Preparation of City Development Plan (CDP) for Shillong Chapter 7

Transcription

1 Chapterr 1 Chapterr 2 Chapterr 3 Chapterr 4 Chapterr 5 Chapterr 6

2 Chapterr 7 Disaster Management

3 Chapter 7 Disaster Management Introduction Earthquake Hazards in India Landslides Shillong City Disaster Management Plan

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5 7.1 Introduction The diverse and unique geographical conditions of India make it highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Flood, drought, cyclones, earthquakes are a recurrent phenomenon in India. Susceptibility to disasters is compounded by frequent occurrences of man made disasters such as fire, epidemics etc. The changing topography as well as environmental degradation has also increased the vulnerability of the country. In % of total land area was flood prone, but in 1998, flood inundated 37% geographical area. Recently two major disasters that India has experienced in the past are the super cyclone in Orissa (1999) and earthquake in Gujarat (2001). These two disasters have reorients the basic approach of disaster management. There is a shift in a pre-disaster management instead of post disaster relief. Overall it is essentially a development problem and any preparedness and mitigation planning will have to taken up in tandem with environmental concern that the country is facing today. The Government of India has set up a National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM) under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister. The High Powered Committee (HPC) on disaster management was earlier constituted in August Disaster management is a State subject and different States have initiated efforts to strengthen their agencies responsible for disaster management. Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) were constituted after two major disasters in respective states. In Bihar, State Relief and Rehabilitation Department is the prime agency for disaster management programme and implementation. The objectives of District Action Plan are: To improve preparedness at the district level and through risk and vulnerability analysis to disasters and to minimize the impact of disasters in terms of human, physical and material loss. To ascertain the status of existing resources and facilities available with the various agencies involved in the district and make it an exercise in capability building of district administration. To utilize different aspects of disaster for development planning as a tool for location and area specific planning for development of district. 7-1

6 7.2 Earthquake Hazards in India India has had a long history of earthquake occurrences. About 65% of the total area of the country is vulnerable to seismic damage of buildings in varying degrees. The most vulnerable areas, according to the present seismic zone map of India, are located in the Himalayan and sub-himalayan regions, Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Depending on varying degrees of seism city, the entire country can be divided into the following seismic regions: Kashmir and Western Himalayas - Covers the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and sub-mountainous areas of Punjab Central Himalayas - Includes the mountain and sub-mountain regions of Uttar Pradesh and the sub-mountainous parts of Punjab North-east India - Comprises the whole of Indian territory to the east of north Bengal Indo-Gangetic basin and Rajasthan - This region comprises of Rajasthan, plains of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal Cambay and Rann of Kutch Peninsular India, including the islands of Lakshwadeep Measures for Earthquake Risk Reduction In order to ensure earthquake risk reduction, it is necessary to clarity of the roles of each stakeholder in the process. The risk reduction could be classified into following phases: Pre-earthquake phase which includes preparedness, mitigation and prevention; Post disaster stage: immediate rescue and relief measures including temporary sheltering soon after an earthquake and and re-construction and re-habilitation measures Depending upon the calamity and its consequences, strategies can also be divided into long term (five to fifteen years), medium term (one to five years) and short term (to be taken up immediately in high risk areas). Pre-disaster preparedness through a post-earthquake response plan, including training of the concerned personnel in various roles, is considered essential for immediate and effective response after an earthquake occurrence. Since it has been realized that earthquakes don't kill people but faulty constructed buildings do, the task of reducing vulnerability of structures and buildings will be the key to earthquake risk reduction. 7-2

