Syllabus Module 4: Impacts and assessment: Risk Management and

Assessment and Disaster Management cycle. SWOT Analysis- basic concepts,

uses, limitations and advantages. Disaster management
Disaster Management Cycle
Disaster Management integrates all the measures, activities and programs which
are performed before, during and after the occurrence of a disaster, to avoid or
prevent the losses from a disaster or recover from its impacts. All activities related
to Disaster management can be divided into three phases:
• Pre–Disaster phase
• During Disaster phase
• Post-Disaster phase
Pre–Disaster Phase: During this phase, proactive steps are taken so as to prevent
or reduce the human, property, environmental losses due to hazards. This ensures
that disasters do not occur on the first hand and if they do, the losses are
minimized through mitigation. Mitigation and preparedness are the risk reduction
measures which are taken during the pre-disaster phase.
During Disaster Phase: During this phase of disaster, initiatives and measures are
taken to make sure that the needs of people affected by disasters are met to reduce
the suffering. Response is the risk reduction measure which is taken during the
occurrence of disaster.
Post Disaster Phase: After a disaster has taken place, recovery measures are
taken to rapidly recover and rehabilitate the affected communities. The recovery
efforts should be taken in such a way that ensures that the originally vulnerable
conditions are not reproduced. Thus, disasters can be taken as a chance to Build
Back Better (BBB). Reconstruction and Rehabilitation are the risk reduction
measures which are taken during the post-disaster phase. These three phases of
disaster can be represented in a disaster management cycle which provides the
framework and direction to the different actors such as government agencies, non-
governmental organizations, businesses, and civil society. The framework helps in
planning for all the three phases of disaster management to reduce the impact of
disasters. Therefore, the disaster management cycle covers all aspects of disaster
management, i.e., prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and
building back better. The Disaster management cycle is shown in Fig:
● Pre-Disaster Phase- Mitigation (Prevention and Risk reduction) &
Preparedness,
● During Disaster Phase- Response
● Post Disaster Phase- Recovery (Rehabilitation and Reconstruction) These terms
are discussed below: -
Prevention
If any area, community, or region is prone to any hazard (earthquake, cyclone,
flood, etc.), then the first aim is to prevent the occurrence of hazards, if possible or
completely avoid/prevent the adverse impact of hazards through the
precautions/actions taken in advance. These are some examples to prevent the
adverse impacts of hazards:
● Construct embankments or dams
● Land-use regulations
● Avoid construction in seismic/landslide/flood prone region For example, fire
risk can be avoided completely. However, it is not always possible to prevent
hazards or completely avoid the losses or damages due to impact of hazards, in
such situation’s prevention turns into mitigation.
Mitigation
Sometimes impacts of hazards like earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, etc. cannot
be prevented completely. In such situations, measures are taken to minimize the
losses or damages due to hazards in advance. Mitigation, thus, means to take all
the measures (Structural and non-structural) to minimize/reduce the impact of
hazards. Examples of mitigation measures are hazard resistant construction, land
use planning, various engineering measures, public awareness, etc. The structural
and non-structural measures are described in subsequent sections.
Preparedness
Preparedness involves programs, activities and measures to ensure that there is
an efficient response to disasters. The aim of preparedness is to build the
capacities of governments, organizations, and communities that are needed to
handle all types of emergencies and plan how to respond during disaster. The
measures include preparedness plans, rehearsals, training and awareness
programs, early warning systems, temporary evacuation of people from the highly
affected areas, reserves of food, equipment, water, medicines etc.
Response
During the onset of a disaster, it is expected that the community or the system is
ready to respond to the impact of hazard. Response measures are taken just after
a disaster so as to provide prompt assistance to the people affected by disasters.
These measures include evacuation of affected people, warning to vulnerable
populations, rescue and search operation, providing emergency service,
temporary shelter, and food, medical facilities, etc. A quick and effective response
requires adequate planning and preparedness.
Recovery (Reconstruction and Rehabilitation)
After the occurrence of a disaster, such activities and measures are taken to return
the community to normal situation. Recovery measures include rehabilitation and
reconstruction which starts just after the immediate response to the emergency
phase. Recovery measures are both long term and short term. These include
reconstruction, temporary housing, livelihood, providing financial support,
psychological support, medical care, health, safety and education, etc.
Reconstruction is a long-term measure which includes construction of physical
structures, replacement of damaged buildings, the full restoration of all services,
etc. The measure should be applied on the “Build Back Better (BBB)” principle.
Rehabilitation is a short-term measure which includes restoring the basic facilities
and services of a community affected by a disaster for the society to function. It
includes psychological support, financial support, livelihood support, etc., to bring
society back to normalcy.