NOTES PREPARED BY
ADIL AHMAD ,M.A ,M.Phill
TEACHER SCHOOL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Disaster Management
Lesson No. 1
Natural Disaster
Natural Disaster: A disaster is a serious disruption of a functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human material economic or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.
OR
Natural Disaster: A disaster is a natural, manmade or technologic event that causes significant physical damage or destruction, widespread loss of life or drastic change to the environment. Disaster can destroy the economic, social and cultural life of people.
Types of disaster:-
Natural disaster: A natural hazard of severe situation is a process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life jury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihood and services, social and economic disruption or environmental damage on a large scale, e.g. earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruption, floods, tornadoes, Blizzard, tsunamis and cyclones and avalanches;. cloud bursts and stampedes.,
Manmade or anthropogenic disasters: The human centered action, which cause a threat, to the resource like property, lives, environment in every respect due to the human negligence, error or involving a failure of human made system.it is also harmful like natural disaster because it either can result in system. It is also huge losses of life, property as well as damage to peoples mental, physical and social wellbeing, e.g. 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1994 Kumbokonan school fire, terrorist attacks, bomb blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rail accidents, plane crushes, arson war etc.,
Hazard: Hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or environment. A hazard becomes a disaster when it hits an area affecting the normal life.
Types of natural disaster
Earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruption, floods, tornadoes, Blizzard, tsunamis and cyclones , avalanches;. cloud bursts and stampedes Etc are types of natural disasters
Q.1) Which disaster hit Muzaffarabad region in year 2005?
Ans Muzaffarabad region was badly hit by the earthquake in 2005, which is a natural disaster. Its intensity was 6.76 on Richter scale
Q.2) Which disaster involves the movement of a mass of soil, rock or debris down the slope?
Ans) The landslide is the disaster which involves the movement of a mass of soil, rock or debris down the slopes.
Q.3) Which disaster hit the famous Kedarnath shrine area at Uttrakhand in June 2013?
Ans) The famous Kedarnath shrine in Uttrakhand was hit by flash floods/cloud property and life a well. burst in June 2013, which affected a large area devasted it and caused loss to property and life as well.
Q.4) Which disaster devasted the normal life in Leh on 6th August 20107.
Ans) The famous cloud burst that divested the normal life in Leh on 6 August 2010 was the sole cause of destruction in Leh which destroyed property and at least 255 were dead and 9000 people were directly affected by the event.
Q.5) Which disaster hit the Baderwah area in year 2013.
Ans) Baderwah area was hit by earthquake which caused a widespread damage. natural disaster and it causes a widespread damage
Q.6) What is the difference between hazard and disaster?
Ans) Hazard is a situation that poses level of threat to life, health, property or environment Disaster is a serious disruption of a functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the ability of the affected area, community or society to cope using its own resources.
Q.7) What do you understand by Natural Disaster? Explain a few.
Ans) A natural hazard of severe situation is a process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihood services, social and economic disruption or environmental damage on a large scale, e.g. earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruption, floods, tornados, blizzard, tsunamis and cyclones and avalanches; cloud bursts and stampedes.
Examples: 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake, 2005 Waltengu Nar (anantnag j&k) Snow avalanche, 2010 Cloud burst in Leh, September 2014 Kashmir floods.
Q.8) Write down some events of earthquakes in India?
Ans) The events of earthquakes in India are as follows:
Area. Year Magnitude on Richter Scale
Rann of Kuchh. 1819. 8.0
Assam. 1897. 8.7
Kangra. 1905. 8.0
Arunachal Pradesh 1950. 8.5
Kutch. 2001. 7.7
Indian Ocean (Tsunami) 2004. 9.3
Sikkim. 2011. 6.9
Q9) What is the difference between Drought and Famine?
Ans.Drought can be defined as lack or shortage of water for an unusually long period.
Famine is a situation when there is a widespread scarcity of food, causes by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation
mis-governance, drought, floods etc
Long Answer Questions
Q.1) What do you understand by mitigation? Give some examples? or
Natural disaster management
Ans) Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the
impact of disasters. Mitigation taking place before the next disaster, so as to reduce human and financial consequences later. To reduce the impact of disaster whether natural anthropogenic we should take steps on war basis
that is we should try hard to analyse the risk, reduce the risk and insuring against risk. Effective mitigation requires that we all understand local risks, addresses the hard choices and inert in long term commonly wellbeing. Without mitigation actions, we jeopardize our safety, financial security and self-reliance.
Here are some examples:
Enforcement of buildings codes
Verification of building plan
Retro filling of existing buildings
Public awareness
Safety rules
Retaining walls
Plantation
Mapping
Embankments
Q.2) List some of the major natural disasters that are likely to occur in hilly regions. Elaborate any one of them.
