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At the national level, India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent phenomena. In the recent past communal violence and terrorists threats have also become much too common for comfort.

Disaster Management

It is an evolving discipline which involves assessing information on potential catastrophic events and initiating those activities that will lessen impact of the potential disaster and ensure a greater degree of survival and recovery.

From a management perspective, there are 3 interrelated phases: -

1. Prevention / Mitigation: To eliminate or minimize the disaster
2. Response (Short Term): Activities that follow the initial impact of a disaster
3. Recovery (Long Term): Activities that continue until all systems return to normalcy

Prevention (Phase I)

The government of India has taken several important measures, with major legislative changes and stronger institutional mechanisms. For instance, National Safety Council (NSCI) took the APELL (awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local levels) process as a model, promoting awareness and training projects covering both hazardous materials transport and fixed installations. The government has also set up Crisis Groups at central, state, district and local levels to effectively obviate both natural and human disaster.

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* Contributed by: -
Uday Sankar A. & S. Yogendra,
National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai.