Monthly newsletter of the Disaster Management Unit, UNDP, New Delhi, India j vvv May 2011, Issue:XII IN THIS ISSUE In the news Pg- 2 UN Sasakawa Award for Bhubaneswar Pg- 6 GO-NGO Coordination Pg- 18 DRR album Pg- 24 Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, Country Director, UNDP India on visit at Orissa Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), Centre Cuttack, Orissa
2 In News
3
Mainstreaming The integration of disaster risk reduction into national and local development policies and plans is one of the key processes to promote a sustainable and resilient development paradigm. Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into the Developmental and Disaster Management Plans is an important mandate of the DM Act 2005. Development planning measures such as building regulations with provisions for structural safety against natural hazards, construction of hazard resistant infrastructure, land use planning can go a long way in mitigating the risks posed by natural hazards. Mainstreaming disaster management into the development planning process essentially means looking critically at each activity that is being planned not only from the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that activity, but also from the perspective of minimizing that activity potential contribution to the hazard. With more than 75% of the world s people living in disaster prone areas, risk reduction has been recognized as a cost effective strategy to protecting livelihoods and achieving the internationally agreed development goals presently, there is insufficient disaster proofing of the Millennium Development Goals through mainstreaming risk reduction into development strategies. -Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General One of the main components of the GoI-UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (2009-2012) is the development of the state/district disaster management plans. Most of the DRR programme states/districts have prepared the draft State/District Disaster Management plans as per the guidelines issued by NDMA. Various initiatives towards Disaster Management Planning undertaken in the month of May 2011 in DRR states are summarized below: Uttarakhand, District Chamoli District Disaster Management Plan (2010-11) is prepared and distributed to all tehsils and District Disaster Management Authority members. Uttarakhand, District Nainital A one day workshop with all the ward members, officers of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and NGOs on preparation of ward disaster management plan was organized in Nainital. The workshop covered awareness strategy and preference of local/ward problems in Disaster Management (DM) planning. The importance of community participation in ward level planning and preparation of city disaster management action plan was stressed upon. Kerala The PRA exercise was conducted in various villages in districts of Kerala i.e Padinjarathara village (Wayanad district), Vandiperiyarn (Palakkad district) under the GoI-UNDP DRR Programme. Community members, including Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) members participated in the programme. They used different tools of PRA such as mapping, seasonality 4
calendar, time line, venn diagram etc. for data collection. The data collected will be analysed, based on which DM plan for the villages will be prepared. Nanded, Maharashtra The draft city disaster management plan of Nanded district in Maharastra was prepared. It mainly covers the preparedness and mitigation measures of various disasters, hazard analysis and vulnerability assessment, response mechanism, recovery plan, SOP of line departments and important emergency contact numbers. Andhra Pradesh Under the GoI-UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction programme, three (03) district disaster management plans (DDMP), nine (09) mandal disaster management plans (MDMP) and six (06) village disaster management plans (VDMP) are completed and approved by the District Disaster Management Authority. The Andhra Pradesh State Government has taken a decision to direct the other district collectors to prepare District Disaster Management Plans on these lines and also forwarding model plans prepared under the GoI-UNDP DRR programme. The plans include detailed preparedness, mitigation and response plans. These are based on HRVA profile of the district. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are also prepared department wise and are included in the Plan. Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh For the preparation of city plan standard operating procedures (SOPs), a workshop was held in the Srikakulam municipality. A total of 25 members from various line departments and Municipal Corporation attended the workshop. The main features of the plan as discussed are: HRV analysis; Preparedness Plan; Response Plan; Mitigation Plan; Capacity Building Plan and Monitoring mechanism. Balangir district, Orissa The Draft Block Disaster Management Plan of Gudvella block of Balangir district has been shared at the Block and Gram Panchayat (GP) level. Line department officials shared detailed information on their departmental action plan so as to incorporate in the final block disaster management plan. A Consultation on preparation of District Disaster Management Plan was held in Balangir district which was attended by the block programme officers, executive officers and line department officials. Detailed discussions on Emergency Support Function (ESF), India Disaster Resource Network (IDRN), updation of resource database and preparation of village level disaster plans were held. Draft village disaster management plan was shared with the line department officials and community members in Balangir district and it was decided to modify the plans as per the inputs provided by the members. 5
