disaster management:bhuj earthquake ,india 2001

DISASTER MANAGEMENT:BHUJ EARTHQUAKE,INDIA, 2001

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, destruction

and devastation to life and property. WHO defines Disaster as "any occurrence,

that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of

health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary

response from outside the affected community or area”

The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and varies with the geographical

location, climate and the type of the earth surface/degree of vulnerability. This

influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the affected

area. Generally, disaster has the following effects in the concerned areas:

1. It completely disrupts the normal day to day life.

2. It negatively influences the emergency systems.

3. Normal needs and processes like flood, shelter, health, etc. are affected and

deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.

Thus, a disaster may have the following main features:

Unpredictability

Unfamiliarity

Speed

Urgency

Uncertainty

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Disaster management aims to reduce, or avoid, the potential losses from

hazards, assure prompt and appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and

achieve rapid and effective recovery. The Disaster management cycle illustrates

the ongoing process by which governments, businesses, and civil society plan

for and reduce the impact of disasters, react during and immediately following a

disaster, and take steps to recover after a disaster has occurred. Appropriate

actions at all points in the cycle lead to greater preparedness, better warnings,

reduced vulnerability or the prevention of disasters during the next iteration of

the cycle. The complete disaster management cycle includes the shaping of

public policies and plans that either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate

their effects on people, property, and infrastructure.

In nature catastrophes such as floods, drought, earth quake, tsunami, happen

from time to time causing immense damage to life and property. It is important

to devise means and methods to manage and minimise from natural disasters as

far as possible.

Disasters caused by human activities such as fires, accidents, epidemics are no

less sudden than natural disasters and may be equally devastating. In this lesson

you shall learn about causes, effects, prevention and management of natural as

well as human made disaster.

1.2DEFINITION AND MEANING OF DISASTER

MANAGEMENT

DEFINITION

Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of

resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of

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emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to

lessen the impact of disasters.

MEANING

Disaster Management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. It is

a discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster

response (e.g. emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination, etc.),

as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural or human-made

disasters have occurred. In general, any disaster management is the continuous

process by which all individuals, groups, and communities manage hazards in

an effort to avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting from the

hazard.

1.3 TYPES OF DISASTER

Though, all kinds of disaster require more or less similar skill-sets and rescue-

efforts at least a few days after the event, it is important to understand various

kinds of disasters. Depending upon the actual nature of disaster, the immediate

reaction needs to be different.

Also, the first few moments of disasters are distinctly different for each kind of

disasters. Thus, understanding of each kind of disaster might also help in

identifying the onset of a disastrous event, so that a trained person can

undertake some key actions, during the initial few moments. This could have a

major impact on the final outcome in terms of amount of final loss.

Natural

These are primarily natural events. It is possible that certain human

activities could maybe aid in some of these events, but, by and large,

these are mostly natural events.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Hazards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_hazards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_decontamination

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarantine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society


Earthquakes Volcanos Floods,Tornadoes, Typhoons, Cyclones

Man Made

These are mostly caused due to certain human activities. The disasters

themselves could be unintentional, but, are caused due to some

intentional activity. Most of these (barring coordinated terrorist activities)

are due to certain accidents – which could have been prevented – if

sufficient precautionary measures were put in place.

Nuclear Leaks

Chemical Leaks/Spill over

Terrorist Activities

Structural Collapse

Generally, disasters are of two types – Natural and Manmade. Based on the

devastation, these are further classified into major/minor natural disaster and

major/minor manmade disasters. some of the disasters are listed below

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http://www.disastermgmt.org/structuraldamage.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/terrorist.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/chemical.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/nuclear.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/tornado.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/flood.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/volcano.html

http://www.disastermgmt.org/type/earthquake.html


1.4 NEED AND IMPORATNCE OF DISASTER

MANAGEMENT

1. To avert a disaster: - Disaster management teams can help to avert a

disaster before it occurs. The Disaster management team may examine the

possible causes of disaster, and may take appropriate measures to avert a

disaster. For instance, forest fires, or even terrorists bombings can be averted

through effective planning and pre-emptive action.

2. To undertake rescue operations: - Disaster management personnel can

undertake rescue operations effectively. Trained disaster

management personnel can rescue people effectively at the time of floods,

major fires, building collapses, and so on.

