Now that it’s officially the “rainy season,” perhaps it’s time to review some lessons from the past and what they tell us about disaster preparedness. I recently attended the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference in Cancun with a delegation led by Undersecretary Rick Jalad, director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. The message was pretty clear: The world (and the Philippines in particular) has made great strides in disaster preparedness, and the investment has paid

loss have yet to be contained because of the lack of relevant programs. Lives are saved, but people remain victims of and impoverished by disaster.

In September 2009, Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana) hit Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. Over a month’s worth of rainfall fell in just 12 hours, leaving more than 700 people dead and some 450,000 displaced. Damage was recorded at $1.09 billion. The absence of a warning system caught people flatfooted and unaware of the floods that ensued.

In November 2013, Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) barreled into central eastern Philippines, making landfall in the provinces of Samar and Leyte. It was the strongest storm worldwide to ever make landfall in the recorded history of storm-tracking, with winds reaching 315 kilometers per hour and a storm surge of 4.6-7.0 meters (14-21 feet). Yolanda left 6,340 casualties and 1,058 missing and almost $3.0 billion in damage. Forecasts were made and typhoon warnings issued early. But because the people either ignored the warnings or didn’t take them seriously, the loss of life and damage were unprecedented because of the general lack of preparedness.

We founded the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) in 2009, after Ondoy, to basically focus on disaster response and recovery. Its original name was Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, but after Yolanda, we began to shift our strategy to disaster prevention and preparedness. In mid-2014, we decided to focus on resilience and changed our name to reflect this new thrust, while still keeping engaged in disaster response and recovery. We felt, like many others, that “an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.”

One of our strategic decisions was to establish an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which was envisioned to provide storm-tracking information as well as a map of hazard risks such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods. By overlaying this data against maps indicating population and key facilities like airports, ports, roads, utilities, and other important infrastructure, we plan to mobilize disaster preparedness efforts well before typhoons hit.

As important as the hardware and software behind the EOC, we built a network of over 80 companies ready to mobilize before disasters. We organized these firms into eight clusters or committees on themes like Power and Energy, Water and Sanitation, Telecommunications, Resilient Infrastructure, Emergency Supplies, Finance and Insurance, Logistics, and Healthcare. We also jointly drew up a common manual of operations and organized periodic drills.

We built a prototype EOC in the central business district of Makati and began operating it in June 2016. We have completed designs for our main EOC to be located in Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, and started construction last month.

It has been well documented that investments in preparedness can result in significant savings in relief and rehabilitation expenses. Since 2013, storms and typhoons have hit the Philippines (as they do 20–25 times a year). However, intensified focus on preparedness and prevention by both the government and the private sector have resulted in fewer casualties. Communities are now able to bounce back more quickly after a calamity. In our view, the results are clear: Disaster preparedness saves lives.

We now need to move to our next challenge: to use disaster risk reduction methods to cut economic losses and damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.

Disaster Management (or Emergency management) is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats; instead, it focuses on creating plans to decrease the effect of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead to human mortality, loss of revenue, and damage to assets. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures.

Before proceeding let me mention some of major natural disasters faced by state of J&K in recent years.

1) Snow Blizzard at WaltenguNad (Kulgam district) February, 2005:

On 18th Feb 2005 a snow blizzard occurred in villages Waltengu Nad, Pachgam and Nigeenpora affecting 128 families consisting of 618 souls. During the incident 175 lives (54 men, 48 women and 73 children) were lost. In many cases full families were wiped out. 183 sheep/goats, 308 cows, 54 buffaloes and 5 horses perished.

2) Kashmir Earthquake, October, 2005:

On 8th October, 2005 a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.6 resulted in 953 deaths and 418 injuries in J&K (also more than 80,000 deaths in PaK. This was one of the deadliest earthquakes in the sub-continent. 23,782 houses were fully damaged in the quake in J&K. 40.3% of the deaths comprised children below 10 years of age, thereby depicting their vulnerability and signifying the importance of school safety.

3) Leh Cloudburst and Flash floods, August 2010:

On the intervening night of August 5 - 6, 2010, Leh witnessed a devastative cloudburst followed by flashfloods. The unprecedented event resulted in the death of over 250 people and damage worth crores of rupees. The areas in and around Leh, especially Choglamsar, where people had constructed houses along the dry water course had no idea that the stream could get flooded and wash away everything whatever came in its way.

4) Cloud burst at Bagger (District Doda), June 2011:

A cloud burst occurred at Bagger in District Doda on 8th June 2011, where 17 structures got washed away and three people died. The dead bodies got washed away and have not been traced till date.

