Survive disasters

A L I V E ,

W E S H A L L T R Y P R O B L E M S O L V I N G

SURVIVE FROM A DISASTER

Earthquake.

Tornado.

Hurricane.

Flood.

Fire.

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In 1948, all the worlds governments made a firm

commitment in the form of Article 3 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights to

safeguard all peoples rights to life and security.

But for human rights to have meaning, it is not

enough for them simply to exist. In the aftermath

of conflicts and disasters, affected communities

are all too often left without the assistance

required to save life and protect livelihoods.

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Geneva: India ranks second in the world for

natural disasters after China, a top UN official

has said. It was underlined that

unplanned urbanization and

failure to address the issue of climate change

pose a grave threat worldwide.

The two rapidly growing countries in the world, China

and India, rank first and second in the number of

reported natural disasters. While China witnessed 22

natural disasters, India came second with 16.

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A disaster is "a situation or

event which overwhelms

local capacity, necessitating

a request to a national or

international level of external

assistance" and "an

unforeseen and often

sudden event that causes

great damage, destruction

and human suffering."

NATURAL DISASTERS:

PREPARE, MITIGATE, MANAGE

Disaster preparedness includes all of the activities

that are carried out prior to the advance notice of a

catastrophe in order to facilitate the use of available

resources, relief, and rehabilitation in the best

possible fashion.

Disaster preparedness starts at the local community

level; if local resources were insufficient, it would

branch out to the national level, and if needed, the

international level. 5

Many governments fail to cope with threats like

storms, floods and earthquakes.

They fail to act

effectively enough in response to these events,

or

to take preventative action to reduce

unnecessary deaths and suffering. A GOVT. CAN BE CHANGED ONCE IN 5 YEARS ONLY!

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Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to

happen to U. Explain what to do in each case to your

own group.

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New Initiatives Taken By Government of India

1. National Disaster Management Framework

2. Home Secretary Letter to All Chief Secretaries 18.12.2002

3. Home Secretary Letter to All Chief Secretaries 26.05.2003

4. Deputy Prime Minister Letter to All Chief Ministers

29.07.2003

5. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF

ENGINEERS IN EARTHQUAKE RISK MANAGEMENT

6. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF

ARCHITECTES IN EARTHQUAKE RISK MANAGEMENT

7. 38 CITIES "URBAN EARTHQUAKE VULNERABILITY

REDUCTION PROJECT"

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The Northridge earthquake occurred on Jan. 17, 1994, in

Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, Calif.,

and lasted for about 10-20 seconds.

The quake resulted in more than 60 deaths and more

than 5,000 injuries. More than 25,000 people were left

homeless, according to the Federal Emergency

Management Agency.

In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $25

billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural

disasters in the U.S. history.

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The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake,

occurred on Jan. 17, 1995, in the southern part of Hyogo

Prefecture, Japan. The focus of the quake was located

16 km (10 miles) beneath its epicenter, 20 km (12 miles)

away from the city of Kobe. Measured at 6.8 magnitude,

the earthquake killed nearly 6,500 people, making it the

deadliest disaster in the world that year.

The Kobe quake caused about $100 billion in destruction,

but Japanese trade rebounded within a year, with

imports recovering fully and exports back to 85 percent

of normal levels.

10

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

was one of the worst disasters in the U.S. history. It

made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, 2005.

At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane and in the

subsequent floods. Five years later, thousands of

displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana were still

living in temporary accommodations.

The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $81

billion (2005 U.S. dollars). It also generated the largest

single loss in the history of insurance - $41 billion,

according to the Insurance Information Institute.

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The May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake was a

deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0

magnitude. The quake killed about 70,000

people and left more than 18,000 missing. The

epicenter was 80 km (50 miles) west-northwest

of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province,

where almost 4 million people resided.

Estimates put direct damage and losses from

the earthquake at $29 billion, with indirect

damage much higher.

LOSS OF PEOPLE & $

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About 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800

people in 2010.

The estimated costs of natural disasters in 2010,

in which an earthquake in Haiti killed over

222,500 people and the Russian heat wave

caused around 56,000 fatalities, is around $ 110

billion.

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Other than the Haiti earthquake and the heat

wave in Russia, other major disasters include the

earthquake in China (estimate number of

deaths 2,968), floods in Pakistan (1985 deaths),

landslides in China (1765 people killed) and

floods in China.

Floods, drought, earthquake, and extreme

temperatures are the major sources for rising

wave natural disasters.

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White smokes rises from burning

houses in Yamadamachi in

Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan,

Saturday, March 12, 2011, one day

after a strong earthquake triggered a devastating

tsunami in the area. (AP Photo/Kenji Shimizu, The

Yomiuri Shimbun) The aftermath of the March 11

earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been

devastating. Meanwhile, the government struggled to

contain a nuclear crisis, which added to the country's

disaster.

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So far, 8,649 people dead and another 13,262 missing

since the 9.0-magnitude quake struck off the coast near

Sendai, Japan, on March 11, 2011. The damage caused

by the earthquake and resulting tsunami was enormous.

Failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Nuclear

Power Plant intensified the situation, resulting in

evacuation of about 200,000 people residing around the

plant.

Japan's government had a estimate of $309 billion.

Estimate could go higher as it does not include losses in

economic activity from planned power outages.

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Indeed, the very actions of

some governments and their

national elites

place marginalised people at risk from disasters by

discriminating against them, like those who live in

flimsy slum housing easily destroyed by floods and

landslips.

We didnt ask them to be there. God help them.

Meet your family and discuss why you need

to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of

fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to

children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.

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Disaster mitigation

It is the ongoing effort to lessen the impact

disasters have on people and property.

Fewer people and communities would be

affected by natural disasters with the use of this

process.

Because of the varying degree of each natural

disaster, there are different mitigation strategies

for each.

Even in daunting economic times, the world can

afford to meet the humanitarian needs of every

person struggling to survive a disaster.

It is possible to reduce the threats from climate-

related catastrophes.

It is possible for governments to provide good-

quality aid to their citizens. The governments of

developing countries must take greater

responsibility for responding to disasters and

reducing peoples vulnerability to them. 18

NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT (NPDM)

INDIA

India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large

number of natural as well as man-made

disasters. 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone

to earthquakes of moderate to very high

intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of

land) is prone to floods and river erosion; of the

7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is

prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of

the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and

hilly areas are at risk from landslides and

avalanches. 19

NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT(NPDM)

Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks_ related to

expanding population, urbanization and industrialization,

dev