Consultation on preparation of draft village disaster management plan was held in Budhabhal village of Balangir district, Orissa. A total of 32 participants including Anganwadi workers (AWW), ASHA workers, school teachers, Village Disaster Management Committee (VDMC) members attended the meeting. The importance of Village Disaster Management Plan (VDMP) and its renewal time line was shared with the participants. Meerut, Uttar Pradesh A consultation meeting on updation of district disaster management plan was organized in Meerut. The meeting was attended by DDMA members along with Emergency support functionaries. West Bengal Department of Municipal Affairs notified to 116 municipalities, corporations and development authorities to incorporate a separate chapter on Disaster Management while preparing Master Plans for the cities or towns. Orissa a role model for integrating disaster management in development plans The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has taken a series of activities to integrate disaster management in development plans and programmes executed by it. It has mobilized community and other stakeholders to improve the capacity of the city administration to respond to various disasters in an effective manner. The city has been recognized as a Role model for community preparedness by UNISDR in Geneva on 11 th May, 2010 and awarded United Nations Sasakawa Award 2011 for disaster reduction. The Sasakawa Award jury noted that Bhubaneswar, a city in Orissa state, India, has moved from one extreme weather condition to another: in 1999, a super cyclone hit the city reducing it to a ghost city; heat waves in 1998 took away hundreds of lives and floods reduced the city to disaster. Ever since, the city has moved steadily to ensure a better life for its citizens, from awareness to mock drills, and practicing disaster risk reduction as the core of the city's development vision. A risk assessment conducted by the City Managers' Association, Orissa finds that the city has improved its institutional mechanisms and infrastructure for addressing disaster risk, and currently hosts state-supported institutions like Orissa State Disaster Management Authority and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force. 6
Preparedness Communities and institutions have established preparedness mechanisms and partnerships to effectively respond to and recover from the impact of disasters In order to promote preparedness activities at the community level as well as at the institutions, the approach followed is as follows: Create awareness among people as the need to be prepared; Provide knowledge available and develop the requisite technical skill through a variety of training programmes in high risk districts. A brief look at the preparedness measures undertaken at the state and district level in the month of May 2011 DDMA Nainital, Uttarakhand DDMA, Nainital met to discuss the roles and responsibilities of different departments for disaster management. One of the main agenda of the meeting was to have a database of at least 10 mobile numbers from every village for effective disaster communication system. Nanded, Maharashtra DDMA Nanded met to review DRR activities. The focus was to build the capacity of Disaster Mnangement Teams/Committees (DMCs/DMTs) through training programmes, updating of DM plans at the community levels indicating detailed mitigation and response mechanism. Pre-monsoon preparedness meeting held in Municipal Corporation and training on flood rescue and mock drill was conducted in this regard. Thane Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Health Department Employees of Thane Municipal Corporation were trained on First- Aid. A team of 22 members comprising of doctors, nurses, health workers were also trained on emergency health preparedness. The members were trained on CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation); shock recovery; safe transportation of injured; burns, animal bites and first aid. Other preparedness activities undertaken include SOP preparation and training programmes for Strengthening of Emergency Control Rooms at headquarters and ward levels. A one day training workshop on search and rescue was conducted in collaboration with DDMA Thane with the aim of creating Search & Rescue team. The participants were taught techniques of carrying out search and rescue for flood rescue, road accidents and earthquake. 7
Bhiwandi Municipality, Maharashtra A one day workshop was arranged in collaboration with DDMA Thane for training 20 members each from Bhiwandi Municipality and Taluka. The training was conducted by St. Johns Ambulance service. Delhi Delhi State is preparing a GIS map based response mechanism network which is called Delhi State Spatial Data Base in which a section is on Disaster preparedness. The unique features of the map is: All the details at the state level functionaries, EOCs and District DDMAs will be listed on the map; all the Emergency Support Functionaries will be listed on the map and their exact location sub-division wise will be shown; the contact numbers of the nodal officer will be provided on the map so that anyone can approach in time of emergency; the equipments placed at each and each centre developed will be also displayed and the map will also display the rod network to be taken in time of emergency and the alternative routes. The preparation of the map is already underway and Districts like New Delhi, East and West have already prepared their base map with all the data available. Assam A day long workshop on Disaster Scenario of the North East was organized by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). 135 participants attended the workshop. North Eastern region falls in high risk earthquake seismic Zone V and hence, the programme stressed upon the earthquake risk reduction measures. A detailed presentation on the Earthquake Risk Mitigation Measures for the entire North East was given during the workshop. 8