3. To provide relief measures: - Disaster management team is responsible to

provide relief measures to the victims. For instance, the team can make

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arrangement for food, clothing, and relief camps, medicines and so on. Such

measures would reduce the misery of the disaster victims.

4. To undertake rehabilitation programmes: - Disaster management team can

work effectively to undertake rehabilitation programmes in the affected areas.

For instance, in the earthquake affected areas, rehabilitation programmes

include:

a. Construction of dwellings

b. Schools and other infrastructure.

5. To undertake liaison work : -The disaster management team undertakes

liaison work relating to the disaster. The liaison work is required with various

agencies-private and government (including hospitals) in order to obtain funds

and donations, and other resources or services so as to manage and overcome

the disaster.

6. To reduce trauma and tension: - The Disaster management team can help

to reduce the trauma and tension before and after the disaster. For instance,

before a disaster, the team can properly guide the people to face or handle the

disaster such as floods. Also, after the disaster, the team can provide not only

material or financial support, but also psychological support to overcome the

traumatic effect of disaster.

7. To protect the Environment: - Disaster management team can help to

protect and preserve the environment. For example, a disaster management team

can plan pre-emptive action to avert forest fires. Etc.

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8. To minimize losses: - Disaster management teams can help to minimize loss

of life and property. This is because; the Disaster management team can take

pre-emptive actions to avert a disaster.

1.5 DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster management aims to reduce, or avoid, the potential losses from

hazards, assure prompt and appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and

achieve rapid and effective recovery.

The Disaster management cycle illustrates the ongoing process by which

governments, businesses, and civil society plan for and reduce the impact of

disasters, react during and immediately following a disaster, and take steps to

recover after a disaster has occurred. Appropriate actions at all points in the

cycle lead to greater preparedness, better warnings, reduced vulnerability or the

prevention of disasters during the next iteration of the cycle. The complete

disaster management cycle includes the shaping of public policies and plans that

either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their effects on people,

property, and infrastructure.

The mitigation and preparedness phases occur as disaster management

improvements are made in anticipation of a disaster event. Developmental

considerations play a key role in contributing to the mitigation and preparation

of a community to effectively confront a disaster. As a disaster occurs, disaster

management actors, in particular humanitarian organizations, become involved

in the immediate response and long-term recovery phases. The four disaster

management phases illustrated here do not always, or even generally, occur in

isolation or in this precise order. Often phases of the cycle overlap and the

length of each phase greatly depends on the severity of the disaster.

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o Mitigation - Minimizing the effects of disaster.

Examples: building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses;

public education.

o Preparedness - Planning how to respond.

Examples: preparedness plans; emergency exercises/training;

warning systems.

o Response - Efforts to minimize the hazards created by a disaster.

Examples: search and rescue; emergency relief .

o Recovery - Returning the community to normal.

Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.

Sustainable Development

Developmental considerations contribute to all aspects of the disaster

management cycle. One of the main goals of disaster management, and one of

its strongest links with development, is the promotion of sustainable livelihoods

and their protection and recovery during disasters and emergencies. Where this

goal is achieved, people have a greater capacity to deal with disasters and their

recovery is more rapid and long lasting. In a development oriented disaster

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management approach, the objectives are to reduce hazards, prevent disasters,

and prepare for emergencies. Therefore, developmental considerations are

strongly represented in the mitigation and preparedness phases of the disaster

management cycle. Inappropriate development processes can lead to increased

vulnerability to disasters and loss of preparedness for emergency situations.

Mitigation

Mitigation activities actually eliminate or reduce the probability of disaster

occurrence, or reduce the effects of unavoidable disasters. Mitigation measures

include building codes; vulnerability analyses updates; zoning and land use

management; building use regulations and safety codes; preventive health care;

and public education.

Mitigation will depend on the incorporation of appropriate measures in national

and regional development planning. Its effectiveness will also depend on the

availability of information on hazards, emergency risks, and the

countermeasures to be taken. The mitigation phase, and indeed the whole

disaster management cycle, includes the shaping of public policies and plans

that either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their effects on people,

property, and infrastructure.

Preparedness

The goal of emergency preparedness programs is to achieve a satisfactory level

of readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programs that

strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of governments, organizations,

and communities. These measures can be described as logistical readiness to

deal with disasters and can be enhanced by having response mechanisms and

procedures, rehearsals, developing long-term and short-term strategies, public

education and building early warning systems. Preparedness can also take the

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form of ensuring that strategic reserves of food, equipment, water, medicines

and other essentials are maintained in cases of national or local catastrophes.

