Disaster prevention at community level

8/7/2019 Disaster prevention at community level

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2011

Submitted by Priyanka Bakshi(PN

no 09020441209)

Roll no 22 Div B

2/23/2011

Disaster in slums (preventive measures in community level)

SYBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES


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INDEX

What is Disaster Management?.. 6What do you mean by community?..7

What do you mean by community level Measure?..8Introduction to slums in mumbai...8Case Study on Kumbharvadi9Preventive measures at community level...10Disaster Measures taken by BMC at community level..10


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What is Disaster Management ?

Is more than just response and relief (i.e., it assumes

a more proactive approach)

Is a systematic process (i.e., is based on the key

management principles of planning, organising, and

leading which includes coordinating and

controlling)

Aims to reduce the negative impact or consequences

of adverse events (i.e., disasters cannot always be

prevented, but the adverse effects can be minimised)

Is a system with many components.

Types of natural and non-natural disasters


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Disasters are often classified according to their:

a causes natural vs. human

b speed of onset sudden vs. slow

What do you mean by community?

"The local community is taken as the primary focus of attention (in

disaster reduction) since that is the common unit which is affected by

disaster and, more importantly, responds to deal with the event." -

Russell Dynes

Whether a disaster is major or minor, of national or local proportion, it

is the people at the community or village level who suffer its adverse

effects. They use coping and survival strategies to face and respond to

the situation long before outside help from NGOs or the government

arrives. They are interested to protect themselves from the damage

and harm.

What is Meant by community Level measures?

Community participation has been recognized as the additional

element in disaster management necessary to reverse the worldwide

trend of exponential increase in disaster occurrence of and loss from

small- and medium-scale disasters, build a culture of safety, and ensure

sustainable development for all.

This paper gives a brief orientation on the why, what, who, when, how,and so what of community based disaster mitigation. Recent

experiences and practices, particularly those in the Asian Urban

Disaster Mitigation Program, showcase significant elements from which

lessons are drawn. Positive impact affirms the validity of the


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community based approaches to disaster mitigation, notwithstanding

the difficulties, complexities and challenges faced to initiate, sustain

and replicate.

Major benefits of the community based risk assessment, mitigation

planning and implementation processes underscored include building

confidence, pride in being able to make a difference, and enhanced

capabilities to pursue disaster preparedness, mitigation as well as

bigger development responsibilities at the local level. Additionally,

individual and community ownership, commitment and concerted

actions in disaster mitigation, including resource mobilization produce

a wide range of appropriate, innovative and do-able mitigation

solutions, which are cost-effective and sustainable.

Good practices in the community based approaches to disaster

mitigation highlight key success factors such as applying best practice

methodologies of community development to community based

disaster mitigation, tapping traditional organizational structures and

mechanisms (including formal and informal community leaders), and

capability building activities with the community disaster committees

and volunteers. The importance of various forms and channels of

public awareness and education using local dialects, values and culture

and partnerships of the community with various stakeholders such as

community based organizations, community leaders, local government

units, higher level government, NGOs, less vulnerable groups, and

donors were also noted.

Introduction to Slums in Mumbai


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A high percentage of the total population in Greater Mumbai lives in

hutment or

slum colonies. Aromar Revi in his article Lessons from the Deluge,

September,

2005, estimates that 6.5 million people live in slums, chawls and

squatter

settlements. Due to escalating costs of land and materials and

increasing

population, it has become almost impossible to acquire residential

property on

ownership or even rental basis for a very large proportion of

households.

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By 1985, 2335 slum settlements could be identified, by 1991 this figure

was

reduced to 1068. Slums tend to be located in low-lying areas with

tendency to


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flood during high tides, coastal locations, along water mains or open

drainage,

within industrial zones or under high tension wires. Ownership of these

lands

has implications for intervention strategies, and a survey recently

conducted

shows the following pattern: 3CD City Profiles Series - Current Working

Document- Mumbai-India

Page 17

Slums Land Owner Percentage

State government 25%

BMC 20%

Housing Board and Central

Government

5%

Private Sector 50%

The Dhavari area of Mumbai is one the largest slums in the world,

containing

around three quarters of a million people. Slums are considered

vulnerable

primarily because of their location, density and access to infrastructure.

They


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include hilltops, slopes, nallahs, low-lying areas with tendency to flood

during

high tides, coastal locations, among other conditions. These figures,

however,

seem to disregard the floating population, which, if taken into

consideration

would greatly inflate slum occupancy, and vulnerability level

Case-study on Disaster Struck slums of Kumbharvadi & Preventive

measures taken at community level

Kumbharwadi is a Mumbai slum situated in the Dharavi area which is

the largest slum area in asia pacific .This particular slum is inhabited by

Gujarati potters have lived for over a century. These

artisans have nurtured a sense of social cohesion, rooted in their

shared livelihoods, as a way

of increasing their resilience to risk.

The potters have five kilns between them, which they have jointly

protected with tin roofs.


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This means they can continue working during the rainy season albeit

at a reduced rate. The

families have agreed on a bond of trust to store their wares for trading

during the heaviest

rains, when production suffers most thereby reducing the risk to their

livelihoods during that

time.

To further protect themselves from the precariousness of their

situation, a 'chit fund' and

rotating loan have been set up between families (without any external

support), accessed by

households in times of trouble. The families collect an extra 5 rupees

per month from each

household to pay for cleaning the gutters, safeguarding their health.


