254
CHAPTER VIII
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
8.1 Introduction
Disasters are hardly extraordinary events. They are part of everyday life in
almost all countries. And almost every day, newspapers, radio, and television
channels carry reports on disasters striking several parts of the world.
Disasters are gruesome tragedies which cause huge loss of life, property and
infrastructure, and which leave their mark even after years of their occurrence. They
result from a combination of, hazard, vulnerability, and insufficient capacity or
measures to reduce the potential chances of risks. Disasters happen when hazards
impact on the vulnerable population and cause damage, casualties and severe
disruption. For example, an earthquake in an uninhabited desert is not considered to
be a disaster, no matter how strong the intensities produced by it. It is only when an
earthquake affects people, their properties and activities, that it is called a disaster. So
disasters occur only when hazards and vulnerability meet each other.
Hazards are basically of two types, namely, natural hazards and man-made
hazards. Natural hazards are hazards which are caused because of natural phenomena
(hazards with meteorological, geological or biological origin). Examples of natural
hazards are cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions which are
exclusively of natural origin. Landslides, floods, droughts, fires are socio-natural
hazards since their causes are both natural and man-made. For example, flooding may
be caused because of heavy rains, landslides or blocking of drains with human waste.
Man-made hazards are hazards which are caused due to human negligence. Man-
255
made hazards are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include
explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars or civil strife, etc.
So disasters, either caused by natural hazards or man-made hazards,
mercilessly claim thousands of lives, of people and animals; destruct and damage
crores of worth, public and private property; and cause immense and irreparable
damage to the natural environment. Despite their different origins they cause similar
kinds of risks for populations everywhere like, landlessness, homelessness,
joblessness, marginalization, food insecurity, loss of access to common property
assets, increased morbidity and mortality, and social disarticulation.
In the last year of International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (2000),
attention was drawn to the fact that disasters affect the less developed countries more
severely when compared to the developed countries with maximum number of
casualties. This shared reality holds good to the Indian sub- continent, which even to
the present day, is ranked as one of the world’s most disaster prone regions vulnerable
to both, natural and human-made disasters, due to its endemic poverty, rampant
crowding with unplanned urbanization, chronic malnutrition, huge population
densities, mass ignorance of the people; compounded with cultural differences and
communal intolerances; clubbed with environmental pollutions and ecological
degradations.
In India, disasters produce a series of impacts on man, State and environment,
that range from physical to economic, with different impact intensities on different
socio- economic classes of people. It is always found that the maximum scale of
damage is primarily sustained by the poorest communities due to their habitation in
hazard prone areas, lack of resources and their inability to recover from the after
256
effects of disasters. As a result, disasters often widen the already existent wide gap
between the rich and the poor with more severity. In addition, they cause much misery
to women, children (particularly the very young and adolescents), the old and the
crippled, and the physically unfit. In the country, as much as fifty percent of the
disaster affected population is under fifteen years of age and highly vulnerable to
various kinds of exploitations and diseases, and older people, especially widows, face
difficulties in maintaining their livelihood after disasters.
But in common, disasters have a multitude of effects on man like, loss of life,
loss of health, loss of property and livelihood, with deprival of basic necessities and
disarticulation of social fabric. In the country, since ages, numerous people have lost
their lives to several calamities and even to this day are facing the destiny. Between
1980 - 2010, disasters have claimed a total number of 1,43,039 lives, with an average
of 4614 per year. The explanation to this fact lies in both, the geo-climatic conditions
of the country and the socio-cultural and economic characteristics and vulnerabilities
of its people.
Simultaneously, the disasters leave behind a trail of physical and mental
disabilities in their wake. The most significant physical health impacts are: head
injuries, fractures, skin, eye and dental problems, permanent disabilities, neurological
disorders, cardiac ailments, etc. There occur more serious effects, especially among
women and newborn, like, spontaneous abortions, pre-mature births, prenatal and
neo-natal mortalities, delayed pregnancies, congenital abnormalities and genetic
anomalies and so on. Thus, the disasters maim and disable hundreds of people,
irrespective of their age and gender.
