Disaster management

God has created everything including land, water, air etc. Nature has several manifestations – benign as well as hostile. Sometimes, it is soothing, sometimes it is ferocious. Whenever it turns to be in its bad temper, it can bring about devastation which is known as disaster.

A catastrophic situation in which normal pattern of life and or ecosystem gets disturbed and extraordinary emergency interventions are required to save and preserve lives or environment can be termed as a disaster. Natural disasters are the manifestation of nature and they can take place anywhere anytime.

A natural hazard is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage. Various disasters like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, tsunamis, and cyclones are all natural disasters.

well, there is no country which is completely free from disasters and so is India. India, due to its geographical locations & geological formations, is a highly disaster prone country.

India has faced a number of disasters, ranging from flood, earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami, drought, landslides. A few recent disasters faced by India include floods in Uttarakhand, cyclone “vardah” in Chennai, recurring earthquakes in northern India, chama earthquake in Gujarat, super cyclone in Orissa in 1999, bhuj earthquake in Gujarat in 2001, tsunami in 2004 and Mumbai-Gujarat flood in 2005. Besides, India has had to suffer technology-related tragedy in the form of gas tragedy in Bhopal in 1984. India also faced the problem of plague in Gujarat.

The direct or indirect impact of the disasters has always been deadly, destructive and damaging. They cause loss of life to the humans as well as livestock.

Disaster management is the management of resources and responsibilities in order to lessen the impact of disasters.