During the preparedness phase, governments, organizations, and individuals

develop plans to save lives, minimize disaster damage, and enhance disaster

response operations. Preparedness measures include preparedness plans;

emergency exercises/training; warning systems; emergency communications

systems; evacuations plans and training; resource inventories; emergency

personnel/contact lists; mutual aid agreements; and public

information/education. As with mitigations efforts, preparedness actions depend

on the incorporation of appropriate measures in national and regional

development plans. In addition, their effectiveness depends on the availability

of information on hazards, emergency risks and the countermeasures to be

taken, and on the degree to which government agencies, non-governmental

organizations and the general public are able to make use of this information.

Humanitarian Action

During a disaster, humanitarian agencies are often called upon to deal with

immediate response and recovery. To be able to respond effectively, these

agencies must have experienced leaders, trained personnel, adequate transport

and logistic support, appropriate communications, and guidelines for working in

emergencies. If the necessary preparations have not been made, the

humanitarian agencies will not be able to meet the immediate needs of the

people.

Response

The aim of emergency response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain

life, improve health and support the morale of the affected population. Such

assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting

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refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food, to establishing semi-

permanent settlement in camps and other locations. It also may involve initial

repairs to damaged infrastructure. The focus in the response phase is on meeting

the basic needs of the people until more permanent and sustainable solutions

can be found. Humanitarian organizations are often strongly present in this

phase of the disaster management cycle

Recovery

As the emergency is brought under control, the affected population is capable of

undertaking a growing number of activities aimed at restoring their lives and the

infrastructure that supports them. There is no distinct point at which immediate

relief changes into recovery and then into long-term sustainable development.

There will be many opportunities during the recovery period to enhance

prevention and increase preparedness, thus reducing vulnerability. Ideally, there

should be a smooth transition from recovery to on-going development.

Recovery activities continue until all systems return to normal or better.

Recovery measures, both short and long term, include returning vital life-

support systems to minimum operating standards; temporary housing; public

information; health and safety education; reconstruction; counseling programs;

and economic impact studies. Information resources and services include data

collection related to rebuilding, and documentation of lessons learned

1.6 DISASTER MANAGEMENT PHASES

• Pre Disaster phase

– Risk assessment – Diagnostic process to identify the risks that a

community faces

– Prevention - Activities to avoid the adverse impact of hazards

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– Mitigation – Structural/non-structural measures undertaken to limit

the adverse impact

– Preparedness - Activities and measures taken in advance to ensure

effective response

– Early warning - Provision of timely and effective information to

avoid or reduce risk

• During disaster

– Evacuation - temporary mass departure of people and property

from threatened locations

– Saving people and livelihoods – Protection of people and

livelihoods during emergency

– Immediate assistance – Provision of assistance during or

immediately after disaster

– Assessing damage and loss – Information about impact on assets

and loss to productio

• Post disaster

– Ongoing assistance – Continued assistance until a certain level of

recovery

– Recovery - Actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring

infrastructure and services

– Reconstruction - Actions taken after a disaster to ensure

resettlement/relocation

– Ongoing development activities – Continued actions of

development programmes

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1.7FUTURE CHALLENGES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

We are facing difficult times due to global warming and other factors. Some of

the challenges that the governments and communities should prepare for are

being discussed such that the disaster management managers specially police

officers could appreciate the enormous task that they have on hand in future.

Frequency and intensity of disasters are increasing. At the same time response

management is becoming increasingly difficult due to variety of reasons

including population growth, climate change and democratisation of

information, which makes incumbent upon us to bring about recommended

changes in approach, policy, legislation etc. Moreover, the future is not all that

promising too. Although major countries are making efforts to reduce carbon

emission and mitigate the effects of global warming, the declarations have not

been translated in real terms so far to have any significant impact.

There is a growing need to look at disasters from a development perspective.

Disasters can have devastating effect on communities and can significantly set

back development efforts to a great extent. But then, it could also offer an

opportunity to invest in development efforts in a post disaster scenario.