257
Mental disabilities are also rampant in the after effects of disasters. Generally,
only the physical health impacts are more attended to, while the psychological
consequences are neglected because of their invisibility. The victims often suffer from
various psychological ailments commonly characterized as “Survivor Syndrome ” or
“Bereavement Syndrome’’, but the most prominent one being “Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder ’’. The common ailments include: fear, anxiety, grief, insomnia, disengaged
behavior, nightmares, frightening memories and flashbacks, panic attacks, bouts of
inexplicable crying, rage and belligerence, etc. And these lead to serious long-term
impairments over a period of time, if untreated, like; depression, poor concentration,
social withdrawal, speech difficulties, suicidal tendencies, despondency, alcoholism,
and other similar disorders.
Along with these impacts, the disasters also have adverse effects on the
material assets of the victims. Large scale immovable properties, like, houses, shops,
factories, industries, and other buildings, lands, along with standing trees and crops,
etc. are damaged and destructed during disasters. Similarly, countless movable
properties are also damaged or lost, such as, vehicles, boats, household articles and
clothing, agricultural equipments and artisans’ tools and machineries, livestock, food
grains, and other valuable articles like, ornaments, money, important documents, etc.
The disasters also deprive the basic necessities of life, like, food, water,
clothing, shelter and sanitation, and medical facilities of the victims, thus violating
their fundamental human rights. Post-disaster, the victims also get deprived of other
essential facilities such as, the use of common property resources like, wells, forest
and grazing lands, community halls, recreation and cremation grounds, etc. in the
resettled areas. The other most serious consequence of disasters is the disruption of
social fabric of the affected families and communities, due to forced displacements or
258
unwilling relocations, which severe their personal ties with relatives, friends,
neighbours, and other familiar surroundings. This loss of social fabric creates
economic and social uncertainties for the displaced/ relocated disaster victims in a
strange land with unfamiliar host communities in the newly resettled place.
The disasters create serious hardship to the State also, by way of causing
damage and/ or destruction to its essential infrastructure, failure of law and order, and
spread of epidemics in the post-disaster period. Failure of basic infrastructure, like,
roads, rails, flyovers, power and water supply systems, drainage and irrigation
systems, health and education institutions, communication systems, trade and
commerce, etc., cause severe losses to the State revenue and retard its development
process. Post-disasters, with apparent loss of purchasing power, unemployment, and
economic and social insecurity amongst the victims, the State is faced by many
chaotic situations caused by the affected people and/or anti social elements in disaster
affected regions for want of basic needs and supplies, which often lead to serious law
and order problems. In the aftermath of disasters, due to massive collapse of public
health system in the affected areas, spread of epidemics is a common phenomenon
which put additional burden on the State during the existing precarious conditions.
In the wake of disasters, the natural environment, with its fragile ecology
consisting of basic elements of air, water, and land; and the flora and fauna, suffers
irreparable loss and damage. The disasters result in severe pollution of air/water/land,
commonly caused by man-made catastrophes, thereby degrading the sensitive natural
environment. They also seriously affect the precious flora and fauna, which at times
threaten endangered species existing among them.
259
Thus disasters, whether natural or man-made, result in enormous losses to life
and property of the victims, national assets of the State, and the natural environmental
systems. They set back the economic progress of the country by years, and slow down
its pace of development. So, to tackle the menace of disasters which are increasing in
number, intensity and magnitude, with each passing day, the concept of “disaster
management” has caught up with the policy makers and administrators. It has gained
great significance since the last few decades, and has currently become a hot topic of
discussion in the country and everywhere around the world.
Disaster Management is a term that encompasses a range of policies and
practices developed to prevent, manage and reduce the impacts of disasters. It is
commonly defined as a body of policy and administrative decisions and operational
activities which pertain to the various stages of a disaster at all levels. It includes the
capability to respond to risks created by disasters and the ability to detect and
anticipate those that might emerge newly. It involves a wide range of issues that range
from forecasting, warning, evacuation, search and rescue to relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction. It can be conceptually divided into four basic elements: Preparedness
(policies and procedures designed to facilitate an effective response to a hazard
event); Response (actions taken immediately before, during and after a hazard event
to protect people and property and to enhance rapid recovery); Recovery (actions
taken after hazard event to restore critical systems and restore a community to pre­
disaster conditions); Mitigation (planned actions taken before and after a hazard event
to reduce impacts of disasters on people, property and environment).
Disaster management, which performs a wide range of functions in managing
emergencies, is a multi-disciplinary subject that incorporates managerial functions of
planning,
administering
and
coordinating
with
different
departments
and
260
organizations,
involves
administrators,
scientists,
planners,
volunteers
and
communities. Consequently, it has become an all embracing process in dealing with
disasters. It has evolved as an umbrella term that encompasses an entire disaster cycle
by touching upon every phase of disaster’s life. It has come to be known by various
terms like, Risk Management, Emergency Management, Emergency Preparedness,
Crisis Management, Hazard Management, and so on.
