APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

IRJMST Volume 5 Issue 3 [Year 2014] Online ISSN 2250 - 1959

International Research Journal of Management Science & Technology http:www.irjmst.com Page 5

APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DISASTER

MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

J.Bhattacharjee*

ABSTRACT

Disaster strikes countries causing tremendous

destruction creating number of problems and

producing negative impacts on national economy.

The paper deals with the present state of Disaster

mitigation & management in India, and the

proposed strategy to be followed in reducing

impact of Disaster by utilizing information

technology (IT). It has been experienced that the

country is not adequately prepared to deal with the

consequences of the various Disasters. Recent

example is Disaster in Uttarakhand due to

divesting storm, known as “Himalayan Tsunami”

reveals that no appropriate plan was made for

early warning in the State. It is observed that

advancement in IT in the form of internet, remote

sensing, satellite communication etc can help a



great deal in planning and implementation of

Disaster reduction measures. GIS can improve the

quality and power of analysis of natural Disaster

assessments, guide development activities in

implementation of emergency preparedness and

relief action. The experience suggests that there is

an urgent need for a proper disaster management

strategy that is focused, well co-coordinated and

prepared for all obvious eventualities so that its

impact is reduced. The paper mainly focused on

requirement of information technology on various

aspects of disaster management and has finally

recommended various comprehensive measures

to be taken. The author was actively associated

with Rapid assessment of large number of earth

quake affected buildings in various places in India.

The major reasons leading to loss of human life,

casualties and property have been analyzed; their

remedial measures discussed and deliberated

giving special emphasis on information

technology, for reduction of its impact in future.

INTRODUCTION



Disaster of all types e.g., earthquakes, floods, cyclones,

drought, cloudbursts, accidents including man-made disaster like

war and insurgency etc. have been occurring since time

immemorial. However, their frequency, magnitude and area have

increased many times in all parts of world, in recent times. They

may be broadly classified as natural disasters such as earthquakes,

floods, droughts and cyclones, man-made disasters such as riots,

war/conflicts, refugee situations and environmental disasters, like

fire, epidemics, industrial accidents and environmental fallouts.

Often difference between them is marginal. Natural disasters can

be perceived as an “Extreme natural event”, which, may affect

different places singly or in combination (Coast line, hillsides

earthquakes prone areas, etc.) at different times and. Different

duration etc. The hazard has varying degrees of intensity and

severity.

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*Former Jt. Director General (MOD/MES), working as Professor

& Advisor in Civil Engineering, Amity University, Noida.

Any natural hazards become disasters, when they come in contact

with vulnerable social setting of human population human

settlements, structure and centres of economic activity increase the

damages caused by disasters. Globally, natural disasters account

for nearly 80% of all disaster affected people. Man-made disaster is

basically a social problem. Unless

The disaster management sector needs drastic developments

and improvements to decrease damage and save lives of people. It

is observed that advancement in information technology in the form

of internet, remote sensing, satellite communication etc can help a

great deal in planning and implementation of disaster reduction

measures. GIS can improve the quality and power of analysis of

natural disaster assessments, guide development activities in the

implementation of emergency preparedness and relief action.



Satellite communications have become crucial for providing

emergency communication and timely relief measures.

EXIISTING POLICY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT-

Basic Ingredients of Management Strategy-:-

Though the responsibility for undertaking rescue and relief

measures in the event of Natural Calamities is that of State

Government concerned; the Central Govt. associates itself with

measures and supplements the State’s relief efforts by initiating

supportive action. Towards this end, the Central Govt., with its

resources, both physical and financial provides the needed help

and assistance, with the existing policy of financing the relief

expenditure, keeping in view the factors like the gravity of a natural

calamity, the scale of relief operation necessary and the

requirements for augmenting the financial resources of the state.

Disaster Management in the Country is essentially rested inter

alias, on four major pillars viz: -

(a) Application of Scientific input to forecasting and relief

programmes.