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The success factor behind their resilience is not that they are wealthier

than other families. In

fact, wealthier neighbourhoods are far less proactive in mitigating the

risks they face. For

Kumbharwadi's potters, risk mitigation has become an integral part of

their livelihoods,

because:

hazard mitigation measures were identified as the optimal use of

resources to protect and

enhance their livelihoods

they have the social cohesion required to make it happen based on

their shared source of

livelihood

Disaster prevention measures taken by BMC in Mumbai at communitylevel

Encouraging Community Preparedness

Disasters may result in cutting off essential services and in spite of administrative preparedness it maynot be possible for the administration to reach out immediately.

Mitigation efforts and preparation of the disaster management action plan for local areas are essentialelements and pre-requisites. Preparedness to a large extent would reduce the impact and the damage.Training and simulation exercises for enhancing the communitys preparedness and response capabilityto identified risks will simultaneously strengthen and enhance the capacity of the administration toundertake necessary preparedness or evacuation measures. The Corporation wants to encourage andsupport initiatives towards community preparedness measures.

Private Sector units, NGOs and other organisations have been identified as resource groups forinvolvement in community preparedness measures. These agencies will be able to get the benefit oftraining for the same from the training activities undertaken by YASHADA. These agencies are :


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Apnalaya AVEHI Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) Foundation for Research in Community Health Jagruti Kendra Mohalla Committee Movement Trust Nirmala Niketan School of Social Work Parisar Asha Save Bombay Committee SIDDHI Slum Rehabilitation Society SPARC Tata Institute of Social Sciences YUVA

YWCA

As a part of general preparedness at community level, the NGOs will make the communities consciousabout the type of hazard that the community faces. Thus local disaster management action plans for hot-spot areas in the context of specific vulnerability would be developed. For areas with high concentrationof industries particularly engaged in production, storage and transport of hazardous materials, Mutual Aidand Resource Groups will be set-up.

Mutual Aid and Resource Groups (MARGs)

The objective of setting up MARGs is to

Make the industrial zone self-sufficient Encourage pooling of resources to tackle industrial accidents Manage both on-site and off-site industrial accidents Provide for a degree of expertise in managing disasters Reduce the response time for managing disasters To integrate the on-site plan of industries with an off-site plan.

Assist the Corporation in managing disasters

Private sector institutions which will be associated with the task of undertaking training for memberorganisations include the following

Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industries Confederation of Indian Industries Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce

8.3 Areas of Community Participation

BMC and NGOs at the disaster site should ensure maximum community participation in all stages ofoperation in order to maintain community morale and confidence, maximise the use of local resources

and promote a faster recovery. Disaster management situations offers a wide range of choice anddemands a immediate decision making. The participation of communities and their representatives wouldreduce the pressures on the field agencies with regard to the choice and uncertainties of communitysresponse to the decisions.

Based on local dynamics, ethos and the experience of Mumbai, an appropriate strategy to ensurecommunity support has been evolved. Such efforts to enlist community support and participation havegone a long way in reassuring the community about the administrations intent and seriousness aboutmanaging the disaster.


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Efforts to enlist community participation is being ensured by

identifying situational, opinion and position leaders in the community and voicing administrationsconfidence in their capabilities to undertake the tasks. Consultations and dialogues expressly indicating the need for assistance would encourage thecommunity and its leaders to come forward. Regular feedback meetings and an open book approach to demonstrate transparency. Involving community in decision making at local levels

The major areas of community participation are being identified and include the following :

8.3.1 During Evacuation

For appropriate security and law and order evacuation would be undertaken with assistance fromcommunity leaders and community based organisations (CBOs). The entire family would evacuatetogether as a unit. However, to avoid stampede and confusion and in cases of inadequate transport orlimited time, emergency evacuation would be undertaken in the following order : seriously injured and sick

children, women and handicapped Old

Able-bodied

In case of evacuation, people would be advised to follow these steps:

Secure their homes/establishments. Close and lock doors and windows. Turn off the main water valve and electricity Leave early enough to avoid being trapped. Follow recommended evacuation routes. Not to take shortcuts. They may be dangerous. Not to move into flooded areas because the authorities may have removed the manholes for efficientdrainage and the indicators may get shifted due to water currents.

Stay away from downed power lines.

8.3.2 During the Disaster

Community leaders could be given the responsibility for ensuring the following community behaviour :

People stay calm and panic behaviour is not encouraged. Regulate helter-skelter running or crowding ofpeople. Encourage people to stay at a secured place and protect themselves from injuries. People do not enter damaged buildings or structures People do not touch electric poles, utility wires/cables People do not use telephones except in life-threatening situations Preparedness of community for recurrence of the disaster, increase in severity, or consequential

emergencies Check for injuries. Do not attempt to move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediatedanger of death or further injury. Undertake first-aid activities Visually inspect utility lines and appliances for damage. If water pipes are damaged, shut off the water supply at the main valve. People stay away from damaged areas, unless their assistance has been specifically requested bypolice, fire or relief organizations. Mobilise people to put out small fires and people inside are made to evacuate.


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Help police, if requested, to maintain law and order and watch the evacuated property during thedisaster

8.3.3 During Relief and Rehabilitation

Immediately after the disaster, the members of the community may look depressed and helpless, but verysoon gets euphoric when they find that after all everything is not lost. Participation of community at thisstage helps in early recovery and promotes mental health. It is necessary to see that member of thecommunity are continuously engaged in some sort of helping activity to draw them out of their depression.

Relief authorities at the site would therefore:

Encourage self-help in every activity of their day-to-day living. Encourage assistance for identification of dead, disposal of dead bodies, and disposal of damaged foodstocks Encourage contribution of labour (loading, unloading, distribution, temporary constructions, fooddistribution etc) Enlist assistance for updating records of damages and losses. Enlist assistance in maintenance of law and order Enlist assistance in maintaining sanitation standards and disposal of waste

Promote cultural and recreational activities in order to protect the mental health

Documents

Disaster prevention at community level