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People engaged in Disaster management are specialists in their field with strong
linkages to Government Organizations and civil society. They must know risk
mitigation and having seen the effects of disasters also know the difference made by
preparedness and mitigation. There must be preparedness and mitigation at all levels
of society including Government departments, schools, hospitals, corporate sector and
communities at large making the countrys most vulnerable communities safer from
geological, climate related and other hazards.
Disaster management (or emergency management) is the creation of plans through
which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters
Typical aims and Objectives :-

To work towards reducing death and sufferingparticularly among childrendue to

natural hazards in the most vulnerable communities through preparedness and

mitigation.
To reduce disaster losses by helping vulnerable communities recognize their risk and

the methods to manage it.

To identify and promote strategies, potential practices and programs that support

comprehensive school safety.

To educate communities and organise various kinds of awareness raising and training

programmes regarding natural hazards and possible preparedness measures.

To promote disaster safety in communities by developing awareness generation

materials.
To assist in building a safer and disaster resilient India by partnering with the
Government in developing holistic, pro-active, multi-disaster and technology-driven
strategies for disaster risk reduction through collective efforts of all Government
Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations.

What is DISASTER
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Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, destruction and
devastation to life and property. WHO defines Disaster as "any occurrence, that causes
damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health
services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the
affected community or area
The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and varies with the geographical
location, climate and the type of the earth surface/degree of vulnerability. This
influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the affected area.
Generally, disaster has the following effects in the concerned areas:
1. It completely disrupts the normal day to day life.
2. It negatively influences the emergency systems.
3. Normal needs and processes like flood, shelter, health, etc. are affected and
deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.
It may also be termed as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing
widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the
affected society to cope using its own resources
Generally, disasters are of two types Natural and Manmade. Based on the
devastation, these are further classified into major/minor natural disaster and
major/minor manmade disasters. some of the disasters are listed below:

DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES

Disaster Management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. It is a
discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster response (e.g.
emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination, etc.), as well as supporting,
and rebuilding society after natural or human-made disasters have occurred. In
general, any disaster management is the continuous process by which all individuals,
groups, and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or ameliorate the
impact of disasters resulting from the hazard.
Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters
altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase
differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for reducing or
eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered as part
of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs.
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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Disasters happen anytime and anywhere. And when disaster strikes, you may not have
much time to respond. An earthquake, flood, tornado, winter storm, highway spill or
hazardous material or any other disaster could cut water, electricity, and telephonesfor days, require evacuation or confine your family at home for days.
After a disaster, local officials and relief workers will be on the scene, but they cannot
reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it may take days. So we
should be aware and prepared to cope with the emergency until help arrives.