Disasters are opportunities for communities to reinvent themselves

Disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and relief are four elements,

which contribute to and gain from the implementation of sustainable

development policies. These elements, along with environmental protection and

sustainable development, are closely inter-related. The Yokohama Strategy,

emanating from the international decade for natural disaster reduction in May

1994, emphasizes that disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness are

better than disaster-response in achieving the goals and objectives of

vulnerability reduction

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The Government of India has adopted mitigation and prevention as essential

components of its development strategy. The Tenth Five Year Plan emphasizes

the fact that development cannot be sustainable without mitigation being built

into the development process. In brief, Disaster Management is being

institutionalized into development planning.But, there are various underlying

problems in the whole process. In fact, a number of problems stem from social

inequities

In the long run, the onus is upon the local communities to handle disasters with

the help of the state and other such organizations. It is a well-known fact that

the community dynamics is quite complex in a country like India. There is a

need to address specific local needs of vulnerable communities through local

traditions and cultures. Restoration of common property resources with the

participation of the local level bodies is a real challengeThe historical focus of

disaster management has been on relief and rehabilitation after the event but

now the focus is on planning for disaster preparedness and mitigation.Given the

high frequency with which one or other part of the country suffers due to

disasters, mitigating the impact of disasters must be an integral component of

our development planning.

One of the glaring lacunae in the process of Disaster Management in India has

been the overlooking of unnatural disasters. The recent efforts focus purely on

natural disasters, whereas the current global situation also demands initiatives in

managing the impact of unnatural disasters. Developments at the international

level, particularly the civil wars and civil strife in Eastern Europe and Southern

America culminating on 9/11 have brought the issue of unnatural disasters at the

forefront of disaster management. The global community has recognized the

serious consequences of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare. This

remains a serious challenge for India to address in the near future

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The need of the hour is to chalk out a multi-pronged strategy for total disaster

management comprising prevention, preparedness, response and recovery on

the one hand and initiate development efforts aimed towards risk reduction and

mitigation on the other. The countries in the Asia-Pacific region should

establish a regional co-ordination mechanism for space-technology based

disaster mitigation and strengthen co-operation, Luan suggested, adding that

they also need to set up an all-weather and all-time comprehensive space-based

disaster mitigation system and share the information.

A pro-active stance to reduce the toll of disasters in the country requires a more

comprehensive approach that comprises both pre-disaster risk reduction and

post-disaster recovery. It is framed by new policies and institutional

arrangements that support effective action. Such an approach should involve the

following set of activities:

Risk analysis to identify the kinds of risks faced by people and

development investments as well as their magnitude;

Prevention and mitigation to address the structural sources of

vulnerability;

Risk transfer to spread financial risks over time and among different

actors;

Emergency preparedness and response to enhance a country’s readiness to

cope quickly and effectively with an emergency; and

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CHAPTER-2

BHUJ EARTHQUAKE, INDIA, 2001

2.1INTRODUCTION

Indian earthquake problem needs no introduction. Some of the largest

earthquakes of the world have occurred in the Indian subcontinent. However,

the M7.7 Bhuj (Gujarat) earthquake of January 26, 2001 was the largest

earthquake to have hit India in 50 years causing a death toll of 13,805 persons.

For the first time, Bhuj earthquake showed in graphic details the vulnerability of

typical Indian urban constructions. As a result, impact of this earthquake on the

mindset of public as well as policy makers has been enormous. Scenario in

India with regard to seismic safety programmes is considerably different today

than was the case prior to the Bhuj earthquake

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Gujarat has a history of earthquake disasters. In the past, from 1819 to 2001,

Kachchh area faced six major earthquakes in 1819, 1844, 1845, 1856, 1869 and

1956. The earthquake on 26 January 2001 had a devastating effect on the whole

of Kachchh Region and extended to other urban areas, like Ahmadabad, Rajkot

and Bhavnagar, as well. High number of casualties occurred due to lack of

general awareness among the community and absence of mitigation and

preparedness planning. It is scientifically correct that disasters cannot be

predicted. But they also say the Nature being the mother of mankind, does give

some indicators before any type of disaster and earthquakes are no exception.

