ROLE OF A GEOGRAPHY STUDENT IN DISASTER

MANAGEMENT – IN TSUNAMI

S.Mohanaraj

CONTENTS…• WHAT IS DISASTER?• TYPES OF DISASTER.• WHAT IS TSUNAMI?• WHAT IS DISASTER MANAGEMENT?• ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS IN DISASTER

MANAGEMENT.

WHAT IS DISASTER?• A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society

involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

• A sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life.

Types of Disasters

• Natural disasters ….

1. Agricultural diseases & pests

2. Drought and water shortage

3. Earthquakes

4. Extreme heat

5. Floods and flash floods

6. Hail

7. Hurricanes and tropical storms

8. Landslides & debris flow

9. Thunderstorms and lighting

10. Tornadoes

11. Tsunami

12. Wildfire

13. Winter and ice storms

14. Sinkholes etc…

• Man-Made and Technological Types of Disasters….

1. Hazardous materials

2. Power service disruption &blackout

3. Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast

4. Radiological emergencies

5. Chemical threat and biological weapons

6. Cyber attacks

7. Explosion

8. Civil unrest etc.…

Disasters can take many different forms, both natural and man-made ortechnological in nature – that can impact a community.

What is Tsunami

• Tsunami is one of the world's worst natural disasters that can hit a country. Tsunami mean"harbor wave“; also known as a seismic sea wave. Tsunami is the devastating impact of seismicsea waves & this series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body ofwater, generally an ocean.

• This large ocean wave that is caused by sudden motion on the ocean floor. Earthquakes, volcaniceruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nucleardevices), landslides, glacier calving, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or belowwater all have the potential to generate a tsunami.

• Tsunamis cause damage by two mechanisms: the smashing force of a wall of water travelling athigh speed, and the destructive power of a large volume of water draining off the land andcarrying a large amount of debris with it.

Effects of TsunamiThe effects of a tsunami depend on the characteristics of the seismic event that generated thetsunami. The effects of a tsunami include such as…..

• Hitting the shoreline.

• Loss of human and animal life; increasing instant death, injury, illness

• Millions of dollars in financial loss.

• Psychological effects.

• Loss of livelihood.

• The effect of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous andthey can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliestnatural disasters in human history with at least 290,000 people killed or missing in 14 countriesbordering the Indian Ocean.

• A permanent change to the landscape

• Devastating property damage.

• contamination of soil and water.

• Severe flooding causes to damages drain systems.

WHAT IS DISASTER MANAGEMENT?

• The Red Cross and Red Crescent societies define disaster management as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to reduce the impact of disasters.

• DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE Include some phases such as……

Role of students in 1.DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

• These activities are designed to minimize loss of life and damage. preparedness is the very important vital role in disaster management cycle.

Cont.…

If there is a noticeable decline in the water, away from the shoreline, this is considered “nature’s tsunami warning” and you should move away immediately.

building early warning systems.

Emergency communications systems.

Be aware of tsunami warning signs.

Planning how to respond Ex; preparedness plans, warning systems.

Cont.……• Help to removing people and property from a threatened location and by facilitating timely and

effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

• Consider taking a first aid course and learn survival skills.

• Tune to a radio station that serves our area and listen for instructions from emergency officials.

• Stay away from the beach – do not go down to watch a tsunami come -Move away from theshoreline and to higher ground.

• reserves of food, equipment, water, medicines and other essentials are maintained in cases of national or local disasters.

• Help to Identify any vulnerability and potential dangers & repair it.

• Learn how to turn off the gas and electricity or any other electrical equipment in your house.

• strengthening the existing weak structures.

• preparation of the disaster management plans at household and community level.

• Raise awareness programs: teach and training to survival techniques in the water through theirswimming and boating courses.

• Put Seminars , workshop, issue handbills, competition such as art, poem, essay writing etc…

• Help to make map like,

Social mapping.

Vulnerability mapping.

