Unit 3

Community based Disaster Management

Indian Disaster Management Framework and Community-based Disaster Management, 2nd
ARC recommendations on Building Community Resilience.
The World Disasters Report 2004 has ‘Building Community Resilience’ as its central theme. It has been
realised in experiences with recent disasters that enabling communities to fight disasters is a much
better policy choice than adhoc ameliorative schemes for tackling short-term vulnerabilities. As per the
report, the experience with community based disaster preparedness has been extremely encouraging in
the Philippines. Filipinos are prone to frequent typhoons, floods and droughts, which have impacted the
livelihoods of small farmers and agricultural labourers and adversely affected the economy of the
country. Typhoons bring high winds and heavy rainfall, which destroy crops, livestock and property,
eroding soils and littering farmland with silt and stones.
PRINCIPLES, STRATEGIESAND CHALLENGES
The above discussed cases, and many more from the region, point towards certain key concepts and
lessons, which can be used to derive some basic principles of community, based disaster management.
The basic principles on which CBDM stands are:
• Planning, implementation and management owned by community, led by local champions.
• Interventions start from locally available resources, capacities and partnerships.
• Community considers choices and takes decisions.
• Programmes focus on developing local coping capacities.
• Disaster preparedness approached from a development perspective.
• Sustainability considered as an underlying factor.
• Attention to special vulnerable groups.
These principles are translated into implementation strategies for creating the desired impact on the
ground. Each situation merits a unique solution with a combination of inputs. However, the principles
and the process structure remain universally applicable to all situations
Six conclusions, which could be treated/understood policy prescriptions have been drawn in this
regard in the World Disasters Report of 2004:
• Systematic assessment of what enables people to cope with, recover from and adapt to risks and
adversities at household and community level is badly needed.
• Strengthening social capital should be the key objective of disaster interventions, whether in relief,
recovery or risk reduction; rather than a byproduct.
• People-centred approaches to development provide models that can improve humanitarian aid and
disaster risk management.
• New institutional strategies and cross-sectoral coalitions are required to boost the resilience of local
livelihoods in the face of multi-dimensional risks
• Good governance is essential to create the environment, in which the more resilient communities can
thrive.
• Scaling up strategies based on the aspirations and capacities of people ‘atrisk’ remains the greatest
challenge.
Public Awareness :Public awareness is the first step towards marketing the concept of CBDM and
creating a demand, locally, for disaster reduction efforts. Once the demand has been established,
programme interventions create enabling environments and linkages with resources for fulfilling this
demand. This could be understood as interest articulation and empowering the communities to voice
their concerns for the same. Public awareness is carried out through community meetings, events, mass
communication programmes organised by non-government organisations.
Research and Documentation :Learning processes are critical to the adaptive nature of CBDM. Every
situation demands specific intervention as per sensitivities which need to be periodically
studied/monitored; hence, it is important to constantly document and reflect upon social processes
such as group cohesion based on caste, and other forms of ethnic identifications, and to draw suitable
strategy for intervention for desired social chemistry based on lessons from past experiences in disaster
response
Capacity building: Capacity building implies upgrading the reserve capacity of the communities, which
gives them more staying power during disasters. Local capacity building is a means of ensuring that
reliance on external assistance will not perpetuate, and that communities will increasingly be able to
take care of their recurrent needs. Capacity building is not only for better emergency response, but also
for taking developmental actions that reduce the impact of future disasters.
Networking :The central premise of social capital is that social networks have tangible value, which
cannot be discounted in cost- benefit analyses or policy implementation and evaluation. Networking is
the first step towards establishing partnerships. Partnerships enable communities to capitalise on
directly and indirectly available resources. Partnerships open new avenues, reduce costs and increase
benefits. Partnerships operate at various levels and with different kinds of stakeholders.
Sustainability: The final determinant of success in a programme is its sustainability beyond the period of
investment and aid. Sustainability is viewed in terms of mainstreaming risk reduction, and developing a
culture of prevention through public policy. A study indicates how, following the devastating earthquake
of 2001, villagers from Patanka in Gujarat state rebuilt their homes stronger than before, with the help
of a partnership of local and international aid organisations.