Any prior intimation of this type of disaster can definitely decrease vulnerability

and thus the number of casualties. Hence forecasting is very important for

mitigation and preparedness planning. A number of developed countries like

USA, Japan and even India are carrying out research to predict earthquakes but

the scientific break through has yet to come. Before Bhuj Earthquake 2001,

however, some abnormal incidents/events were observed, i.e. thermal anomaly,

changing of temperature pattern and growing of flowers on Neem tree in odd

season. Chinese scientists also have developed network to collect data of

homely signals. Recently Spanish scientists have linked the temperature of the

Earth's crust to the planet's seismic activity

Date: 26 January 2001

Origin line: 08 hrs.46 min. 42.9 sec. IST

Epicenter: Latitude 23.40° N Longitude 70.28° E

Magnitude: 7.7 (Mw)

Focal Depth: 25 kms

Time : 8:49 A.M

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2.2 EARTHQUAKE 2001- HIGH VULNERABILITY DUE TO

LACK OF MITIGATION PLANNING:

Earthquakes have an odd position in the field of disaster studies. As per Bureau

of Indian Standards, Kachchh area of Gujarat comes in zone V and adjacent

districts are also classified in zone IV, while commercial capital of Gujarat,

Ahmadabad comes in zone

On 26th January 2001, when all Indians were celebrating Republic day, Gujarat

felt an earthquake of the magnitude of 7.7 (USGS) on the Richter Scale, in the

morning at 8:49 A.M. The epicenter of the quake was located at 23.6 North

Latitude and 69.8 East Longitude, about 20 km Northwest of Bhuj town of

Kutchh District. At a depth of 23 km below surface this quake generated intense

shaking which was felt in 70% region of India and far beyond in Pakistan and

Nepal also. 21 districts of the total of 25 districts of the State of Gujarat were

affected in the quake. Around 18 towns, 182 talukas and 7904 villages in the

affected districts saw large scale destruction. Although the official fatalities

were pegged at 12220, the unofficial count is estimated to be over 20,000 dead

and 167000 injured. The number of houses destroyed was 400,000 (90% of all

houses) and 1884 school buildings. 5980 class rooms and 11751 school

buildings suffered minor to major damages. Additionally, 36584 rooms were

rendered unfit for holding instructional sessions. Total property damaged was

over $5.5 billion and it destroyed 80% of usable food and water supplies in

Kutch. The previous earthquake in Kutch area was reported 33 days before the

big bang, on 24-12-2000 with magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale but this

early indicator also failed to wake up the society and the responders.

EXTENT OF DAMAGE

7904 villages affected in 182 talukas in 21 districts.

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1.59 crore affected out of 3.78 crore population.

Human lives lost : 20005, Persons Injured : 1.66 lakh, seriously injured: 20717

Missing persons : 247 in Kachchh Cattle deaths reported as 20717

Houses Fully Destroyed 1.87 lakh (Pucca), 1.67 lakh (Kachcha) & 0.16 lakh (huts)

Houses Partially Destroyed 5.01 lakh (Pucca), 3.87 lakh (Kachcha) & 0.34 lakh (huts)

Damage :

Personal Properties Rs. 387 crore

Household Properties Rs. 11195 crore

Public Utilities Rs. 600 crore

Public Infrastructure & Amenities Rs. 1080 crore

Industrial establishment Rs. 5000 crore

Commercial establishment Rs. 3000 crore

2.3 PREDICTION OF EARTHQUAKE

For the forecasting of natural calamities like cyclone, floods, heavy rainfalls,

fool proof techniques have been developed but not a single authentic technique

has been developed for forecasting earthquakes. For the forecasting of

earthquake some make shift techniques are being used, some of which are given

below:- (1) Measurement of ground tilting (2) Collection of data of past

earthquakes (3) Detailed study of main shocks and after shocks (4) Study of

change in ground water level (5) Survey of ground surface of water in reservoir

(6) Change in volume of Rock (7) Change in velocity of P waves. (8) High

Radon emission. Moreover, changes in the behavior of animals have also been

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traditionally accepted as indicators of oncoming earthquakes. Some of these are

given below:- (a) Strange reaction of birds – restless and making noises. (b)

Barking of dogs (c) Sudden stampede in herd of cattle (d) Rats coming outside

from its holes (e) Rapid movement of cow and cats (f) Snorting and bolting of

horses By itself one behavior may not be always right, but a combination of

strange happenings can surely be construed as prediction or forecasting of

earthquake.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR THEORY AND CHINA:

In late 1970, China concentrated on the study of common country side events,

as a prelude to major earthquake, such as the behavior of animals and the level

of water in wells. Signs of Chinese seismologists watch included chickens

roosting in trees, fish leaping out of the water in large numbers, horses refusing

to enter stables , snakes trying to lift from the ground, dogs howling and other

animals acting abnormally and nervously. The Chinese believe that the bat is

the most sensitive animal to predict approaching earthquakes. These homely

signals were collected over a sophisticated information gathering network,

linking regional centers. Two years after the successful learning experience, the

Tangsham quake (Richter 7.6) was correctly predicted through their short and

medium term homely indicators that saved a number of lives, with people

evacuating their homes in time.

