Unit 1 : Understanding Disaster

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 1
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Understanding Disaster
Concept of Disaster, Different approaches ,
Concept of Risk, Levels of Disasters. Disaster
Phenomena and Events (Global, national and
regional)

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 2
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Concept of Disaster
A sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that
causes great damage or loss of life.
A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that
seriously disrupts the functioning of a community
or society and causes human, material and
economic or environmental losses that exceed
the community's or society's ability to cope using
its own resources. Though often caused by
nature, disasters can have human origins.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 3
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 4
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Natural hazards
Natural hazards are naturally occurring physical
phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset
events which can be
Geophysical
earthquakes,
landslides,
tsunamis
volcanic activity,
Hydrological
avalanches
floods,
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
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& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Natural hazards
Climatological
extreme temperatures,
drought and
wildfires,
Meteorological
cyclones and
storms/wave surges
Biological
disease epidemics and
insect/animal plagues.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 6
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Technological hazards
Technological or man-made hazards
complex emergencies/conflicts,
famine,
displaced populations,
industrial accidents and
transport accidents) are events that are caused by
humans and occur in or close to human settlements.

This can include environmental degradation,

pollution and accidents.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
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& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Technological hazards
There are a range of challenges, such
as climate change, unplanned-
urbanization, under-development/poverty ,
that will shape humanitarian assistance in the
future.
These aggravating factors will result in
increased frequency, complexity and severity
of disasters.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 8
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Types of Disaster
Disaster

Natural
Man Made
Floods Traffic Accidents like Air Crash, Railway
Cyclones accidents, Road Accidents
Drought Environmental Pollution
Volcanic Eruption Nuclear Hazards
Tsunami Terrorism, Nuclear war fare etc.
Building Collapse, bridge collapse

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 9
& OSD to VC JNTUH
Some examples of disasters in India recently are:

Chennai Floods November 2015.

Severe Drought in year 2014 and 2015.
Hud-hud cyclone Visakhapatnam 2015
Nepal Earthquake in 2015.
Uttarkhand floods in year 2013.
Kurnool floods 2009
Tsunami in Indian ocean on 26 Dec 2004
2001 Gujarat Earthquake
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 10
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 11
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 Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 12
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 Few Disasters in India

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

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 Disaster and crisis management

The world is changing fast, more people are

becoming vulnerable to disasters or are forced
to cope with acts of violence, financial crises
and growing uncertainty, often without
adequate support from their governments.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

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& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Disaster management
Disaster Management can be defined as the
organization and management of resources
and responsibilities for dealing with all
humanitarian aspects of emergencies.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 15
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Disaster management
The first people to respond to a disaster are
those living in the local community.
They are the first to start rescue and relief
operations.
Several Societies, therefore, focus on
community-based disaster preparedness,
which assists communities to reduce their
vulnerability to disasters and strengthen their
capacities to resist them.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 16
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Disaster management
When the capacity of a community or country
to respond and recover from a disaster is overwhelmed, the
International Federation uses its regional and international
networks, assets and resources to bring assistance to the
communities.

At an international level the International Federation

advocates with Governments, international organisations
and humanitarian donors for better practice and
accountability in disaster management and greater respect
of the dignity of the vulnerable people.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

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& OSD to VC JNTUH
 A disaster is not a single event; it may have
various causes and consequences, and so each
disaster is unique.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