(b) Timeliness and dynamism of management of relief delivery.

(c) Peoples participation in relief delivery and monitoring.

(d) Contribution of resilience of societies and areas and quality of

life.

Despite the recognition of the need to build up a society’s

capabilities to meet the challenges of disasters, the thrust of relief

efforts was, for a variety of reasons, generally remained

concentrated on the alleviation and restoration aspects. On the

occurrence of disasters, the need for continued vigil, preparedness



and conscious efforts to reduce the occurrence and impact of

disasters is generally articulated, only to be buried subsequently, in

the sub-conscious state of the Nation.

The need to lay the foundations of a new culture of disaster

management in the country was felt mainly after Gujarat

earthquake in 2001.. Disaster management, and disaster

preparedness and mitigation in particular, are issues that concern

the cultural and attitudinal attributes of the Govt., other

organizations, and the public at large. It was felt that a new culture

of being prepared for and managing disasters is needed that

permeates all aspects of national life- physical, social & economic.

Based on this philosophy, four cultures were identified by the High

Power Committee (HPC): Culture of preparedness, quick response,

strategic thinking and prevention. These were detailed out to

provide guidance for plan preparation and implementation process

to take place in appropriate accordance.

A well-formulated disaster management cycle normally

comprises six different components i.e. disaster preparation,

mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and development.

The preventive measures include all those tasks that can be

undertaken to prevent natural hazards from turning into a disaster.

It is clear that not much can be done to prevent occurrence of

natural hazards such as earthquake, cyclones, floods and

avalanches etc., but efforts can be made to prevent their

calamitous fall out. Some preventive measures come under the

category of national development and some within specific disaster

management programmes. In India, some-how we have failed to do

much on this. There-by Earthquake of similar intensity as in

Gujarat, when stuck in /California in USA, there was almost no loss

of life, whereas our death toll exceeded 20,000. Information

Technology if developed and implemented on ground properly, can

play a vital role in disaster reduction measures, as already brought



out earlier. Regarding man-made disaster the effort made at Govt.

level so far is grossly in-adequate.

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Information technology plays an important role in modern

disaster management mechanisms, helping organizations to

identify and prevent disaster risk in operating activities. Disaster

management specialist uses computer software and hardware to

comply with laws and regulations also. IT has to be used as an

enabling technology to achieve boarder goal of good governance.

The purpose of good governance in disaster management is as

follows:-

Enhancing the effective and efficient administration

Improving the quality of life of the citizens.

Establishing legitimacy and credibility of the Institutions.

Making the administration responsible, citizen friendly and citizen caring.

Reducing the cost of governance.

Improving the quality of public services.

Improving the productivity of employees,

Eradication or reduction of corruption.

DISASTERS IN GUJARAT & OTHER PLACES AND LESSONS LEARNT

Earthquakes are known to occur since time immemorial. As

we are aware that out of the many types of disasters, an

earthquake is the most deadly catastrophe, which strikes within

seconds without any warning. The earthquake, which rocked

Gujarat on 26 Jan 2001, varying assessed to measure, 6.9 to 8.1

on richer scale, left behind heavy toll of life & property. At least

20,000 people were killed and 1.66 lakhs injured in the quake,

which flattened almost the entire Kutch region and parts of other

districts, extending from Bhuj and Jamnagar in the north to

Ahmedabad & Surat in the south. In Kutch area of Gujarat, many

towns are destroyed and some villages are wiped off the map. Most



precious human lives were lost, injured and huge properties

destroyed or damaged, mainly due to not taking into account, the

earthquake resistance features, while constructing the houses.

Overall loss of human lives and properties due to this earthquake

has exceeded the loss suffered in any other earthquake in our

country in living memory. It was estimated by the Gujarat Govt. that

the total loss of property was to the tune of Rs.20, 875 Crores.