ABNORMAL INCIDENTS BEFORE EARTHQUAKE 2001 IN

GUJARAT:

Before Bhuj Earthquake 2001, some abnormal incidents were observed,

which are given in succeeding paras.

Remarkable Difference between Maximum and Minimum Temperature in

Different Cities:

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Normally, the temperature of a place is dependent on the movement of Sun but

it was noted those 25 days before the Bhuj Earthquake, temperature pattern

changed.

Difference between Maximum and Minimum Temperature in Different Cities

Date Ahmedabad Bhuj Rajkot Surat

11-1-2001 Max.: 26.5˙ c. Min.: 12.1˙ c. Diff. :14.4˙ c

Max.: 23.0 ˙c. Min.: 10.7˙c. Diff. : 12.3˙c.

Max. : 26.1˙c. Min. : 10.7 ˙c. Diff. : 15.4˙c.

Max. : 29.1˙c. Min. : 12.8˙c. Diff. :16.4˙c.

21-1-2001 Max.: 30.1˙c. Min. :10.8˙c. Diff. : 19.7˙c.

Max.:30.5˙c. Min.: 15.4˙c. Diff. :15.1˙c.

Max.: 32.5˙c. Min. :15.4˙c. Diff. : 17.1˙c.

Max. :32.6˙c. Min. :16.5˙c. Diff. : 16.1˙c.

It was seen that during the early morning hours eg at 3.0 AM, atmosphere was

warm instead of cool and the temperature kept increasing up to 3.0 PM. After

3.0 PM again decrease in temperature was seen. The coolness increased after

3.0 PM started decreasing between 12.00 AM. To 3.0 AM.

Effect of Incensement of Underground Temperature on Neem

Tree:

It was observed that before the Earthquake of 2001 in Gujarat, flowers were

seen on Neem trees in October 2000. There after, the same situation was seen in

August 2003, i.e. in August 2003 flowers were noticed on Neem trees in July

2000 and on 5th August 2003, an earthquake of the magnitude of 4.9 on the

Richter scale occurred in Gujarat. Seeing the untimely growth of flowers on

Neem trees, due to incensement of underground temperature, could be an

indicator of impending earthquake.

OTHER PRECURSOR TO AN EARTHQUAKE

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Some of the other precursors to an earthquake, which are widely believed to be

true are given below: 1). Two to four weeks before an earthquake, the water

level in wells rises. Dry wells get filled up.

2) Five to seven days before the reception of radio frequencies shifts.

3) Three days before, reception of landline goes to low quality. Mussing sounds

are frequent

. 4) 10 to 15 hours before, the reception of television gets disturbed.

5) 10 to 20 hours before, five to seven times rise is noticed in delivery cases.

People become restless, chronic disease symptoms appear, there is rise in blood

pressure, irritation, headache, migraine and respiratory troubles appear

. 6) Abnormal behavior in humans and animals is attributed to rise in charged

particles in the atmosphere.

2.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN BHUJ EARTHQUAKE

Disaster Mitigation:

The standard mitigation measures which are shown under are important to

mitigate Natural Disasters.

(1) Hazard Zone Mapping

(2) Structural Mitigation and Research Development

(3) Monitoring forecasting/warning

(4) Emergency management

Out of the above, Monitoring forecasting/warning is very important for

earthquake Disaster. In India, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is the

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nodal agency for monitoring earthquake and intimating its magnitude and

intensity. IMD maintains 58 seismological stations and 32 seismological

observatories in different part of India. These observatories monitor seismic

activities of the earth’s crust and monitor seismic disturbances in some

indentified reservoir/dam site. In Gujarat, Institute of Seismological Research,

Gandhinagar has established a network of 22 permanent seismological

observatories with the state-of-art digital broadband seismographs. The seismic

data from these observatories are downloaded at Gandhinagar via VSAT. In

addition, a network of 40 Strong Motion Accelerographs (SMA) also record

strong ground motions. .

