• Overview

Vagaries of nature can cause disasters of such magnitude and such intensity that it becomes impossible to respond unless there is preparedness to cope with the effect in the pre-as well as post- disaster period.  Preparedness is the best response to such situations in order to mitigate the effects and to reduce losses in terms of life and property.   With increasing anthropogenic pressures, natural disasters have become all the more unpredictable and the fury unleashed by natural forces on human kind all the more ferocious causing far greater loss of life and property.  While there is no doubt that human kind has now got to make amends by restoring ecological balance, it is also true that human kind has got to be prepared for the worst.   Every year, more than 200 million people are affected by droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, wild fires, landslides and other hazards. Increased population densities, environmental degradation, and global warming adding to poverty make the impacts of natural hazards worse.
In the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, a World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction was organized in 1994 under the aegis of the United Nations in partnership with non- governmental organizations (NGOs), the scientific community, business, industry, and media to deliberate on reduction of human sufferings due to natural disasters.  It was concluded that disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and relief along with environmental protection and sustainable development are closely interrelated and hence nations should incorporate them in their development plans.
India is vulnerable to Natural Hazards such as, Earthquakes, Cloud Bursts, Floods, Drought, Land Slides, Land Subsidence, Forest Fires, Avalanche, Blizzards, Hailstorms, etc. Apart from natural events the State is also prone to man-made events of Building Collapses, Road Accidents, Railway Accidents, Fires, and Dam Bursts.
What are required to cope with these possible disasters are a comprehensive and integrated Disaster Management Plan which is participative and people friendly. The concise management system should incorporate both pre-and post-disaster responses with the sole aim of being prepared for Prevention and mitigation with lessening loss of life and property due to natural as well as man-made disasters and also to recover congenial predisaster atmosphere.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT BASIC CONCEPTS
Hazard is an event of occurrence that has the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment.
Disaster can be defined as an occurrence, due to natural causes or otherwise, which results in large-scale deaths or imminent possibility of deaths and extensive material damage.  In magnitude and intensity, it ranks higher than an accident and requires special measures of mitigation, which is beyond the capabilities of the existing fire, rescue, and relief services.
Risk is defined as a measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event of a particular    magnitude occurring in a given area over a specific time period. The level of risk depends upon:
The nature of the Hazard
The vulnerability of the elements which is affects.
And the economic value of those elements.
Risk Assessment means the quantitative evaluation of the likelihood of undesired events and the likelihood of harm or damage being caused by them, together with the value judgments made concerning the significance of the results.
Risk Analysis means the identification of undesired events that lead to the materialization of a hazard, the analysis of the mechanisms by which these undesired events could occur and, usually, the estimation of the extent, magnitude, and likelihood of any harmful effects.
Risk Management means the program that embraces all administrative and operational programs that are designed to reduce the risk of emergencies.
Vulnerability of an area is determined by the capacity of its social, physical and economic structures to withstand and respond to hazard events.
Emergency Response Plan/Action Plan means a detailed program of action emergency requiring prompt corrective measure beyond normal procedures to protect human life, minimize injury, optimize loss control and reduce; the exposure of physical assets and the environment, or in other words is the process by which the response to an extraordinary even is categorized into functional components and responsibility for each component is assigned to the appropriate individual or agency.
Preparedness:  Those activities which governments, organizations, communities and individuals develop to minimize loss of life and damage and to organize and  facilitate timely and effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation in case of disaster.
Preventive Action may be described as measures designed to prevent natural phenomena from causing or resulting in disaster or other related emergency situations.  It involves the formulation and implementation of long-range policies and programmes to prevent or eliminate the occurrence of disasters.
Mitigation: The concept of mitigation spans the broad spectrum of disaster prevention and preparedness.  Mitigation means reducing the actual or probable effects of extreme disaster on man and his environment..
Response is the first phase which occurs after the onset of an emergency and is intended to provide emergency assistance for disaster effects and casualties.  This includes search, rescue, shelter, medical care, and other efforts to reduce the probability or extent of secondary damage.

OBJECTIVES OF PLANNING
Every planning has its own aims and objectives. The planning of any activity in the district shall be specific and down to earth. For a better development and sustainability of growth a better planning is required.
The basic objective of the District Disaster Management Plan of Charaideo is to protect all its residents and every kinds of wealth from all sorts of untoward incident through the following sectoral objectives:-  
1. Institutionalization of disaster management in district administration.
2. Encouraging a culture of disaster preparedness in the district.
3. Vulnerability reduction and disaster mitigation through better planning process.
4. Creation of the best Government mechanism to handle any unprecedented events.
5. Instant response and effective decision making in disaster.
6. Better coordination of relief and rehabilitation aftermath of a disaster.
7. Better coordination of all line departments in disaster management.
8. Encouraging and empowering the local community to own disaster management.
9. Regular coordinating and updating of resources available in and around the district.
10. Mock drill to check the viability and feasibility of implementation methodology.
11. Regular updating the common people steps taken by the administration.