However, almost everybody, except those were in power, admits

that many more lives and property could have been saved,

provided we would have taken certain preventive measures. What

was especially sad is that while the world was willing to help the

victims, the Govt. faltered.

India had experienced five great earthquakes, each with

richer magnitude exceeding 8; 1819 Gujarat, 1897 Assam, 1905

Himachal Pradesh, 1934 Bihar & 1950 Assam. Apart from these,

there have been other divesting earthquakes in the Indian sub-

continent, which have created public awareness about this

problem. In 1967, earthquake in Koyna (6.3R), in 1993 earthquake

in Latur (6.2) area of Maharashtra surprised everybody, as no such

shock struck until then. In 1991, a damaging earthquake occurred

in Utter-kashi (6.5R), in 1997 we had earthquake at Jabalpur (6R) &

in 1999 Garhwal region of Western Himalaya (6.8R). After Bhuj

earthquake (7.6) on 26 January 2001, we had earthquake (7.6) in

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh on 08 Oct 2005; Andaman Islands

(7.5R) on 11Aug 2009 and on 18 Sept 2011 earthquakes (6.9R) in

Sikkim. In all these earthquakes, the majority of the structural

damages that observed in the affected areas are due to non-

compliance of earthquake resistance features, and poor

construction practices using locally available building materials.

In Gujarat, also we have observed similar pattern of

destruction of much bigger scale. Having simple and economical

earthquake resistance structure has advantage even over



prediction of earthquakes, which would minimize considerable

losses of property & lives. Though number of teams from foreign

countries rushed to India to help, duly equipped with flying hospitals

with necessary medical support, and sniffer dogs etc, but

unfortunately coordination from Govt. side was totally missing.

Similar is the experience in recent Uttarakhand disaster in Jan13.

Lot of life & property could have saved, if latest information

technology could have been utilised properly, by giving timely

warning to the people at large.

Based upon the study of Gujarat Disasters and experiences

of other disasters in India, the major reasons for unsatisfactory

state of affairs and major causes of failures are brought out below: -

(a) Lack of Effective coordination among various agencies resulting into in-efficient rescue operations and delays in release of relief materials, suffering of people, chaos & confusion. It is a fact that lot of human life could have been saved, had the Govt. could pulled the right string timely, utilising the latest IT in disaster management.

(b) Lack or Complete absence of inter-agency flow of information, pertaining to the official plan of action, procedures regarding receipt and distribution of material, nature and quantity of relief material being distributed to the effected people and the place of distribution.

(c) Lack of transparency and accountability, regarding the money and material distributed to the effected people as well as left as unused. Therefore, there is a general lack of trust between the administration and the people.

(d) Delays in release of relief materials & funds and there-by-ultimate sufferings of the people.

(e) Bureaucratic management approach that is top-down, non-integrated and piecemeal. There was generally no devolution of authority to take decisions at mid and lower levels. Roles & responsibilities were not clearly specified. As a result there was a



general lack of confidence among staff to handle post- disaster situations.

(f) Past Experience in disaster management was not institutionalized and documented for use. It was lost with the individual, when he left the assignment on normal transfer.

(g) Lack of comprehensive Disaster Mitigation Plan (DMP) at national, state, district & local levels. The Contingency Action Plan available with some states was not effective in earthquake, flood and tsunami affected states.

(h) Lack of public participation in reconstruction programmes, because of which, the houses constructed is not getting adequate acceptance of the people and failed to serve the desired purpose. Basic knowledge about rehabilitation of structure is missing most of the cases.

(i) Lack of effective rehabilitation policies & programmes as a consequence, a large section of the people is left to fend for themselves and struggle to rehabilitate their family.

(j) People’s attitude & behaviour is casual and directed to short-term personal gains. They do not take early warning seriously and are caught in disaster situation/ conditions. In Gujarat & other disaster affected states, it is reported that the people insisted on cheaper buildings even at the cost of quality construction.