Historically, the public policy in the area of managing disaster was heavily
concentrated on rescue and response, reflecting a belief that disasters were “acts of
God” or “acts of Nature”- unfortunate but random calamities beyond their control.
But lately this perspective has been widely rejected by disaster managers and
researchers who instead have defined disasters as social phenomena which stem from
interaction between hazards (triggering agents stemming from nature and as well as
from human activity) and vulnerability (susceptibility to injury or loss influenced by
physical, social, economic, and cultural factors), and that there is a need to go beyond
rescue and response activities.
Internationally, there has been a growing consensus that a “paradigm shift” is
required to move from a reactive and response based disaster management to a more
proactive effort aimed at disaster mitigation and risk reduction. The IDNDR, and the
“Yokohama Declaration” (1994) enunciated during the IDNDR, signaled a radical
shift in the concept of disaster management. The traditional practice of responding to
calamities and emergencies was replaced by a ‘holistic’ thought embracing all aspects
of crisis management which included response, prevention, mitigation and
preparedness. It was elucidated how prevention and mitigation could be the prime
keys to minimize, if not prevent, the misery caused by disasters. Thus, there has been
a dramatic change in the field of disaster management since the 1990s (IDNDR) with
261
a significant shift from a relief centric approach to disasters, to that of their prevention
and mitigation.
One of the primary duties of the disaster managers under disaster management
is to act swiftly, immediately after a disaster, to search and rescue as many affected
victims as possible and provide them with basic humanitarian aid necessary to sustain
their lives. The humanitarian aid consists of basic survival needs like, food, water,
temporary shelter, and medical assistance. It also involves all other material needs and
essential services that are needed to ensure the immediate survival of the victims. This
phase of providing basic needs lasts for a few days, which is followed by
rehabilitation and reconstruction activities that last long enough, till the recovery of
the communities to normalcy. Rehabilitation and reconstruction consist of all those
activities that help the victims to settle back permanently with the provision of means
to livelihood, like, agricultural equipments, tools and machineries, livestock, loans to
start new ventures, and vocational trainings to enable them to earn an income, and so
on. The activities also include provision of permanent housing and other infrastructure
to the disaster affected victims that are needed for their better subsistence.
Disaster management has become a bedrock principle in almost all the
countries around the world. All the countries, whether developed or developing, have
formulated laws on disaster management, or revised their existing policies to suit the
present conditions of disasters. The Emergencies Act, 1988, and Emergency
Preparedness Act, 1988, of Canada; the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act, 1997,
and Disaster Relief Act, 1947, of Japan; the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Assistance
and Emergency Relief Act, 1988, Flood Control Act, 1936, and Disaster Relief Act,
1950, of U.S.A.; and the Disaster Management Act, 2002, of South Africa, are a few
examples to state. All the Acts, in their respective countries, are working towards
262
prevention and mitigation of disasters, along with effective response and recovery
activities, with active participation of local bodies and communities in disaster
management.
India, which frequently experiences natural disasters, like, floods, cyclones,
earthquakes, landslides, etc. and man-made disasters, like, industrial accidents, road
and rail mishaps, riots, stampedes, and so on, has adopted a national policy on disaster
management in recent years (Disaster Management Act, 2005). Prior to the Act, the
disasters were dealt with on ad-hoc basis under different ministries. But today, the
disaster management under the Act speaks for several actions, like, evacuations;
predictions, forecasting and warnings with their communications; search and rescue
activities; medical and psychiatric assistance; provision of basic needs and facilities;
rehabilitation and reconstruction activities; along with preventive and mitigation
measures clubbed with developmental programmes.
To prevent and combat various disasters and their adverse effects, the country
has several other enacted laws and legislations, like, The Factories Act, 1948,
Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, Mines Act, 1952, Atomic Energy
Act, 1962, Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989,
etc. These laws basically help to prevent man-made disasters resulting from hazardous
chemicals and hazardous processes, nuclear technology, mining activities, hazardous
wastes, and so on. There are other laws too which provide with a legal vehicle to the
victims of disasters for quick redressal of their grievances arising from industrial
accidents and disasters. For example, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation
Act, 1948, and Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991. There are specific laws for
environment protection, like, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1974, the Air ((Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Coastal regulation
263
Zone Notification, 1991, Environment Protection Act, 1986, etc. which help to
preserve the natural environment to safeguard it from the destructive and damaging
effects of pollutions and disasters.