Response and Rescue operation in Bhuj Earthquake India

1. Search and rescue operations

2. International Community – Response

3. Response within the country

4. First impressions of shelters

5. Health initiatives

Search and rescue operations

All sizes and hues, relief equipment, personnel and rescue teams with their

equipment.

Transportation trucks at times were not available and there was difficulty in

finding labour for loading and unloading material which caused avoidable and

critical delays.

International Community – Response

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17 Search and Rescue (SAR) teams made up of 399 rescuers and 26 rescue dogs

equipped with technical and rescue equipment assisted in the search and rescue

operation.

Teams from Switzerland, Scotland, Mexico, France, Spain, Poland, Turkey,

Japan were most active in this task.

More than 300 persons were rescued alive in the first 5 days.

CARE Canada & Norway arrived in Bhuj with 2650 tents.

40 persons relief team were engaged in relief work.

The medical teams with medicines arrived from France, Japan, South Korea,

Mexico, and other countries.

66 countries, 24 other international donors/various international organisations

sent rescue teams including sniffer dogs, relief materials and mobile hospitals.

Response within the country

Several CSOs/NGOs/philanthropists and rescue teams rushed to Gujarat from

all over the country.

Gujaratis and residents of different states set up community kitchens. One such

was set up in Adesar by an organisation called ‘Jain Sasan’ of Mumbai in which

more than 3500 persons were served food per day.

Air force was bringing airmen everyday for Ahmedabad in which a large

number of ex-servicemen came forward to work for the rescue and relief .

Transportation facilities were extended for relief material abroad With free

handling facilities to charter flights bringing in relief materials.

By 5th February 2001 – financial assistance of IRS 500.00 Crores equaling

USD 1 billion by Central govt. was commited.

In addition, 95,000 MT of food, other materials like clothing and tents, medical

supplies and personnel, fuel and communication equipment were made

available.

24


Health initiatives

The army colonel whose unit was airlifted for emergency medical operations

due to their experience of handling the cyclone in Orissa and earthquake in

Latur stated that he hadn’t had a bath for 4 days.

He could predict a pattern in the inflow of patients in disasters who start

trickling in after the first 24 hrs and the flow becoming a deluge after 48 hrs and

tapering off after nearly 7 days.

Indian doctors worked as a team with foreign health teams.

Foreign mobile hospitals were operational within 24 hrs of their arrival.

Financial arrangements

Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) in each state.

The CRF allocation during the period 2000-05 has been increased to Rs

11007.56 crore as compared with Rs 6304.27 crore during 1995-2000.

The efforts are supplemented by provision of additional assistance

from National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) during severe calamities.

Calamity Relief Fund (CRF)

Came into force from April 1990.

Set up by each state for financing natural calamity relief assistance (earthquake,

cyclone, flood etc.).

Financial share of 3:1 between the Government of India and states.

The government of India’s share comes in as grant-in-aid.

A state-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary of the state administers

the Fund.

25


National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF)

Came into force from 2000-01.

Aims to assist natural calamities (earthquake, flood, drought etc.) when the

magnitude of the disasters require more support than what the state can provide.

The initial corpus of NCCF was Rs 500 crore.

The National Centre for Calamity Management (NCCM) under the M/o Home

Affairs administers the Fund.

Assistance provided by the Centre to States from NCCF is financed by levy of

special surcharge on Central taxes for a limited period.

Expenditure norms under NCCF and CRF

Ex-gratia payment to families of deceased persons: Rs 50,000/- per person.

Ex-gratia payment for loss of limbs/eyes: Rs 25,000/- per person.

Injury leading to hospitalisation for more than one week: Rs 5,000/ per person.

Relief for old, infirm and destitute children: Adults- Rs 20/- per day; children-

Rs 10/- per day.

Repair/restoration of damaged houses: Fully damaged – Rs 10,000/- (Rs 6,000/-

for kuccha); severely damaged – Rs 2,000/- (Rs. 1,000/- for kuccha)

Assistance to artisans (as subsidy) for repair/replacement of damaged

equipment : Traditional craft – Rs 1,000/- per person; Handloom weavers – Rs

1,000/- per loom.

Gujarat : Assistance provided

Immediate relief of Rs 500 crore from the NCCF.

NCCF augmented by imposing a 2% surcharge on personal and corporate

income tax in Union Budget (2001-02) for assisting Gujarat.

Rs 110 crore provided from PM’s Relief Fund.

26


Assistance was provided under various centrally sponsored schemes for

reconstruction of social and physical infrastructure.