Disaster Management Planning at Village Level
Planning is the process of setting goals, developing strategies, and outlining tasks and schedules to
accomplish the goals. Planning will help in forecasting the future, makes the future visible to some
extent. By planning ahead, we may be able to save our assets and income for use during emergencies
and thus, a VDMP can prove to be beneficial as:
● It outlines the process by which the village should manage the disaster
● It can be used to tap human and material resources in the aftermath of a disaster
● It lists down the contact details of important administrative officials ensuring quick communication
with the administrative officials.
● It describes the roles and responsibilities of the concerned officials and teams in the wake of a
disaster.
● It can play a vital role in helping to avoid mistakes or recognize hidden opportunities.
Nobody can predict the year and month when a disaster will hit. It is however, possible to minimize the
impact of a disaster and reduce the loss of life and property if adequate preparations are made at the
household and village level. Development of a village disaster management plan is a process through
which every unit in the village is made aware of the various facets of disaster preparedness and
response and their capacity is enhanced to meet the exigency.
Need and Utility
● Have a clearly stated objective or set of objectives
● Reflect a systematic sequence of activities in a logical and clear manner
● Assign specific tasks and responsibilities
● Offer a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed
● Integrate its activities, tasks and responsibilities to enable the overall objective or series of objectives
to be achieved
1. Social groups: What are the main ethnic, class, religion and language-based groups in the community?
Who is in the majority, who is in the minority, what is the nature of their relationships?
2. Cultural arrangements: How are the family and community level structures organized? What
hierarchies exist? What are the common ways of behaving, celebrating, and expressing?
3. Economic activities: What are the major livelihood sources and what are the associated activities that
people carry out? What is the division of labor? What is the relationship between livelihood activities
and seasonality?
4. Spatial characteristics: What are the locations of housing areas, public service facilities.
Resource Mapping
Community resource mapping is not a new strategy or process. It has been in use
for many years in varying forms. Community resource mapping is sometimes
referred to as asset mapping or environmental scanning. Community resource
mapping is best noted as a system-building process used by many different groups
at many different stages in order to align resources and policies in relation to
specific system goals, strategies, and expected outcomes.
 Identifying new resources;
 Insuring that all youth have access to the resources they need;
 Avoiding duplication of services and resources;
 Cultivating new partnerships and relationships;
 Providing information across agencies that work with youth; and
 Encouraging collaboration.
 Step 1: Pre-Mapping
Establishing a Task Force to Guide the Process
Setting a Vision
Setting Goals
Communicating Continuously
Reflection Questions
 Step 2: Mapping
Identifying Resources
Developing Mapping Tools and Strategies
Gathering Information
Determining the Meaning of the Information
Communicating and Using the Mapping Results
Reflection Questions
 Step 3: Taking Action
Developing an Action Plan
Achieving Consensus
Implementing the Action Plan
Sharing the Action Plan
Reflection Questions
 Step 4: Maintaining, Sustaining, and Evaluating Mapping Efforts
Evaluating Progress
Maintaining Momentum
Sustaining the Effort
Reflection Questions
Preparatory Exercises at the local level
 Preparedness phase – This phase involves the development of awareness among the population on the
general aspects of disaster and on how to behave in the face of a future disaster. This includes education
on warning signs of disasters, methods of safe and successful evacuation and first aid measures.
Preparedness must be on part of individual organizations as well as community as a whole. Preparedness
phase also deals with the preparations which are needed on individual, community, authoritative level
when a disaster occurrence cannot be avoided and a disaster is sure to happen. Community based disaster
management plans must be formed with the help of local NGOs.
Prevention phase – This is the phase which indicates the start of pre-disaster phase. It engrosses
measures to be taken in order to prevent a specific hazard from becoming a disaster. There are different
measures required for different hazard. Primary responsibility rest with the government as actions taken
in this phase requires large investment and work to ensure long term benefit. Only the government has
the strength to implement these activities with high funds and necessary resources in place. The
measures include, for example, increasing the capacity of a dam to prevent floods, activities promoting
communal harmony at all levels to prevent riots, high construction and safety standards in industries
and government offices and all other structures in order
Capacity building is an ongoing process that equips officials, stakeholders and the community
to perform their functions in a better manner during a crisis/disaster. In the process of capacity
building, we must include elements of human resource development.
Role and Responsibilities Capacity building
 International Co-operation including preparation/finalization of MoUs in the field of DM
with various countries, and its implementation, visit of foreign delegation for bilateral
meetings, etc.