9 Preparedness Initiatives at a glance!
Capacity Building A prepared community is a safe community... The GoI-UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (2009-2012) has carried out various capacity building initiatives over the last one year. It has reached out to policy makers, NGOs, CSOs, PRIs, technical professionals, school teachers, students and community at large. The states and districts have been organizing various training and capacity building activities from time to time. The State-level training Institutions have been involved for conducting these training programmes, particularly ATIs (Administrative Training Institutes) and SIRDs (State Institutes of Rural Development). However, there is a need to identify other resource institutions and private players who can take up such initiatives. In Uttar Pradesh, State Institute of Disaster Management has been registered for organizing training programmes recently. At SIDM, regular training programmes are organized for master trainers, who further train the grass root level functionaries in the districts. A brief look at the capacity building initiatives in the month of May 2011 Dehradun, Uttarakhand A sensitization programme on Earthquake Safe Construction Practices was organized in Dehradun Institute of Technology. Approximately 100 architecture and engineering students attended the training programme. Kerala Community level disaster management meeting was held in association with partner NGO- Gandhiji Study center in Idduki, Kerala to constitute Village Disaster Management Committee (VDMC). Around 150 members from various sectors like revenue, fire, force, animal husbandry, health, NGOs, clubs and senior citizens participated in the meeting. Around 30 members were included in the VDMC and some of the representatives were nominated to form various task forces like search and rescue, first-aid, water and sanitation and early warning system. Tripura A 4-week comprehensive training on Medical First Response (MFR) and Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) was organized at Central Training Institute (Civil Defence and Home Guards) in the month of April and May, 2011 for 44 personnel (31 armed police personnel and 13 district DMT members). The training is a part of raising state disaster response force in the line of NDRF. Till date 404 personnel already been trained on MFR and CSSR. During normal time, DDMA and local authorities are utilising the trained personnel for community based trainings for the DMTs. Maharashtra 10
Orissa Disaster Management Teams were trained on Search & Rescue using improvised materials. DDMA also initiated pre-monsoon preparedness activities by activating the existing community level disaster management teams through conducting detailed training on search & rescue and first aid. As a part of the school safety programme, 600 teachers from 85 schools participated in the training programme conducted by the education board. They were trained on various components of school safety plan, various hazards and how to mitigate such risks. 360 NCC students were trained on role of youth in DM, first aid, casualty carriage, fire fighting and search & rescue. Community Orientation on Urban Risk Reduction for community members, teachers, SHG members, AWWs, ASHA workers and members of local youth clubs was organized in Talcher, Orissa. Around 240 participants organized the training programme. A training on HAM radio for village level volunteers for Disaster Risk Reduction was organized by OSDMA (Orissa State Disaster Management Authority). 40 volunteers were imparted training on operational aspects of HAM radio. OSDMA would be facilitating conduct of ASOL examination to obtain license for volunteers so that they would be associated with management of HAM stations during disaster period. A two day workshop and training programme was arranged for the EOC staff of Main EOC and five ward level EOCs under the URR Project. A total of 16 participants including office supervisors, assistant commissioners and EOC in charge attended the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to train EOC staff on managing and functioning of EOC, reporting, communication and weather forecasting. Training of Masons on Safe construction practices were organized by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Raghunathpure and Sampure under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.The participants were imparted training on different aspect of safe construction practices by resource persons from Orissa Development Technocrat Forum (ODRAF). Bhiwandi, Maharashtra As a part of school safety programme, primary school teachers were trained on various aspects of disaster management and school safety. As many as 632 teachers were trained. It was also decided that the schools shall appoint one nodal teacher for master trainers programme on school safety and school safety committees will also be constituted. To create first aid group in Bhiwandi city and adjoining areas, a training workshop was organized jointly by BNCMC and Thane Collectorate. The participants were mainly 11