5) 2014 Kashmir Floods

In September 2014, the Kashmir region suffered disastrous floods across many of its districts caused by torrential rainfall .By 24 September 2014, nearly 277 people in India. According to the Home Ministry of India, several thousand villages across the state had been hit and 390 villages had been completely submerged. In actual figures 2600 villages were reported to be affected in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 390 villages in Kashmir were completely submerged. 1225 villages were partially affected and 1000 villages were affected in Jammu Division. 

(Source ; Website of Department of Environment Ecology and Remote Sensing J&K)

Emergency Planning Ideals

If possible, emergency planning should aim to prevent emergencies from occurring, and failing that, should develop a good action plan to mitigate the results and effects of any emergencies. As time goes on, and more data becomes available, usually through the study of emergencies as they occur, a plan should evolve. The development of emergency plans is a cyclical process, common to many risk management disciplines, such as Business Continuity and Security Risk Management, as set out below:

•        Recognition or identification of risks

•        Ranking or evaluation of risks

•        Responding to significant risks

•        Tolerate

•        Treat

•        Transfer

•        Terminate

•        Resourcing controls

•        Reaction Planning

•        Reporting & monitoring risk performance

•        Reviewing the Risk Management framework

Phases and Personal activities

Prevention

It focuses on preventing the human hazard, primarily from potential natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Preventive measures are taken on both the domestic and international levels, designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design standards. Preventing or reducing the impacts of disasters on our communities is a key focus for emergency management efforts today. Prevention and mitigation also help reduce the financial costs of disaster response and recovery.

Mitigation

Preventive or mitigation measures take different forms for different types of disasters. In earthquake prone areas, these preventive measures might include structural changes such as the installation of an earthquake valve to instantly shut off the natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of property, and the securing of items inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls, and the addition of cabinet latches. In flood prone areas, houses can be built on poles/stilts. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs installation of a generator ensures continuation of electrical service. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigative actions.

Preparedness

Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and procedures for use when a disaster occurs. This equipment and these procedures can be used to reduce vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a disaster or to respond more efficiently in an emergency.

Local Emergency Planning Committees

Particular requirements of Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) include

•        Identification of facilities and transportation routes of extremely hazardous substances

•        Description of emergency response procedures, on and off site

•        Designation of a community coordinator and facility emergency coordinator(s) to implement the plan

•        Outline of emergency notification procedures

•        Description of how to determine the probable affected area and population by releases

•        Description of local emergency equipment and facilities and the persons responsible for them

•        Outline of evacuation plans

•        A training program for emergency responders (including schedules)

•        Methods and schedules for exercising emergency response plans

Response

The response phase of an emergency may commence with Search and Rescue but in all cases the focus will quickly turn to fulfilling the basic humanitarian needs of the affected population. This assistance may be provided by national or international agencies and organizations. Effective coordination of disaster assistance is often crucial, particularly when many organizations respond and local emergency management agency (LEMA) capacity has been exceeded by the demand or diminished by the disaster itself

Donations are often sought during this period, especially for large disasters that overwhelm local capacity. Due to efficiencies of scale, money is often the most cost-effective donation if fraud is avoided. Money is also the most flexible, and if goods are sourced locally then transportation is minimized and the local economy is boosted. Some donors prefer to send gifts in kind, however these items can end up creating issues, rather than helping. Medical considerations will vary greatly based on the type of disaster and secondary effects. Survivors may sustain a multitude of injuries to include lacerations, burns, near drowning, or crush syndrome.

Recovery

The recovery phase starts after the immediate threat to human life has subsided. The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to normalcy as quickly as possible. During reconstruction it is recommended to consider the location or construction material of the property.

The most extreme home confinement scenarios include war, famine and severe epidemics and may last a year or more. Then recovery will take place inside the home. Planners for these events usually buy bulk foods and appropriate storage and preparation equipment, and eat the food as part of normal life. A simple balanced diet can be constructed from vitamin pills, whole-meal wheat, beans, dried milk, corn, and cooking oil.One should add vegetables, fruits, spices and meats, both prepared and fresh-gardened, when possible.

International organizations Involved in Disaster Management

a) The International Emergency Management Society

b) International   Association of Emergency Managers

c) International Recovery Platform

d) The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

e) Baptist Global Response

f) United Nations

g) World Bank

National Organizations Involved in Disaster Management in India

The National Disaster Management Authority is the primary government agency responsible for planning and capacity-building for disaster relief. Its emphasis is primarily on strategic risk management and mitigation, as well as developing policies and planning. The National Institute of Disaster Management is a policy think-tank and training institution for developing guidelines and training programs for mitigating disasters and managing crisis response.

The National Disaster Response Force is the government agency primarily responsible for emergency management during natural and man-made disasters, with specialized skills in search, rescue and rehabilitation. The Ministry of Science and Technology also contains an agency that brings the expertise of earth scientists and meteorologists to emergency management. The Indian Armed Forces also plays an important role in the rescue/recovery operations after disasters.

-         The writer is a final year Civil  Engineering Student