The country has also formulated and adopted various non-legal, preventive
and mitigation measures to protect the people and the environment from adverse
effects of disasters. The measures include Physical Event Modification, Human
Vulnerability
Modification,
and
Environmental
Management
which
are
supplementary to each other. These methods are practical strategies to prevent disaster
impacts and/ or mitigate their effects significantly.
Physical Event Modification involves the adjustment of damaging events to
people through ‘environmental control engineering’ which uses human control
measures to suppress the hazardous events at source to reduce losses to people; and
‘hazard resistant design’ which adopts the application of building codes and other
regulations to safeguard structures from hazardous events by making them hazard
proof through
designing,
constructing
and
retrofitting
them
accordingly.
Environmental control engineering method is best suited to man-made hazards,
particularly, technological. The method is basically unsuitable to manage natural
hazards which are quite impossible to be controlled at the source. For natural hazard
management, hazard resistant design method is best suited which involves structural
measures like construction of flood embankments, seawalls, earthquake proof
buildings, etc.
Human Vulnerability Modification includes various measures designed to
reduce hazard losses by adjusting people to damaging events. It primarily works on
non-structural responses for hazard avoidance, such as, education of people in hazard
264
prone areas, creation of awareness regarding hazards and their preventive measures,
through training programmes, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, documentary
films, etc. with active involvement of the communities, especially women and
children.
Environmental Management involves proper resource use and resource
management. Its main objective is to reduce or minimize the impact of human
activities on the physical and ecological environment. It endeavors to avoid the
overuse, misuse and abuse of resources in the environment. The method strongly
believes that with least human interference with nature and long-term resource
management measures, most of the disaster related problems can be solved. The
method has been adopted in the country by the policy makers to protect and conserve
the natural environment. For example, Roof-Water Harvesting Programmes, National
Watershed Development Programme for Rain fed Areas, Shelter Belt Mangrove
Plantation Programme, etc. The method is found to be very purposeful which strives
to maintain and preserve environmental resources from adverse human activities.
However, the laws and legislations, when compared to non-legal measures,
have been found to be inadequate and less effective in preventing disasters or
reducing their harmful impacts. Especially, the much awaited Act of the country, the
Disaster Management Act, 2005, has been considered to be a major disappointment. It
has not come up to the mark of people’s expectation. The Act which was basically
enacted to provide protection to the people from the painful consequences of disasters
has let them down. It has many flaws in it, namely, the establishment of multiple
number of committees and sub-committees creating confusion among the people,
irregularity in holding statutory meetings by the Authorities, non-delegation of basic
powers and responsibilities to local bodies, non-participation of communities and
265
NGOs in managing disasters, etc. The Act which appears to be comprehensive has
several unfilled gaps in it which need to be addressed at the earliest.
The contributing factors for the inefficiency and inadequacy of the legal
provisions of disaster management in India are: lack of strict enforcement and
effective implementation of laws by the concerned departments and regulatory
institutions, authorities and organizations, corruption, fraud, delay and red tapism, and
lack of transparency and disorganization in working system, clubbed with dense
population of the country with highly ignorant masses, poverty and low standards of
living, lack of community participation in enforcement machineries, and lack of legal
awareness among the people. Thus, despite numerous laws in diverse fields to help
prevent different kinds of disasters, and a specific enactment on disaster management
to manage disasters, there is still found to be a dearth for effective management of
disasters in the country.
In India, disasters, both natural and man-made, occur from time to time, but
the lessons learnt from the past disasters are forgotten over a period of time. However,
the need of the hour is to reduce vulnerability and undertake risk reduction measures
in order to sustain the mankind, environment, and the pace of development of the
country. Prevention of many disasters is possible, necessary and urgent because the
causes and effects of disasters depend on human activities to a large extent. Disaster
prevention has become inevitable as the harm caused to the people and the
environment has reached such enormous proportions that emergency relief cannot
adequately meet the needs of the victims. It has become an urgent issue as the
increasing frequency and severity of disasters have neared a point of being
unmanageable. In a large part of India, the ecological base for peaceful human
existence has been so damaged that it can no longer support the growing mankind.