7 The major action areas which need attention are highlighted in the following paragraphs. Pre-Disaster Preventive Measures Long-term measures Revision of buildings codes, guidelines, manuals and byelaws and their effective enforcement and implementation. This is all the more important in highly seismic areas. Incorporating earthquake resistant features in all buildings at high-risk areas. Making all public utilities like water supply systems, communication networks, electricity lines etc. earthquake resistance and providing alternative arrangements to reduce damages to infrastructure facilities. Constructing earthquake-resistant community buildings like schools, dharma shalas, hospitals, prayer halls, etc., especially in seismic zones of moderate to higher intensities to house the people from the areas which are likely to be affected by the earthquakes. Supporting R&D in various aspects of disaster mitigation, preparedness and prevention and post-disaster management. In order to promote public awareness and technical it is desirable to make disaster management as a part of the educational curricula in architecture and engineering institutions, polytechnics and schools. Medium term measures Retrofitting of weak structures in highly seismic zones. Preparation of disaster related literature in local languages with dos and don'ts for construction. Getting communities involved in the process of disaster mitigation through education and awareness. Networking of local NGOs working in the area of disaster management. Building Codes for Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction In general, it is the buildings that kill people. Most earthquake related deaths, and majority of financial losses, are due to the structural collapse of houses and other buildings. The actual impact is greatly influenced by the building material and construction methods adopted. To overcome this problem, BIS has formulated standards in the field of design and construction of earthquakes. 7-3

8 7.3. Landslides Landslides are simply defined as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope and have come to include a broad range of motions whereby falling, sliding and flowing under the influence of gravity dislodges earth material. They often take place in conjunction with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes. At times, prolonged rainfall causes heavy block in the flow or river. The formation of river blocks can cause havoc to the settlements downstream on its bursting. In the hilly terrain of India including the Himalayas, landslides have been a major and widely spread natural disaster the often strike life and property and occupy a position of major concern. One of the worst tragedies took place at Malpa Uttarkhand (UP) on 11th and 17th August 1998 when nearly 380 people were killed when massive landslides washed away the entire village. This included 60 pilgrims going to Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Consequently various land reform measures have been initiated as mitigation measures. The two regions most vulnerable to landslides are the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The Himalayas mountain belt comprise of tectonically unstable younger geological formations subjected to severe seismic activity. The Western Ghats and Nilgiris are geologically stable but have uplifted plateau margins influenced by neo- tectonic activity. Compared to Western Ghats region, the slides in the Himalayas region are huge and massive and in most cases the overburden along with the underlying litho logy is displaced during sliding particularly due to the seismic factor. Landslides can be caused by poor ground conditions, geomorphic phenomena, and natural physical forces and quite often due to heavy spells of rainfall coupled with impeded drainage. Causes Weak, sensitivity, or weathered materials Adverse ground structure (joints, fissures etc.) Physical property variation (permeability, plasticity etc) Morphological Causes Ground uplift (volcanic, tectonic etc) Erosion (wind, water) 7-4

9 Physical Causes Prolonged precipitation Rapid draw- down Earthquake Volcanic eruption Shrink and swell Artesian pressure Mitigatory Measures In general the chief mitigatory measures to be adopted for such areas are drainage correction, proper land use measures, reforestation for the areas occupied by degraded vegetation and creation of awareness among local population The most important triggering mechanism for mass movements is the water infiltrating into the overburden during heavy rains. When this happens in steep slopes the safety factor of the slope material gets considerably reduced causing it to move down. Hence the natural way of preventing this situation is by reducing infiltration and allowing excess water to move down without hindrance. As such, the first and foremost mitigation measure is drainage correction. This involves maintenance of natural drainage channels both micro and macro in vulnerable slopes. The universal use of contour bounding for all types of terrain without consideration of the slope, overburden thickness and texture or drainage set- up needs to be controlled especially in the plateau edge regions. It is time to think about alternative and innovations, which are suitable for the terrain, to be set up. It need not be overemphasized the governmental agencies have a lot to contribute in this field. Leaving aside the 'critical zones' with settlements could be avoided altogether and which could be preferably used for permanent vegetation, the 'highly unstable zones' generally lie in the upper regions, which are occupied by highly degraded vegetation. These areas warrant immediate afforestation measures with suitable plant species. The afforestation programme should be properly planned so the little slope modification is done in the process. Bounding of any sort using boulders etc. has to be avoided. The selection of suitable plant species should be such that can with stand the existing stress conditions in this terrain. 7-5

