Issue of Public Awareness in Disaster Management

In terms of the public awareness about impending floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones etc., India has achieved widespread but low levels of scattered mixed results. The important activities taken by NDMA include preparation of guidelines, and improvements in risk assessment, early warning systems, capacity-building, and expanding communication networks.

However, despite of the wide array of activities, there is a widespread lack of public appreciation for disaster preparedness.

Moreover, despite a complex structure of disaster management, there is a limited policy interest in disaster risk reduction (DRR).The key areas such as shelter, infrastructure, and industry remained largely unfocussed in India.

In our country, there has been a need to establish institutions at all levels to create awareness of disaster and the ways to effectively respond to disasters. Thus, the direst need for the effective disaster management is the building of knowledge base of local people and strong institutions.

The prevention pays when it is done well. To achieve results, India needs to impart its people the sector-wide awareness about disaster risks. This can be done via the central administration and well-targeted help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through a series of training activities aimed at local leaders, institutions and rural women in using the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA).

While the NDMA has made progress in establishing overall structure for disaster management, several gaps continue to exist in India’s disaster preparedness that require focus. One key gap is NDMA’s oversight in articulating a list of natural and manmade disasters for which the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) would apply to. This lack of clarity has left funding options for relief and rehabilitation more ambiguous. Moreover, partially as a result of this gap, so far the guidelines have not been backed up with the resources to implement them; institutions lack resources and are often incapable in carrying out the necessary activities. Thus, building the capacity of institutions and increasing the flow of resources must become a critical priority of NDMA.

• It must also aim to raise public awareness through collaboration with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local government bodies, and primarily through panchayati raj institutions.
• India has entered multiple multilevel partnerships with the United Nations (UN), international NGOs, investment banks and the private sector to improve its knowledge and response muscle. The UNDP plays a critical role in coordination and sectoral interventions of national and state governments although the amounts involved are very small. It also works with educational institutions, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), various other UN agencies, bilateral agencies including, but not limited to, the United States Agency for International Development, the Australian Agency for International Development, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.
• With the support from the government, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has incorporated a short disaster management course in the school curriculum which includes activities targeted at both teachers and students
• India has performed well with certain elements of post-disaster reconstruction and recovery in particular geographic areas. For instance, the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre highlighted good practices in the Gujarat Earthquake 2001 response such as creating a viable framework for cooperation among different stakeholders, sound needs assessment, capacity-building and implementation with a view towards sustainability and resiliency via strengthening local institutions.
• Nonetheless, these achievements are not widespread and are lacking in many disaster-prone areas.