(k) Failures of Professionals (architects & engineers) in advising the people on magnitude of damage, if quality of building is compromised for cost considerations. Engineers do not feel accountable for damage to the buildings due to their faulty design or supervision. There is no regulation in this respect.

(l) Builders are not accountable for quality of construction once building is handed over and mandatory six/ twelve-month period is over. There are no laws to regulate builders and their performance.



(m) Failures of Planners to evolve rural housing models acceptable to the local People and commensurate with their community living pattern where both Animals and people live on the same compound.

(n) Lack of value based education is the main cause for unrest & Conflict in the society. Man-made disasters like war, conflict, internal insurgency is the outcome of this. India is suffering badly because of War/threat with neighbouring Countries Pakistan & China and internal threat from various insurgency groups like Naga, Bodo, & Naxalites & communal riots etc.

LESSONS LEARNT

The Challenges, which are responsible for heavy losses

occurred during various disasters, are listed below: -

(a) Lack of efficient organizational set up, particularly at state level.

(b) Lack of utilization of latest Information technology in management of disaster.

(c) Lack of effective Administration to deal with disaster issues from all angles.

(d) Apathy on the part of top Bureaucracy and key political Elite.

(e) Lack of effective leadership and communication to deal with disaster issues.

(f) Total Lack of Co-ordination among all Agencies engaged in Relief operation.

(g) Lack of positive interest among Universities, Research institutes & UN system in dissemination of Disaster Management



knowledge, based on Research, practical Experience and observations.

(h) No dedicated attempt by Govt. & Urban authorities to make safe buildings to withstand the effects of disaster.

(i) Lack of action in Right Earnest: Mere paper planning to impress the press & people.

(j) No sincere efforts & attention to post Recovery disaster victims.

(k) No sincere effort to keep up the morale of the community, so that they can take care of themselves.

(l) No sincere effort for value based education system, which could reduce the happening and impact of man-made disaster to a great extent.

PROPOSED DISASTER MANAGEMENT POLICY

Based on the study carried out after analysing various

aspects the following Measures are recommended: -

(a) A comprehensive National Policy framed on disaster

management after considering the various recommendations

made by the HPC and suggestions made in this paper, is to be

implemented properly on ground. The culture of preparedness,

quick response, strategic thinking and prevention, as brought

out by the HPC, should be evolved and implemented on ground.

The Centre’s role in combating disasters needs to be enhanced.

(b) Disaster Management aspects like preparedness, response

etc should form part of curriculum in primary, high schools and

colleges. Education and training in disaster prevention,

preparedness and mitigation is necessary for minimizing effect of

disaster.



(c) Application of Geo-information technology in disaster

management can play a critical role. The application of GIS and

Remote sensing data can help in various disasters like Draught,

Earthquake, Floods, and Landslides etc. Search and rescue

operation can be carried out effectively by using GIS by identifying

areas that are disaster prone and zoning them accordingly to risk

magnitudes.

(d) Identification and net-working of existing Centres of

Excellence is to be done so as to enhance disaster prevention,

reduction and mitigation activities. A National Institute for

Disaster Management (NIDM) needs to be strengthened as a

centre of excellence. NIDM is to be geared up towards emerging

as “Centre of Excellence” at National and International level.

(e) Involvement and active participation of the community in

combating disaster Needs to be increased. The local bodies

must be given additional role in this regard. The local level plans

need to be prepared in detail and rehearsed in the disaster

prone areas, all state Govt. should reorganize their disaster

management mechanisms taking into account the

Maharashtra model. Panchayat and village disaster

management communities should be established.

(f) A formal mechanisms to co-ordinate activities of NGOs

to be evolved, to avoid duplication of work and formalized, as

has been done US model for Disaster relief operations.

(g) Alternative means of communications/stand-by

communication System should be given high priority, by utilising

latest IT.