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& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Preparing for a disaster
Disaster preparedness activities embedded
with risk reduction measures can prevent
disaster situations and also result in saving
maximum lives and livelihoods during any
disaster situation.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 19
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Preparing for a disaster
Disaster preparedness refers to measures
taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of
disasters.
That is, to predict and, wherever possible,
prevent disasters, mitigate their impact on
vulnerable populations, and respond to and
effectively cope with their consequences.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 20
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Preparing for a disaster
Disaster preparedness provides a platform to
design effective, realistic and coordinated
planning, reduces duplication of efforts and
increase the overall effectiveness of National
Societies, household and community
members disaster preparedness and response
efforts.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 21
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Preparing for a disaster
Disaster preparedness activities embedded
with risk reduction measures can prevent
disaster situations and also result in saving
maximum lives and livelihoods during any
disaster situation, enabling the affected
population to get back to normalcy within a
short time period.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 22
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Preparing for a disaster
Disaster preparedness is a continuous and
integrated process resulting from a wide range
of risk reduction activities and resources
rather than from a distinct sectoral activity by
itself.
It requires the contributions of many different
areasranging from training and logistics, to
health care, recovery, livelihood to
institutional development.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 23
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Responding to disasters
The disaster management team should respond
to disasters as rapidly and effectively as possible,
by mobilizing its resources and using its network
in a coordinated manner.
Disasters impact on entire communities.
The immediate effects include loss of life and
damage to property and infrastructure,
with the survivors (some of whom may have been
injured in the disaster) traumatized by the event,
feels uncertain of the future.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
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 Responding to disasters
More than likely, they are left without adequate
shelter, food, water and other necessities to
sustain life.
Rapid action is required to prevent further loss of
life.
The team should respond to disasters as rapidly
and effectively as possible, by mobilizing its
resources (people, money and other assets) and
using its network in a coordinated manner so that
the initial effects are countered and the needs of
the affected communities are met.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
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 Responding to disasters
The primary aims of disaster response are rescue
from immediate danger and stabilization of the
physical and emotional condition of survivors.
These go hand in hand with the recovery of the
dead and the restoration of essential services
such as water and power.
How long this takes varies according to the scale,
type and context of the disaster but typically
takes between one and six months.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
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 Responding to disasters
The social, economic and political consequences of
disasters are frequently complex.
For instance, the disaster may:
disrupt vital community self-help networks, further
increasing vulnerability;
disrupt markets over a wide area, reducing the
availability of food and opportunities for income
generation;
destroy essential health infrastructure such as
hospitals, resulting in a lack of emergency and longer-
term medical care for the affected population.
Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering
1/31/2017 27
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Responding to disasters
Moreover, the situation may be compounded by
a secondary threat, such as earthquake
aftershocks or epidemics.
It is essential that disaster response activities do
not make a bad situation worse by destroying
existing community-support mechanisms.
Rather, they should lay the foundations for the
subsequent recovery of the affected population.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 28
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 Responding to disasters
Disaster situations are highly fluid, evolve
rapidly (often in unpredictable ways) and
therefore require a close degree of
coordination and cooperation between those
involved in the response, including the
affected community itself.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 29
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 From crisis .to recovery
Recovery refers to those programmes which
go beyond the immediate relief to assist those
who have suffered the full impact of a disaster
to rebuild their homes, lives and services and
to strengthen their capacity to cope with
future disasters

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 30
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 From crisis .to recovery
Following a disaster, life-saving assistance is the most
urgent need.
The rapid provision of food, water, shelter and medical care
is vital to prevent further loss of life and alleviate suffering.
However, practical experience, backed by research,
supports the view that even at this stage, relief must be
conducted with a thought to the affected communitys
longer-term benefit and certainly should not be prejudicial
to it.
As people begin to get back on their feet and rebuild their
lives, aid agencies need to help them to strengthen their
resilience to future hazards..

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 31
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 From crisis .to recovery
Just restoring the pre-disaster status-quo may
inadvertently perpetuate vulnerability.
Development programmes need to take into
account existing risks and susceptibility to
hazards and to incorporate elements to
reduce them.
The two approaches are interdependent,
complementary and mutually supportive

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 32
& OSD to VC JNTUH
 From crisis .to recovery
The International Federation is a leading humanitarian
organization active in post-disaster and post-conflict
relief and rehabilitation.
Whatever the nature of the disaster flood,
earthquake, industrial accident or civil disturbance
there is an opportunity to link and integrate relief,
rehabilitation and development.
To do so effectively requires an analysis of the broader
political, social and economic context.
In a disaster, there may be a need to rehabilitate
livelihoods even while the emergency is ongoing. Root
causes need to be identified and exposed.

Dr G K viswanadh prof.of Civil engineering

1/31/2017 33
& OSD to VC JNTUH