India’s efforts in Managing Disaster: Establishment of National Disaster Reaction Force (NDRF): India consciously developed DM as a holistic approach, not just reacting after a disaster but also integrating disaster preparedness, mitigation, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into plans and policies. India has increasingly mitigated and responded to all types of disasters, including with the establishment of its National Disaster …
Context: Government has released the Disaster Management Plan of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (DMP-MoPR). Disaster Management Plan at Panchayat Level: It has been prepared with a larger perspective of community-based planning starting from Village to District Panchayat level. Under the Plan, every Indian village would have a “Village Disaster Management Plan” and every Panchayat would have their Disaster Management Plan. The aim is to build disaster …
Disaster Management Plan at Panchayat Level – UPSC GS3 Read More »
Facts: In India 40 million hectares out of a geographical area of 3290 lakh hectares is prone to floods. On an average every year, 75 lakh hectares of land is affected, 1600 lives are lost and the damage caused to crops, houses and public utilities is Rs. 1805 crores due to floods. What is Flood Plain Zoning? Flood …
UN report provides an overview of the current state of knowledge on the ageing of large dams. According to the report, four Asian countries – China, Japan, India and South Korea – contribute to 55% of dams across the world and the majority of these dams are approaching the 50-year limit. Mullaperiyar Dam: The Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala …
CAG has pointed out at the lapses in Kerala governments planning, capacity building, flood forecasting and dam management during 2018 state floods. Bureaucratic issues: The flood plains of Kerala had not been identified and restricted, and no large-scale flood hazard map was available in Kerala. The susceptibility map developed by the Kerala Disaster Management Authority did not conform to Central Water Commission (CWC) …
What are the reasons behind floods in Urban areas? Density of population Underdeveloped infrastructure Poor management across institutions Faulty construction design of Smart City Project works Not planting the required number of trees in the urban ecosystem Not allow for groundwater recharge. How India can mitigate the impacts of floods in urban areas? Coordination between …
Context: There are so many fire incidences that occurred like in a coaching centre in Surat, children hospital etc. Delhi HC, recently, gave 7 years imprisonment to convicts involved in tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case. All this raises a question on the efficacy of fire safety norms that fail to …
Global Assessment Report (GAR) on Drought 2021: The report explores the systemic nature of drought and its impacts on the achievement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the SDGs, and human and ecosystem, health and wellbeing. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction(UNDRR) has released a report titled “Global Assessment Report (GAR) on Drought 2021”. …
What are the reasons for climatic disaster in Uttarakhand? The frequent disasters in Uttarakhand are not only caused by nature but also due to an indiscriminate increase in hydropower projects. Uttarakhand mountain ecosystem faces various threats such as seismicity, dam-induced micro seismicity, landslides. For example, the entire State of Uttarakhand falls under Zone-IV and V of the earthquake …
Facts: Flash droughts: These droughts occur very quickly due to the rapid depletion of soil moisture. It is different from normal drought conditions, that develop in months, but the flash drought happens within a week or two. Factors: Several factors including Lesser precipitation, high temperature, anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions play an important role in the occurrence of …