(h) There is an urgent need for careful study of all

existing structures in Disaster prone areas, based on various

Indian Codal requirements and identifies the structures,

which do not conform to Engineering requirements. The

strengthening measures are to be incorporated for all future

constructions and also for existing structures, without any further

loss of time.

(i) The use of Indian Standard codes of practices & building

bye-laws in the construction of Government & private buildings is



to be made compulsory and enforced properly. The hazard

Zonation map of the country need to be upgraded regularly.

(j) To establish a creditable R & D organizations, under the

new Ministry to develop modern mechanisms, in the field of

disaster management. Further, as Recommended by eleventh

Finance Commission, National Centre for Calamity

Management (NCCM) should be set up at the earliest.

(k) The Central should publish and circulate all the lessons learnt

in the post disaster, to the various states that are prone to specific

disasters. This can be done by NDMA.

(l) The existing warning systems, including infrastructure in

disaster prone areas should be improved. Forecasting systems like

flood and cyclone can help in a big-way to reduce impact of

disaster, by providing advance notice to people at large.

(m) The Armed Forces being a major player in Disaster

Management in India need to look inwards and formulate their own

response mechanism including procurement of State of Art

equipments and skill improvement, to maximise the utilisation of

their resources and effort. Further, there should be synergy

between Armed Forces and Civil Administration (Including NGOs)

towards providing efficient response.

(n) For building infrastructure protection IT can be used for

followings:-

Advanced Surveillance Systems

Geospatial Location Accountability and Navigation System for Emergency Responders (GLANSER).

Integrated Rapid Visual Tool (IRVS)

Seismic Activity Detection Data Collection, Analysis, Alert and Warning.

Wild area Surveillance (p) Information technology can be used for disaster mitigation for

following major benefits:-

Elimination of human Element

Adoption of Automated Signalling System.

Effective Communication net work.

IT based recruitment system.

Whole system approach



(q) As regards man-made disaster, the effort need to be focussed

more on reasons for happening of the same and make corrective

action in terms of human negligence and wrong belief system. In

that direction, value based education based on spiritual philosophy

can help in a big way to reduce the happening of the same.

CONCLUSION

A system of value based continuous education including

knowledge of latest IT system must be made mandatory for all students

& professionals. Further the spiritual study can help to reduce the

happening of man-made disaster in a big way and thereby saving human

life due to man-made disaster like war and insurgency. With the

advancement of information technology in the form of internet, GIS,

Remote sensing, Satellite communication etc can help a great deal in

planning and implementation of disaster management. The advanced

techniques of information technology are definitely helpful to minimize

the effects of any disaster. There is an urgent need of nationwide mass

awareness generation activities as a foundation layer of disaster

preparedness in the country, by utilising latest IT tools, so that the impact

of disaster can be reduced substantially.

Early warning systems for any hazard totally depends on updated technologies,

scientific methods & IT applications. Different hazards need different warning systems

and accordingly huge data base is required. Similarly some hazards are difficult to predict

due to lack of adequate techniques to assess true magnitude and timing. Therefore, need

for development of technologies should be emphasized to improve the precision of

forecast and early warning systems. There is a lot of scope for R & D work on this

direction.

REFERENCES

1. High Powered Committee on Disaster Management Report (2001) Ministry of agriculture, Government of India, Oct. 2001.

2. National Disaster Response Plan (2001) Ministry of agriculture, Government of India, Oct. 2001.



3. Tulsi Vyas & Aneri Desai (2007), “Information Technology for Disaster Management” from proceedings of 2nd National Conference, INDIACom-2007.

4. Sahu K Sajib (2008) , An article on “Information Technology for Disaster Management: Need of the Hour” from Proceedings of the 2nd National Conference; India Com.

5. Bhattacharjee J (2012). “Strategies for disaster Management to reduce impact of Natural Disaster in India” published in “International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity (IRJMSH)”, Vol-2 on Apr12.

APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

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