian Meterological Department ) or any concerned authority give warning/ alerts to state.
So to build a safer and disaster resilient Himachal by developing a holistic, pro-active, multi-disaster, technology-driven and community based strategy for disaster management through collective efforts of all Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations are required.