NEW DELHI: Six months after the University Grants Commission (UGC) sent a letter to all universities asking for compulsory courses on disaster management, geography teachers of Delhi University, concerned with the safety situation in the campus, have written to the DU vice-chancellor requesting the start of such a course.
In their letter, geography professor and member of the DU Teacher’s Association (DUTA), Vishwaraj Sharma, stated that DU needs a centre for disaster management studies.

“It is pertinent to note that whenever any disaster happens, it not only causes financial but also social and psychological sufferings in the society. Thus, the importance arises of conducting research and studying this discipline in the contemporary society,” the professor wrote to the vice-chancellor.

Sharma told TOI that only recently, JNU started its ‘Special Centre for Disaster Research,’ a trans-disciplinary centre where research would be conducted including social sciences and natural sciences and will start courses from next year.

Amita Singh, chairperson of the centre, explained that the centre will allow opportunities of research and “will also start master’s courses where students will be taught about disaster management and response.”

Sharma also mentioned TOI’s report on Jamia Millia Islamia beginning its centre for climate sustainability and disaster management where they are offering MSc and diploma courses ‘specific to Delhi’.

TOKYO -- Japan will work with Southeast Asian nations like Laos and Myanmar to provide immediate financing after natural disasters so that recovery funds can be quickly distributed.

The Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility will be announced in May at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank's board of governors. Operations are slated to begin in 2019.

Participating countries will make the insurance payouts while Japan provides initial support through funding. The facility will invest funds it has accumulated and take out reinsurance from private insurers in Japan and elsewhere.

The facility is meant to provide rapid financial relief after typhoons, earthquakes and other disasters. In a flood, for example, it will determine payouts based on precipitation levels -- a faster method than the current one that relies on on-site inspections to assess damage.

Japan's Ministry of Finance has been working to set up the new insurance framework in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, and it could eventually be extended to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The facility aims to reduce financial risk in Southeast Asia, where large losses from frequent natural disasters could destabilize the finances of afflicted countries. A 2015 flood in Myanmar was estimated to cost $1.5 billion, for instance. Japan seeks to curb this risk by offering insurance expertise and financial support.

source: https://asia.nikkei.com