hospital staff and they were taught techniques of CPR, bandaging. A total of 48 aanganwadi workers and hospital staff were present in the workshop. Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh Around 160 participants (district and local level officers) and PRIs were trained on various risk reduction measures to be taken during disasters. The event was helpful in strengthening of District Institute of Rural Development as they can now conduct DM related programmes at their own level. Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh A district level advocacy workshop was held in Kinnaur. Around 41 district level officers attended the workshop. Vulnerability of the state to different hazards and overview of DM in state and conducting HRV analysis were some of the topics covered during the workshop. Assam A total of 144 teachers were trained in three batches on School safety at the Assam Administrative Staff College. The teachers were given an understanding on the vulnerability profile of the state, disaster management concepts. Preparation of school level disaster management plan, mock drill by Civil Defence personnel were also an important part of the training. Idduki, Kerala A specialized training programme was organized by DDMA in Idduki (Kerala). The training was given to three task forces viz; search & rescue, water & sanitation and first aid. Almost 100 members participated in the training programme. Palakkad, Kerala Village Disaster Management Teams in 2 villages of Palakkad district were trained on Early warning, first aid, water and sanitation, search and rescue and evacuation. Participatory Rural Appraisal exercise was also conducted. Village level maps were prepared with the help of villagers and students of social work. Wayanad, Kerala Participatory Rural Appraisal for DRR at village level was organized at Kottappady village in Wayanad as a part of Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) under the DRR programme. It involved analysis of vulnerability and hazard of the selected village, resource analysis, mapping and study of seasonality of disasters. Kollam, Kerala A ward level orientation programme was organized in Kollam on Community Based Disaster and Risk Management for 10 wards. A group discussion was also held with each Ward headed by the Ward Councillor and Community Organiser of the NGO on setting up the WDMC and a functional Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. Assam 12
Newly appointed project officers under GoI-UNDP DRR Programme and officers of ASDMA were given training on various concepts of DM and office procedures. They were also trained on communication skills, presentation skills and leadership qualities. A total of 35 officers were trained. Agartala, Tripura To sensitize officials of various line departments on gender mainstreaming in development programmes, a three day gender mainstreaming programme organized in SIPARD, Agartala. Around 31 participants from different line departments participated and were trained on concepts of DM, ender mainstreaming in disaster management. An action plan was prepared for the inclusion of gender mainstreaming in capacity building and planning purposes for the state. First-aid training for Health Department in Thane, Maharashtra 13
Awareness Generation Poster on Earthquake Safety Measures prepared under URR Programme in Nanded Municipality (Maharashtra) to generate awareness amongst school children and teachers 14
Kerala A special edition on disaster profile of the State, achievements under DRR programme, the need for Disaster Preparation was published in Malayala Manorama, a leading daily. Through this endeavour, the SDMA could sensitize the larger public about not only about its existence but also its different efforts to ensure the safety of the people. Information Education Communication (IEC) material developed in West Bengal SDMA Website, West Bengal State Inter Agency Group, West Bengal has developed website namely www.iagwestbengal.org.in in association with Department of Disaster Management, Government of West Bengal under GOI UNDP disaster risk reduction programme. Many information and documents of the department of Disaster Management like DM policy & Framework, History of Natural Disaster - West Bengal, State Disaster Management Plan and districts DM plans, IEC & training materials have been uploaded in this site. In addition, any advertisement related to DRR of the State Government is also uploaded on the website for wider sharing & circulation among disaster management community in the State. 15
