Yesterday was a long day, and an even longer night
Yesterday was a long day, and an even longer night.
Yesterday was a long day, and an even longer night.
The original post appeared on LinkedIn. You can view it below on Linkedin or scroll below for the web version.
Yesterday was a long day, and an even longer night. With cyclone Dana expected to make a landfall at night, the DM office conference room turned into a control room overnight.
This took me back around 20 years. If I recall correctly, I must have been in class 1. Usually, when we return to school after Christmas break, the festive mood would last right through New Year.
But this time around, things were different!
The tsunami had just struck the southern Indian coast. My school, St. Patrick's, had not only the principal but also many friends, including my best friend Annie, from South India who suffered in the disaster. When you experience something like this at such a young age, you remember.
Fast forward to 2024, we have faced numerous disasters—some relatively mild, others not so mild. Yet, we have managed to overcome each challenge with resilience with minimal casualties.
So, what led to this transformation?
The tsunami disaster brought to the surface all the shortcomings of our disaster preparedness. It was a wake-up call for India. The government gave it the attention it deserved, and the National Disaster Management Act, 2004, was enacted. The act, along with technological advancements, completely changed the way we look at any hazard.
[1] Established NDMA at center headed directly by PM, SDMA at state level lead by CMs and Collector led DDMA at district level
[2] Specialised force NDRF of more than 13k personnals from BSF, SSB, ITBP, CISF etc.
[3] Dedicated funds at centre and state level for disaster preparedness
[4] Early warning system and International collaboration for information sharing arrangements
Before NDMA, 2005 our response to any disaster was pretty much ad-hoc. NDMA changed it all. This has continued to be one of the most invisible success stories of new India
[1] NDRF has saved 1.5 lakhs lives+
[2]10 lakhs+ stranded individuals have been evacuated.
[3] Crores saved due to Early warning system and prompt ino dissemination.
However, The true strength of the NDMA lies in its capacity to anticipate required measures for disasters that were unimaginable for that time like COVID. In a session with a secretary level official at LBSNAA, he shared that during the COVID-19 pandemic, govt officials wanted to impose lockdown to contain the spread of virus. The problem was it was never done before and hence no law was directly applicable. In most unexpected turn of events, NDMA came to rescue and finally the lockdown was implemented under NDMA sec 6(2)(i) and 10(2)(l).
A few years after the event, Disaster management became a part of syllabus. I learnt the difference between Hazard and disaster. Hazard is simply a natural event, but when combines with vulnerability of community, it becomes a disaster!
Nassim Taleb pointed out in Black Swan, sometimes the success lies in staying out of news. Thanks to NDMA many hazards didn't become Disaster or news.
Pic: School girls trained in disaster management.