Hazard mapping .

Resource mapping.

Advice to don't store important documents in the basement. Keep them at a higher levelor protected area or safer place.•Developing long-term and short-term strategies& public education.•Help to prepared to survive on our own for at least three days. To do this, you shouldprepare an emergency kit for your home and car, along with a movable one.

Cont.….

Cont.…..• Common preparedness measures include:

The Communication plans with easily understood terminology and chain of command.

Development and practice of multi-agency coordination and incident command.

Proper maintenance and training of emergency services.

Development and exercise of emergency population warning methods combined with emergency shelters and evacuation plans.

• where building codes exist consider enhancing standards to improve survivability

During the tsunami….

These include initiatives taken to ensure that the needs Activities taken under emergency response activities.

• Move inland to higher ground immediately and stay there.

• Search and rescue people.

• Act immediately to give the evacuate rout to safe area.

• Stay out of the building if water remains around it – tsunami waters can cause buildings to sink and collapse.

• where shelter can be provided while you wait for the "all clear" before returning to the coast.

• Emergency operations.

• Ensure the safe drinking water, reserves of food, equipment,, medicines and other essentials goods.

• Act as disaster nurse.

• Providing immediate assistance.

• Try to give first aid to serve the people.

After Tsunami• Help to collect the bodies.

• Stay away from and damaged areas until officials say it is safe to go back.

• Stay away from debris in the water – it could cause health and safety risks.

• Help injured or trapped people – give first aid where appropriate.

• Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger or further injury.

• Help a neighbor who may require special assistance, like elderly people or small children orpeople with disabilities.

• Check food & water supplies – any food that has come in contact with flood waters should bethrown out because it may be contaminated.

• Give first aid.

• rescue people.

• Arrange the health center.

• Arrange the fund to affected people.

• Arrange the shelter

• To help the reduce the spreading of all diseases by tsunami

• To help the cleaning the environment.

• Arrange the centers for learning and counseling programs to affected people.

• Increasing the confidence of the community after the disaster

Recovery

The long-term outcome of a disaster, when restoration efforts are in addition to regular services. Returning the community to normal.

• Allocate the temporary houses.

• Claims processing and grants.

• Long-term medical care and counseling.

• rebuilding society .

• Livelihood.

• Social security.

• Help to increasing infrastructure.

• health care and rehabilitation.

• These should blend with development activities, such as building human resources for health and developing policies and practices to avoid similar situations in future.

• Information resources and services include data collection related to rebuilding, and documentation of lessons learned.

• sustainable development.

Disaster prevention:

Prevention is defined as those activities taken to prevent a natural phenomenon or identifypotential hazard from having harmful effects on either people or economic assets. A tsunamicannot be prevented or precisely predicted but can be reduced through communitypreparedness. Early Warning Systems .hazard identification (identifying the actual threats facing a community)vulnerability assessment (evaluating the risk and capacity of a community to handle theconsequences of the disaster).Grows mangrove in coastal region.Identify the area which is tsunami risks zone.Creating a map such as social mapping, resource mapping, vulnerability mapping, safe &opportunity mapping.Building stock assessment.Awareness combine.TrainingEstablish the social service department.Maintaining and operating early warning towers and other early warning disseminationequipment's. Distribution of early warning messages and ensure the reception at remote vulnerablevillagers.

MitigationMitigation activities actually eliminate or reduce the probability of disaster occurrence, or reduce the effects of unavoidable disasters.

measures include building codes

vulnerability analyses updates.

Emergency plan in place and practiced

zoning and land use management

building use regulations and safety codes; preventive health care; and public education.

Hazard mapping to identify the tsunami area

Education of government officials and public

Rehearsal of the early warning system

Arial photographs to illustrate differences between before tsunami and after.

conclusion• Disaster management is very important role in

disaster.it is reduce the effects, vulnerability & risk by disaster management phases in society therefore every students want to learn and people want to know the disaster management.