Hazard Risk & Vulnerability Though Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessment is an important activity under the programme, very few states have been able to kick start this activity in district and city area objectively. States are facing challenges in selecting the right agency and also in determining the scope of work within the resources allocated. However some of the states like Assam, Uttarakhand and Sikkim are able to leverage additional funds from the state budget to fill in the gap and conducting a comprehensive HRVA. The government of Uttarakhand is conducting HRVA in 10 hill towns in the state as well as in all the three selected districts under DRR Project. Whereas it is very important to develop a sound understanding of risks, analysis of risks without identification of appropriate mitigation measures/actions will be futile. The challenge of this entire exercise remains in how best the study can be used to design concrete mitigation measures at the district level. The status of HRVA in other states Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Analysis consultation meeting was organized by district Municipal Corporation of Srikakulam on conducting HRVA in May. The department officials will supply the data on socio-economic profile of the district in the prescribed formats. The ward maps of the town were examined and suggested that they shall need to be further updated with markings on infrastructure details. Expert Technical Committee formed for a Techno Legal Regime in DM- The department of Revenue and Disaster Management and Local Self Government Department had constituted an Expert Technical Committee (ETC) to review the recommendations put forward by MHA towards ensuring a techno-legal regime in disaster management. Assam A review meeting for Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Analysis was organized in Assam under the GoI-UNDP DRR project. North Eastern Space Application Centre made the presentation on HRVA and stated that the project would gather information on collateral/historical data from the project districts for generating the hazard/vulnerable maps and preparation of Atlas for multi-hazard zonation layers in the maps. 16
State Executive Committee Meetings State Executive Committee is set up at the state level and is chaired by the Principal Secretary of the department responsible for disaster management. The SEC meets from time to time to ensure smooth project implementation. The states selected under the GoI-UNDP DRR Programme have constituted State Steering Committees and regular meetings are held to review the progress of the programme. Assam The 4 th meeting of the State Executive Committee was held on 29 th April, 2011. The main highlights were the approval of the perspective plan for capacity building for disaster response under the 13 th Finance Commission grant, review on the preparedness of the different departments for the flood season, discussion on workshop on disaster scenario of the Northeast with a special emphasis on floods and earthquakes and workshop on emergency health management. Himachal Pradesh The State Executive Committee, Himachal Pradesh organized a meeting to review the progress of implementation of the GoI-UNDP DRR and URR Programme in the state. The meeting was convened under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary and the main agenda was to review the activities planned under the Annual Work Plan (AWP) 2010. UNDAF formulation process initiated United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) formulation process has started and in consultation with the Government, working groups have been established. There is one group looking at Climate Change Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, and Natural Resource Management. The draft outcomes and outputs are being formulated and will be finalized through a consultative process by December 2011. 17
GO-NGO Coordination Successful disaster reduction strategies involve careful efforts to combine knowledge, technology, expertise, institutional capacities, management skills, and practical experience for optimum results, which would not be possible without proper collaboration between the two key players : state and civil society. The state can effectively link up knowledge, technology, skills, resource, expertise offered by specialist institutions with grassroots experience, organizational capacity participatory management skills, community based initiatives of NGOs for disaster reduction. Himachal Pradesh A district level workshop was conducted in HP, Kinnaur District with a view to strengthen GO- NGO coordination mechanism for effective disaster preparedness, response and mitigation. It was also stressed to involve NGOs during the awareness and preparation stage too so that their capacity is also build up to deal with exigencies. It was also pointed out mentioned that the Disaster Management Act 2005 specifically talks about establishing the GO-NGO coordination and NDMA has also released guidelines for the same which the district can refer to. Uttarakhand District Pithorgarh (Uttarakhand) organized a meeting with NGO representatives to discuss their role as well as GO-NGO coordination in times of calamity. During the meeting, various issues like information sharing, awareness generation, strengthening the coordination between government and NGOs and their roles and responsibilities were discussed in detail. The aim of organizing this meeting was to equip all these members with the knowledge of various disasters, policy management, state and district level initiatives and other relevant issues related to disaster management. 18
