Question

Write notes.
a. Disaster management Authority
b. Nature of disaster management
c. Mock drill
d. Disaster Management Act, 2005

Answer 1

a. Disaster Management Authority has the responsibility of making the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. This authority has been established at the level of government. Following flow chart indicates the function of control and coordination under the disaster management from national to village level. Disaster Management Act, 2005 has been passed in our country.


b. Disaster management is the strategy and course of action to be executed at the time of any such disaster to save as much life as possible. It can be divided into two parts:
Pre-disaster Management:
Pre-disaster management phase is concerned with the complete preparation and planning in order to enable us to face any kind of situation.

• The first step includes identifying the pro-disaster areas.
• The second step includes collecting information about intensity of disaster and probable sites of disasters using predictive intensity maps and hazard maps.
• Next step is to get training for disaster management.
• Another important aspect of pre-disaster management is spreading awareness among the common people through various awareness programmes.

Post-disaster Management:
Post-disaster management is concerned with the situation that arise after a disaster has occurred. It includes the following components:

• The primary concern is to provide help to victims preferably with the participation of local people.
• Establishment of help centres to provide all kind of possible help required by the people.
• Categorisation of help materials that are received from the help centres and distributing them efficiently to the people affected by the disaster.

c. Mock drills are a way of checking the preparedness of facing a disaster. During mock drills, an apparent situation is created to check the reaction time and the type of response.
Mock drills are carried out in schools, offices, public places, etc. for situations like fire accidents, terrorist attack, etc.



d. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 28 November, and by the Lok Sabha on 12 December 2005. It received the approval from the President of India on 9 January 2006. This act has 11 chapters and 79 sections. The act extends to the whole of India. This act called for the formation of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with prime minister of India as its chair person. The Act under Section 8 encouraged the central government to constitute a National Executive Committee (NEC) to assist the National Authority. All State Governments are mandated under Section 14 of the act to establish a State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Section 42 of the act calls for establishing a National Institute of Disaster Management.