10 7.4. Shillong City Disaster Management Plan According to the Shillong City Disaster Management Plan (1 st Draft) prepared by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner s, East Khasi Hills District with the support of the UNDP. The State of Magalia, as a whole, is prone to a number of hazards and vulnerable to two major natural calamities- Earthquake and incessant rains rainfall followed by cyclones leading to landslides and floods. (p3). According to the Vulnerability Atlas of India, the State, as whole, is seismically vulnerable and lies under Zone-V covering areas liable to seismic intensity. The City Earthquake Response Plan addresses to an earthquake disaster situation which may affect large areas causing extensive damage to life, property and environment and consequent epidemics. In any, case, the management of this disaster requires extensive resources and manpower for containment by undertaking remedial action during and after and after the disaster. Objectives: To raise the awareness of decision makers and the general public to the seismic risk; Administrative response system in the event of any major disaster that may occur in the city; Define the city specific campaign strategies; Overview of the basic planning and concept for response implementation in a variety of situations that may occur and Identify the major concept of administrative and national support in terms of any kind of resources for fail-proof communication at all levels leaving no gaps and no overlaps in times of such emergency. Strategy Formulation of Shillong City Earthquake Management Committee and Response Group; Preparation of the Earthquake Response Plan in cooperation with other State Agencies; Sharing the Response Plan with stakeholders, response team for awareness generation; Sector-wise/ ward-wise Earthquake Response Plans and their operation; Rehearsal of the plan/mock drill and Further recommendations for improvements in the Plan. 7-6

11 Coordination Coordination of all stakeholders holds the key for successful disaster management and Capacity building of administrative machinery and civil society to cope with disaster more effectively. Content of the Plan Preparedness The plan provides for detailing important names and telephone numbers Early warning system which includes: setting up of control room; assignment of duties to the district level officials; dissemination of early warning of impending disaster to the general public; NGO coordination and assignment of duties; holding of natural calamity meeting; ensuring efficient functioning early warning communication systems; creating awareness with the target groups and conducting of mock drills. In this exercise all the district level officers are to be involved. Preparedness which includes: to warn the people about the impending danger and to move to safer areas to the identified / safer shelters, to co-ordinate with civil defense, NGOs, police and others for support, evacuate people of marooned areas and administer relief, organize trained task force members, deployment of police for maintaining law and order during evacuation and deployment of vehicles as per the need. In this task all the district and local level officials, leading NGOs, Police and concerned government departments and public men etc are to be actively involved. This also includes search and rescue which involves: deployment of personnel for search and rescue, coordination with other agencies for rescue operations, ensure availability of rescue materials, provide and arrange kits at risk areas etc. Medical aid like deployment of medical staff, provision of medicines, treatment of injured persons, deployment of mobile teams, to obtain/ transmit necessary information to the control room, arranging fodder and medicines for animals etc., is a part of this exercise. Shelter management includes identification of shelter at safe places, arranging food, water, medicines etc., 7-7

12 Emergent Relief includes deployment of vehicles, procurement and transportation of relief material to affected areas, arrangements for kitchen, distribution of relief, coordination with NGOs, monitoring etc. Infrastructure restoration provides for formation of task forces with specific equipment, assigning responsibilities for specific areas, co-ordination of road cleaning, tow vehicles and earth moving equipment, cranes, damage assessment etc. The Plan also details out the responsibilities and appropriate proactive measures which the Government departments and the civil society are to take before, during and after disaster. ISSUE The SCDM, as it exists to day, deals only with Earthquakes. This needs to be revised to cover landslides and other natural disasters. A contingency plan for man made disasters also needs to be evolved so that all agencies concerned with the management of disasters are made aware of their roles and responsibilities which they are required to shoulder in the case of any emergency. This will enable the administration to be well prepared for any eventuality instead of reacting to a disaster, man made or natural, after the event. 7-8