Arrangements were tied up with ADB and World Bank for credit worth US

$800 million.

NHB and HUDCO set apart adequate funds for housing reconstruction.

RBI instructed banks to freeze recoveries and extend liberal loans.

Gujarat government was enabled to float tax-free earthquake bonds

Rescue Operations

Involved Personas:

firefighters

paramedics

rescue specialists

emergency room physicians

structural engineers,

heavy equipment specialists,

hazardous materials technicians,

communications specialists

logistics specialists.

A Participatory Approach

Disaster management is primarily responsibility of State Governments.

The Government of India supplements state through policy and administrative

response.

Policy response comprises of activating administrative machinery for assisting

relief measures and monitoring progress.

Administrative response comprises of primary and secondary relief functions.

27


Reconstruction Activities

The reconstruction process involves a wide range of activities. For the

purpose of this paper, these activities have been grouped under the following

titles.

The next sections analyze the mitigation aspect of each of these activities.

Key activities:

Mapping and property database

Preparation of a city-level development plan

The development of urban infrastructure

Town planning schemes to redevelop the walled city

Experiments in community planning, institution building and supporting civil

society initiatives.

Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation Programme

IIT Bombay played a proactive role in providing technology support and expert

advice for reconstruction and disaster mitigation following the Bhuj earthquake

in January 2001. Advice was provided to Government of Gujarat as well as

several multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Development

Bank. The Institute provided immediate support in the following areas:

• Rapid post earthquake reconnaissance to assess impact, and development of

retrofitting techniques for damaged structures

• Evaluation of earthquake ground motions data, seismic hazard and

vulnerability, and causes of damage

• Development of design guidelines for new constructions and evaluation of

structural designs

• Training of government and private sector engineers in repairs and

rehabilitation of damaged buildings

28


• Providing technical inputs to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank

for framing their emergency loan packages

• Assisting the government of Gujarat with framing of rehabilitation policy of

the state

• Preparation of re-development plan for the town of Anjar in Gujarat to ensure

seismic safety as well as sustainable development

• Assisting in design and construction of earthquake memorial in Anjar in

memory of the school children and their teachers who died during Republic Day

parade

CHAPTER-3

CONCLUSION

The message being put across is that, in order to move towards safer and

sustainable national development, development projects should be sensitive

towards disaster mitigation.

29


Our mission is vulnerability reduction to all types of hazards, be it natural

or manmade. This is not an easy task to achieve, keeping in view the vast

population, and the multiple natural hazards to which this country is exposed.

Earthquake is a sudden motion and at present its perfect prediction is not

possible, but the some abnormal incidents shown above can be helpful to

predict an earthquake. China has also concentrated on the common country side

events and has developed a network to collect information which is linked with

regional centers. From the observed indicators before the Bhuj earthquake 2001,

we can conclude that thermal anomaly situation and difference of temperature

of main cities are required to be monitored so that we may have prior

information of any impending earthquake. Untimely growth of flowers on

Neem trees can also be another indicator to predict earthquake. However these

abnormal incidents and homely signals have their limitations. On the basis of

said information we cannot know about the exact place and time of earthquake,

but if these indications linked with other prediction tools, i.e. satellite data

(NOAA/AVHRR, MODIS) and NCEP data for studying thermal anomaly then

it may be possible to know about the exact place and time of an earthquake.

Other indicators are to be similarly taken unless proved otherwise. The above

abnormal incidents and homely signals noticed during the Bhuj Earthquake can

become helpful while formulating mitigation and preparedness strategy for

earthquake disasters.

CHAPTER-4

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEDSITES

www.economictimes.com

www.investopedia.com

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http://www.economictimes.com/


www.gisdevelopment.net

JOURNALS , REFERENCES & BOOKS

Planning Commission (2002); "Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) -

Vol.1"; Planning Commission, Government of India; New Delhi.

Gupta A; "Information Technology and Natural Disaster

Management in India"; www.gisdevelopment.net

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

(2001); "World Disaster Report - Focus on reducing risk"; IFRCRCS;

Geneva

Relation of tree with Earthquake-Gujarat samachar Daily July 2003

31

disaster management:bhuj earthquake ,india 2001

Documents

victims of disaster

disaster responsee

disaster asany occurrence

natural disasters

causes of disasters

prevention of disasters

impact of disasters

management of natural