 To coordinate with International Organization such as UNDRR, UNDP, UNICEF,
UNOCHA, UNFPA, AHA Centre, IORA, BRICS, SCO, BIMSTEC, ADPC, ADRC, G20,
World Bank, SAARC, ASEAN, etc.
 Nomination of officers of NDMA as guest lecturer or participant for attending
International and National Workshops / Seminars / Training / Meetings, Forums / etc.
 Monitoring of implementation of the National Disaster Management Guidelines on
School Safety Policy – 2016 in all schools of India
 Monitoring of DM Exhibition & Mock Drills in all Schools of AMRUT Cities (500).
 Processing of proposals for extending NDMA logo for organizing events on disaster
related subjects support
 Parliament Questions/RTI Matters/VIP references/reports & returns, budget,
 Training part of NDRF
Mock drill
A “mock drill” is a scenario in which participants practise how they would react in the event of a
disaster or emergency. For the sake of safety, mock drills are held in schools, colleges,
hospitals, apartments, industries, and organisations around the world. Mock drills are a sort of
training exercise that is used to assess an organization’s readiness and identify problem areas.
Mock drills are a regular training practice used by safety trainers to keep employees prepared.
By engaging in these drills, employees maintain their readiness to respond to any emergency
crisis. A walk-through with the full crew of the building or other area where they plan to practise
is something that trainees could do to prepare themselves for emergency scenarios.
Emergency response and recovery 
The Emergency response and recovery guidance aims to establish good practice based on
lessons identified from responding to and recovering from emergencies, both in the UK and
internationally.
‘Emergency response and recovery’ is designed to complement Emergency preparedness,
which sets out how the duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) — 2004 and its
supporting regulations should be implemented.
The guidance aims to further develop:
 shared understanding of the multi-agency framework for emergency response and
recovery at the local level, and the roles and responsibilities of individual
organisations
  shared understanding of the role of local, sub-national and national levels in
emergency response, and how they will work together
 a common frame of reference, especially concepts and language, for those involved
in responding to emergencies

Principles of effective response and recovery

Anticipation
Ongoing risk identification and analysis is essential to the anticipation and management of the
direct, indirect and interdependent consequences of emergencies.
Preparedness
All organisations and individuals that might have a role to play in emergency response and
recovery should be properly prepared and be clear about their roles and responsibilities.
Subsidiarity
Decisions should be taken at the lowest appropriate level, with co-ordination at the highest
necessary level. Local agencies are the building blocks of the response to and recovery from an
emergency of any scale.
Direction
Clarity of purpose comes from a strategic aim and supporting objectives that are agreed,
understood and sustained by all involved. This will enable the prioritisation and focus of the
response and recovery effort.
Information
Information is critical to emergency response and recovery and the collation, assessment,
verification and dissemination of information must be underpinned by appropriate information
management systems. These systems need to support single and multi-agency decision making
and the external provision of information that will allow members of the public to make informed
decisions to ensure their safety.
Integration
Effective co-ordination should be exercised between and within organisations and levels (ie
local and national) in order to produce a coherent, integrated effort.
Co-operation
Flexibility and effectiveness depends on positive engagement and information sharing between
all agencies and at all levels.
Continuity
Emergency response and recovery should be grounded in the existing functions of
organisations and familiar ways of working, albeit on a larger scale, to a faster tempo and in
more testing circumstances.
Emergency Reconstruction
In emergency situations following natural or man-made disasters, access to safe water supply
and sanitation is of crucial importance for the health of the affected population: People who are
affected by disasters and are living in overcrowded relief camps or disaster areas can easily get
infected by serious diseases as a result of lacking sanitation or unhygienic conditions.
In many cases, pit latrines are then built in a rush, even though those areas may be located in
flood-prone areas or areas where the groundwater table is high and the soil is not suitable for
the given population density.
Temporary Relief and Rehabilitation
Following disasters resulting from natural or human causes, such earthquakes, floods,
drought, fire, or internal displacement, AID helps communities survive and rebuild their
lives and livelihoods.  Along with local partners in the disaster-affected areas, AID works to:
Mobilize resources for immediate relief. (photo – Balaji distributing relief)
Ensure that government relief reaches people.  (photo – RTI J&K