Ans) The major natural disasters that are likely to occur in hilly areas are landslide, avalanche, floods and cloud burst. These are common in hilly regions Because main thing behind these natural disasters in those areas is the vulnerability due to slope of land.
Avalanche means down slope movement of snow. It is a large mass of snow that moves rapidly down a mountain slope sweeping and grinding every thing in its path. It occurs when the slope is steep and snow is unstable. Whenever any external disturbance is generated by anything, animal or human moving or passing over the slope. Due to working or due to structural failure snow leap lying on mountain slopes. Such structural Functions may occur due to:
a) Excessive melting of upper layer due which there is lubrication in snow and enables it to slip and creates & snow avalanche.
b) Excessive loading and movement of person, animals and thunder, traffic vibration etc creates snow avalanche
Q.3) What is Drought? Describe how it can be prevented?
Ans) Drought can be defined as situation of an area over an unusually long period when there is lack, shortage , scarcity, or non-availability of water. This situation occurs when a region receives constantly below average precipitation due to which the area has low water table as well there is less ground water and surface water as well he drought type situation has a substantial impact on environment, agricultural fields, productivity, food safety trade and commerce and in short socio-economic activities within the area. It leads to famine which in turn causes great problems for the people of the affected area.
Preventive measures: For reducing the impacts of drought in a particular area, society, state or country the following steps should be taken:
i. Identification of prone areas that are at risk.
ii. Comprehensive and integrated development programmes should be initiated
iii. Construction of dams, reservoirs, check dams to store water.
iv. Development of watershed, management technology.
v. Proper selection of drought and disease resistant crops.
vi. Soil conservation techniques.
vii. Reducing deforestation.
viii. Mass awareness
ix. Development of canals.
Q.4) What are the relief steps that need to be taken in the aftermath of landslides or snow avalanches?
Ans) Landslides are mostly observed to affect hilly areas and are recurring phenomenon occurring in all parts of India, from Kerala to Himalayas. Areas prone to land slide, mudslide, include eastern, western ghatane Nilgiri, the Vindhyas, mountains of northern and north eastern states throughout the Himalayan range. The incidence of landslides mostly occurs during and after spell of heavy rains.
The snow avalanche means down slope movement of snow. It is a large mass of snow that moves rapid down a mountain slope sweeping and grinding everything in its path. These are common in northern India like Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand.
Q.5) List the Relief and rehabilitative step taken after snow avalanche and landslide.
Ans) (i) Retaining walls: Construction of concrete retaining walls that prevents the slippage from slopes.
(ii) Plantation: Growing more and more plants along the slide zones to help in total or maximum check of slippage.
(iii) Administrative response: The govt. of state and centre should gear up the rehabilitation process of war footing situation by deploying the people in all the respective areas like physical, financial, medical help and to make availability of power supply, items, drinking water and shelter for the affected people.
(iv) Forecasting and warning: After the landslide or snow avalanche it is important to form the people about the future happening like climate, rainfall, snow avalanche or anything disastrous through radios, cinemas, T.V, newspaper i.e. mass communication
(v) Retrofitting of existing damaged building: Due to landslide or snow avalanche the building damaged or under the debris should be strengthened in order to make them safe.
(vi) Search operations: Search for the injured and died ones for the medical aid or for the last rituals as our social and religious responsibility.
(vii) Provision of life essentials: Provision of free medical aid, food supplies, dress/clothes, blankets, tents and sure help in every respect.
with home life like environment.
(viii) Evacuation: Evacuation from the affected site or area to any safer place with Home life like environment
(ix) Consolation and concern: To be with the affected people and to console them for what they had lost.
Q.6) Describe some of the safety measure that should be adopted during an earthquake.
Ans) The safety measures that should be adopted during an earthquake are as under;
1. We should try to remain calm and to reassure other to derive an action plan
2. We should watch for the falling of plaster, stone light fixtures, and heavy objects on shelves and try to save ourselves
3. Watch for high book case, shelves and other cabinets which might slide
or topple to seek a safe place or for hitting ourselves.
4. Stay away from glass, windows, mirrors and chimneys.
5. Switch off the lighting systems ,stoves, or gas cylinder and never try to lit fire or burn a match stick
6. Hide under the table, desk or bed in a corner heavy from the window with your head covered by your hands
7. Keep with a torch and first aid box and some necessary medicines.
8. Check and see that sewage lines are intact before using/flushing of toilets.
9. Do not eat or drink anything from open container, especially near shattered glass.
10. Call 100, 101 only if you have a life threatening risk.
11. Respond to request for help from civil, defence, fire services, police, army, home guards and local people.
12. Do not crowd in damaged areas unless help has been requested, cooperate with public safety officers.
13. Do not spread rumours. These often do great harm following a disaster.
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