The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Corporation plan to manage disasters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Corporation plan to manage disasters

T. Nandakumar

Ward-level response teams and people’s committees to be formed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city Corporation is preparing to set up ward-level response teams and people’s committees for disaster management under the Urban Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction Project (UEVRP), a national initiative covering 38 cities.

The project is a component of the Disaster Risk Management Programme launched by the Union government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for cities with a population of over five lakh falling in seismic zones 3, 4 and 5.

All the districts in Kerala have been classified under seismic zone 3, which represents moderate damage risk.

The community-based project seeks to reduce the vulnerabilities of residents in hazard-prone areas by strengthening the capacities of communities, urban local bodies and the administration in mitigation, preparedness and response. A key element of this programme is establishing linkages between the government and civil society.

Participatory approach

The district administration is the nodal agency for the project. The Corporation has directed councillors to identify 15 volunteers in each ward who will be imparted training in disaster management. Corporation Secretary Johnson K. George says the volunteer corps was expected to become functional by the end of the year.

The project has identified three major activities for community- based disaster preparedness. These include the development of a community-based disaster preparedness plan and the constitution of a chain of volunteers at the municipal ward level. Another component is the formation of ward-level disaster management teams and their capacity-building through training and mock drills.

Three maps will be prepared in each ward, namely infrastructural vulnerability map (to identify hazard-prone structures and vulnerable communities), hazard identification map (to identify the possible hazards and vulnerable areas of ward) and the resource inventory map (to list the resources available within and around the ward).

Relief work

The ward-level disaster management committees and teams (DMTs) will be involved in preparing resource inventory, data collection and mapping exercises. The teams will be trained in early warning and communication, search and rescue, first aid and health, relief and coordination, evacuation and temporary shelter, water and sanitation and damage-assessment survey. Back-up teams trained in search and rescue will be constituted for deployment during major disasters. These DMTs and other identified response teams and their addresses with contact numbers will be enlisted in the ward-level disaster preparedness plan.

The ward-level disaster management committees will monitor and manage the volunteers activated for disaster preparedness. They are responsible for updating the database or information of their respective ward and coordinating with government functionaries in vulnerability and hazard risk reduction activities.

All ward- and community-level disaster management plans will be linked to the State Disaster Resource Network and the India Disaster Resource Network to utilise the data for emergency operations.

Awareness generation is a key element of the plan. Nodal departments are to be equipped to prepare earthquake preparedness and response plans at the department, city and community levels. The disaster risk management programme proposes review of existing laws and enforcement mechanisms to promote safe construction and ensure compliance. It also stresses the need to link seismic risk management into development plans. The programme highlights the importance of creating an intercity network to share knowledge on earthquake vulnerability reduction initiatives and to create an inventory of resources for emergency operations.

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