266
Hence, preventing and mitigating disasters, and managing them in an efficient way to
protect the masses from their fury have become a critical necessity in the country.
A balanced approach to disaster management is envisaged for the country
which is battered by disasters every now and then. The approach involves the
mobilization and education of people in disaster prone areas, strengthening of
institutional capacities for better coordination, and an effective early warning system,
supported by an active communication network. The stress is on the development of
adequate human resources with applicable technical skills needed for crisis and
disaster management. For a successful disaster management in the country, the policy
should involve people- centric programmes with active involvement of all vulnerable
groups such as, women, children, the elderly, and the poor and the marginalized
communities, in coalition with civil society organizations, NGOs, industries, trade
unions, and the government to mobilize grassroots level support for disaster
preparedness and mitigation activities, promotion of risk awareness among the
society, pre-emergency planning, crisis management education and training.
8.2 Suggestions
In the light of the above discussion relating to disaster management laws in India,
the following suggestions have been made to improve the management of disasters in
the country, and enhance the capability to prevent or mitigate their impacts in the
long-run.
1) Introduction of relevant amendments to the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to
make it more effective and efficient in preventing and managing disasters, by
delegating mandatory responsibilities to the communities, local bodies, and NGOs
267
and bringing them under the purview of the Act in consonance with international
mandate on disaster management.
2) Active involvement of communities in disaster management activities, with clear
delineation of their responsibilities, by providing intensive training to the general
public about the various aspects of disasters, and the benefits of the
countermeasures.
3) Integration of women in community-based mitigation and planning activities, and
their designation as focal points for interaction with local and national disaster
officials.
4) Involvement of students and student organizations, like, NCC, Scouts and Guides,
YSM, etc. in managing disasters by teaching and preparing their mindset to
address disaster issues, not just as humanitarian and management principles, but
with a perspective that includes foresight relating to the intricacies of development
processes.
5) Dynamic participation of NGOs in post-disaster relief and rehabilitation
operations, and as well as in pre-disaster preparedness and mitigation activities.
6) Involvement of NGOs, trade unions, companies, and environment protection and
citizen groups, to take active interest in hazardous industrial units for the purpose
of collection and dissemination of critical information to the general public,
particularly to those residing in the vicinity of the concerned hazardous unit,
regarding hazardous substances and activities of the industry.
7) Priority to be given to the most inaccessible areas/ regions during the distribution
of humanitarian aid, with special attention to the needs and wants of children of
all ages, the old and the sick, and pregnant and lactating women.
268
8) Organization of effective psycho- social help to the disaster victims through
psychiatrists and counseling experts for quick recovery.
9) Arrangement of legal awareness programmes for the general public to create an
awareness regarding the effects of disasters and legal aspects of redressal of their
grievances.
10) Encouragement of community based rehabilitation and reconstruction, humane in
its outlook, for cost and resource effective option in the long-run with special
attention to the interests of the weakest sections.
11) Organization of effective training programmes for disaster health workers and
primary health paramedics for disaster preparedness and prevention, and post­
disaster response activities.
12) Provision of special trainings and workshops for civil engineers, architects, and
interior designers, including masons, to create awareness and provide upgraded
guidelines regarding hazard resistant planning, designing, constructing and
retrofitting of buildings, and other habitats.
13) Utilization of local knowledge, technology and resources to build, repair and
retrofit buildings and other structures.
14) Development of hazard resistant crops, like, flood resistant, saline water resistant,
etc., and agricultural methods to protect farmers and agriculturists from losses
occurring due to disasters.
15) Procurement of modem rescue and relief equipments, based on state-of-the art
technology, for swift operations in the affected areas to help save maximum
number of lives in a short period of time.
16) Improvement of forecasting, warning and communication system for effective
disaster preparedness, with special attention to communication of warnings in
269
local languages, devoid of technical terms for easy understanding by all disasterprone people.
17) Proper documentation of past disaster events to help understand the vulnerabilities
and tackling of future disasters with the lessons learnt.
18) Strengthening of international cooperation in information and experience
exchange between countries for prevention and reduction of disaster.
19) Involvement of legislators and other elected members should be restricted to
planning and policy review activities only, with limited scope of involvement in
the field operations, as their presence in the affected areas creates chaos and
confusion, and leads to wastage of State resources for their security purpose.
It is hoped, a prompt implementation of the above suggestions would bring about
a significant change and strengthen the present disaster management system in
India.