Disaster Management Community Solution Exchange is on Twitter!! The DM Community is on Twitter now!! Twitter is a web based microblogging service which allows registered users to send short (140 character) messages known as tweets to others. Being simple and with its mobile access this new social interaction tool has become very popular. As per articles on the web twitter has been a hub of activity and information during some emergencies. Twitter is for sure emerging as a new pattern of communication, but the benefits of this microblogging technology are yet to be fully utilized. We will be posting links to all our queries, updates, FOR INFOs and other interesting articles as tweets, only to broadcast and share information. Please follow @DM_Community In order to make all the Consolidated Replies available to members, we have thematically cataloged all the CRs with their word and pdf links and a two liner description to it. Please click: ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/drm/cr/cr Index DM CommunityJune11.doc 19
What s in the News! No disaster management team for immediate action in Delhi If Japan like catastrophe hits Delhi, there will be a hellish situation here as the national capital lacks proper policy of disaster management, which has been recently indicated by National Disaster Management, Government of India, website. The inefficiency of the disaster management was witnessed in a case when a building had collapsed at Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar and it took around 96 hours to clear the rubble.there is no disaster management team for immediate action in Delhi. In case of any untoward incident, the National Disaster Management teams will come from Noida and Bhatinda. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 1962 had drafted a seismic resistant design code. This is the standard code for building houses and apartments. But, due to political apathy, there was no further consideration on it. According to the management s website, updated on May 21, 2010, around 6.5 per cent of houses in Delhi fall under high damage risk and 85.5 per cent come under moderate damage risk. National Disaster Management Authority expert Brigadier Dr BK Khanna said that Delhi falls under seismic zone- 4 as it is adjoined with the northern part of the country. Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Nepal and Bhutan are the epicenters and tremors are felt in Delhi when an earthquake strikes these regions. Apart from following the norms for constructing houses, residents should use iron and cement in large amounts. They should also consult engineer. The Central government has constituted 18 teams each in Bhatinda and Noida for disaster management. They are known as Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) teams. Each team has 45 members, including highly trained officers, doctors, para-medical staff and three trained dogs. They have all the equipments which can help the team locate person under debris. Source: http://post.jagran.com/no-disaster-management-team-for-immediate-action-in-delhi-1300871912 20
Eastern India cools the risks from extreme heat BHUBANESWAR, India (AlertNet) As in most years since 1998, heat wave warnings have been issued for many parts of the east Indian state of Orissa. But the threat no longer disturbs 60- year old Rukuni Naik s rest.the government of this Orissan city recently replaced Naik s mud and thatch home with one made of bricks and mortar. An electric connection and a ceiling fan are due to follow shortly. The municipality officer said there shall not be a single mud house in Bhubaneswar, says Naik. Mud houses are liable to collapse in heavy rains and thatched roofs are fire hazards in summer.like many parts of Orissa, Bhubaneswar has experienced natural disasters including extreme heat and cold, cyclones and floods, earthquakes, hailstorms and lightning strikes. Some are becoming worse as a result of climate change, experts say.in 1999 a super-cyclone battered Orissa for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300 km per hour and claimed 10,000 lives across the state. Bhubaneswar spent a week without basic services such as electricity, water, sanitation, health care, and communication and transport systems. The super-cyclone served