Manual for Disaster Management Plan

Manual for Disaster Management Plan

News: Recently, The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the Manual for Disaster Management Plan (DMP).

What is the Manual for DMP?
• It is developed by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, based on the Advisory issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the Disaster Management Act 2005.
• It seeks to ensure safety, uninterrupted supply and minimum loss of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) assets and services involving stakeholders at the national, state, district, and village levels.
• Enhance WASH resilience to reduce disaster vulnerability.
• Establish a robust environment, fund and coordination mechanism to achieve the desired goals and develop a plan which caters to disaster preparedness, response, recovery, reconstruction, and mitigation.
• The plan includes Gender-based vulnerabilities, and issues concerning SC/ST, elderly, children and people with disabilities and aligns with The two-flagship programmes on WASH implemented by the Department namely the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G).

What assessments are supposed to be conducted in case of Disaster?
• Prior to the disaster  A Hazard-Vulnerability-Capacity mapping to guide the preparedness activities most needed,
• During Response  A Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) which can be completed in a day and point out the immediate needs of the affected population,
• During Recovery and Reconstruction  A detailed Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) which mentions the long-term needs of the community and helps the administration “build back better” and “update” to mitigate against future disasters.

What are some of disaster response practices observed in India?
• As a part of Sneha Abhiyaan, self-help groups (SHGs) in the village are entrusted with managing cyclone shelters, including the distribution of cooked food.
• Training and capacity building of frontline workers (ASHAs, SHGs) - SDRF provides training in first aid, shelter management, rescue operations, government regulations concerning trafficking and compensation norms.

What are other initiatives of India for Disaster preparedness?
• G20 Disaster Risk reduction working group, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and investing in Early warning disaster response technology.