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Digital Editions available on: Magzter.com www.worldfocus.in ISSN 2230-8458 U.S. Library of Congress No. 80910345 437 A Premier Indo-Centric Foreign Affairs Journal Since 1980 May 2016 DISASTER MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION 100 US $ 17 NEXT ISSUE To Reach this location scan Here QR code /WorldFocus.In /WorldFocusIn Global Turmoils: Peace and Conflict Management EDITORIAL Disasters are unexpected events that we face anytime in our life. There are various reasons for the occurrence of disasters: demographic WORLD changes, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation and concerns of climate change have increased exposure to disasters. The region of South Asia and India, in particular, has been extremely vulnerable to disasters of different kinds. Over the years, millions of people had fallen victims to these disasters and properties worth billions of ru- FOCUS pees have been lost to these. As one of the authors points out in this INDOCENTRIC FOREIGN AFFAIRS MONTHLY JOURNAL series, floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have Volume XXXVII Number 05 May 2016 been recurrent phenomena. For example a recent report on natural calamity suggests about 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquake G . Kishore Babu of various intensities, over 40 million hectares is prone to floods, about Editor 8% of total area is prone to cyclones and 68% of the area is suscep- Bhabani Dikshit tible to severe draught. In fact, in the decade 1990-2000, an average of Managing Editor about 4344 people lost their lives about 30 million people were af- fected by disaster every year. Though in India, we face disasters quite Stuti S. Mandala often, the policy of management during the crisis time has been rather Associate Editor sluggish. Every time we are caught unaware with little time left for rehabilitation and quick action. Though disasters are as old as human WORLD FOCUS takes up every month one history the continuous rise and the damage caused by them in the international issue and gives an analysis of its various recent past have become a cause of both national and international aspects by persons well known for their concern. specialisation in the subject. The issues covered are India needs to take certain measures that would help in reducing the topical or near topical, but of an abiding interest. effects of disasters. These are: early warning systems; preparedness The analysis is simple enough to interest even an for the disasters; adequate technology and monitoring systems; bet- initiate to world affairs, but without sacrificing depth. ter co-ordination among authorities to act during disasters; quick re- The aim is to present an Indocentric view on a lief systems and equipments; and genuine concern to address the particular issue currently facing the world. crisis. The Disaster Management Act 2005 has been one of the most Opinions expressed in the articles are personal views significant initiatives taken by the Government of India for putting in of the author and in no way reflect the opinion of place an institutional system dedicated to disaster management. It World Focus. The author is solely responsible for was notified on 26 December, 2005 and consists of 79 sections and 11 the contents in his/ her article and the World Focus chapters. The Act provides for an effective management of disasters takes no responsibility in this regard. and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The disas- ter management Act 2005 has created a hierarchy of institutions at the The Contents of this magazine cannot be reproduced national, state and district levels for holistic management of disasters. in any form with out prior permission from World The examples of institutional back up consist in the establishment of Focus. Any legal issues pertaining to World Focus National Disaster Management Authority, National Institute of Disas- will be settled in NCT region of Delhi only. ter Management, National Disaster Response Force and The National Unsolicited articles will not be returned or Disaster Response Fund. acknowledged. World Focus reserves the right to Adequate emphasis needs to given to the development of response edit articles for brevity and clarity before publication. system such as preparation of Special Response Teams, develop inci- dent command system, laying Standard Operating Procedure, incor- Edited, Owned, Published and Printed by porating Trigger Mechanisms. Further, technological advancement G. Kishore Babu from B-49 (Ground Floor), Joshi Colony, I.P. Extension, Delhi-110092 at Meenakshi Press, 4857/24, First such as India Disaster Resource Network, Development of GIS based Floor, Ansari Road, Dariyaganj, New Delhi - 110002 National Database for Disaster Management, Installation of Early Warning and Hazard Detection Equipment should be operational with Total number of Pages 140, including Covers utmost efficiency. The government should make National Disaster Copy Right : World Focus Management Plan highlighting the disaster prevention, mitigation and response. Efforts should be taken to make people aware of the disaster Our Address: management as a community movement so that they are encouraged World Focus to volunteer and assist the government whenever disasters occur and B-49, (Ground Floor) Joshi Colony, work hand in hand to mitigate the negative effects. I P Extension We are thankful to Prof. P.C. Joshi, Delhi University for planning and Delhi - 110092, India co-ordinating this issue as the Guest Editor. Tel. / Fax : 22246905, Mobile No. 8130754555 Email: [email protected] New Delhi G. Kishore Babu Website: www.worldfocus.in May 2016 Editor 3 Disaster Management and Mitigation Contents Disaster Risk Reduction-Agenda before Academics, Policy Makers and Communities Prof R.B. Singh.......................................................................................................................5 Extreme Weather Events and the Himalayas: Learning from the Recent Flood Disasters Prof. P. C. Joshi.....................................................................................................................12 Cloud Bursts in Himalayan Region Prof. Umesh Kulshrestha and Anshu Sharma...........................................................................17 The Saga of Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India: A Brief Prognosis Prof. Tridib Chakaborti and Pratyay Dutta...............................................................................21 Disaster Management and the Role of the State Prof. Manas Chakrabarty......................................................................................................29 Confronting Catastrophe: Reassessing India’s Disaster Management Prof. Abhik Ghosh.................................................................................................................36 Natural Disasters and Human Security: An Analysis of Drought Prone Maharashtra Dr. Sanju Gupta.....................................................................................................................43 Nuclear Disaster Management- Past, Present and Future Dr. Vichitra Gupta..................................................................................................................55 Community in Disaster Management: Some Lessons from Odisha Dr. Sabita Harichandan..........................................................................................................62 Nuclear Disasters across the Globe:Lessons and Imperatives for India Dr. Alok Kumar Gupta...........................................................................................................69 Mitigating Greenhouse Gases in the Paris Agreement: A Case of New Market Mechanism Dr. Vijeta Rattani...................................................................................................................77 Locating Gender within the Realm of Natural Disasters Dr. Kalindi Sharma and Prof. P. C. Joshi.................................................................................83 Floods in Kashmir Valley: A note on the Disaster and Conflict Interface Urfat Anjem Mir and Sombala Ningthoujam.............................................................................88 Vulnerability of Women in Disaster: A Glance at Kosi Floods Dr. Minakshi and Prof. P. C. Joshi...........................................................................................92 Leh (Ladakh) Flash Floods of 2010: A Case Study Sonam Joldan and Urfat Anjem Mir.........................................................................................97 Various Mechanisms of Disaster Mitigation and Management Dr. Prashant Khattri.............................................................................................................100 Anthropological Perceptions of Disaster, Vulnerability and the Society Sapam Ranabir Singh............................................................................................................107 Extreme Events and Adaptation in Himalayan Region: Issues and Strategies Md. Arif Husain and Pankaj Kumar.......................................................................................112 Disaster Management and Technology Subhash Anand, Usha Rani and Mijing Gwra..........................................................................117 Basumatary Community-based Disaster Management Nirbhav and Yuthika Agarwal................................................................................................122 Concepts and Practices of Disaster Management Nikhil Roy and Bindhy Wasini Pandey..................................................................................127