as a warning bell for the city government, which developed a disaster management infrastructure over the next decade. Now the city s disaster plans cover not only irregular occurrences like cyclones but more predictable phenomena such as heat waves, which can also prove deadly. GROWING HEAT WAVES Bhubaneswar faces extreme heat nearly every summer. In 1998, the mercury rose to an unprecedented 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) during a heat wave that claimed 123 lives among an unprepared citizenry. Surendranath Pasupalak, an agro-meteorologist at Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, blames the city s increasingly hot weather on climate change. Through the 1970s, summers saw an average of one day above 40C. The 1980s saw none, while the 1990s saw two days. The 2000s saw an average of nine days above 40C every single summer, Pasupalak said. Since 1998, however, Bhubaneswar has suffered fewer than seven heat-related deaths a year in all but two years. FIGHTING BACK That s because the city now responds to heat waves by modifying office and school hours and summer vacations, as well as the working hours of daily wage workers, who mostly work in the open, so that they avoid exposure to the noonday sun. Community participation also plays a role. Private citizens put out huge earthen pots of cool water at the roadside for wayfarers. Their efforts supplement those of the municipality, which has installed around 1,000 bore wells in slums to replace dried-up wells. Young people volunteer in activities including Orissa Disaster Preparedness Day, held annually on October 29, the anniversary of the super-cyclone. Municipal corporations, NGOs and industries have participated in awareness activities, and disaster management is a study course in educational institutions. Women s self-help collectives are being trained to administer emergency first aid in slums. 21
As a result, even the least educated know of precautions to take against heat stroke. We must keep moist washcloths on our heads, drink plenty of water and avoid the noon sun, says Pramila Behera, a 40-year-old construction worker. Scientific knowledge and technology alone cannot counter disasters. First responders are (crucial). Their awareness and training are the single most important factor in limiting loss, said Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena. But medical assistance also is available when needed. In the city s air-conditioned Heat Stress Disorder Management Room, 62-year-old gardener Madhab Sahoo is being attended to by the doctor on duty. His daughter, Mamata Palei, says, All we could have done at home is fanned him and bathed his head. Here he gets expert help. Bhubaneswar s model for disaster preparedness has been replicated in other disaster-prone Indian states. The city was one of six finalists for the 2011 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction administered by the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, and was awarded a Certificate of Distinction by the agency in Geneva in May. The award is designed to stimulate wider application of the Hyogo Framework for Action, the U.N. s key instrument for implementing disaster risk reduction. Risk reduction remains the core of Bhubaneswar s development vision, says Piyush Ranjan Rout, an urban management practitioner and co-founder of Local Governance Network, an NGO that nominated the city for the Sasakawa Award. UPGRADING SLUMS Slum upgrading is our major focus now to reduce disaster risks, says Mayor Jenna, referring to programmes such as the one that replaced Rukuni Naik s hut with a brick house. One third of Bhubaneswar s rapidly growing population of 1.2 million lives in the city s nearly 400 slums. Rapid urban development is often counter to the needs of poor people, but Bhubaneswar is different, according to Dilip Satapathy of Business Standard newspaper. The specialty of Bhubaneswar s growth is that it takes the poor along, says Satapathy. Source- Alert.net 22
23 DM Album!
24
Acknowledgements Aditi Umrao Ajith Chacko G. Padmanabhan Nandita Hazarika (SPO, UP) (SPO, Kerala (Emergency Analyst) (SPO, Assam) Nagendra Binyani Nupur Arora Sarat Das Subhasish Debnath (SPO, AP) (Res. Person, Sol. EX) (SPO, Tripura) (SPO, West Bengal) Other Contributions: Pravin Bhardwaj (SPO, Delhi), D.C Rana(SPO, HP), Sukant Bhattacharya (SPO, Meghalaya), P.D.Mathur (SPO, Uttarakhand), Johnny Ruangmei (SPO, Nagaland), Gyana Das (SPO, Orissa), Duni Rana (SPO, HP) Ranit Chatterjee (PSA, Maharashtra) Gautam Gupta (PSA, Gorakhpur) Durga Prasad Mahapatra (PSA, Meerut) 25
GoI-UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (2009-2012) United Nations Development Programme, India 55, Lodhi Estate, Post Box No. 3059, New Delhi-110003, India E-mail: info.in@undp.org Website: www.undp.org.in For project information, details also available on: www.ndmindia.nic.in, www.ndma.gov.in 26