DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSE

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of
substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic
change to the environment. A disaster can be ostensively defined as any tragic event with great
loss stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or
explosions.
In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of inappropriately managed
risk. These risks are the product of hazards and vulnerability.
Etymology
The word disaster is derived from Middle French dsastre and that from Old Italian disastro,
which in turn comes from the Greek pejorative prefix -, (dus-) "bad"[4] + (aster), "star".
[5]
The root of the word disaster ("bad star" in Greek) comes from an astrological theme in which
the ancients used to refer to the destruction or deconstruction of a star as a disaster.
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is a consequence when a natural calamity affects humans and/or the built
environment. Human vulnerability, and often a lack of appropriate emergency management, leads
to financial, environmental, or human impact. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the
population to support or resist the disaster: their resilience. This understanding is concentrated in
the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability". A natural hazard will hence
never result in a natural disaster in areas without Natural vulnerability.
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.
Earthquakes
Volcanos
Floods
Tornadoes, Typhoons, Cyclones
Various disasters like earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruptions, flood and cyclones are natural
hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each
year. The rapid growth of the world's population and its increased concentration often in
hazardous environment has escalated both the frequency and severity of natural disasters. With
the tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth
proliferation non-engineered constructions which make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable,
tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention, developing
countries suffer more or less chronically by natural disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties due to
natural disasters.
Among various natural hazards, earthquakes, landslides, floods and cyclones are the major
disasters adversely affecting very large areas and population in the Indian sub-continent. These
natural disasters are of (i) geophysical origin such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land slides
and (ii) climatic origin such as drought, flood, cyclone, locust, forest fire. Though it may not be
possible to control nature and to stop the development of natural phenomena but the efforts could
be made to avoid disasters and alleviate their effects on human lives, infrastructure and property.
Rising frequency, amplitude and number of natural disasters and attendant problem coupled with
loss of human lives prompted the General Assembly of the United Nations to proclaim 1990s as
the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) through a resolution 44/236 of
December 22, 1989 to focus on all issues related to natural disaster reduction. In spite of IDNDR,
there had been a string of major disaster throughout the decade. Nevertheless, by establishing the
rich disaster management related traditions and by spreading public awareness the IDNDR
provided required stimulus for disaster reduction. It is almost impossible to prevent the
occurrence of natural disasters and their damages.

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

However, it is possible to reduce the impact of disasters by adopting suitable disaster mitigation
strategies. Disaster mitigation mainly addresses the following:

minimize the potential risks by developing disaster early warning strategies

prepare and implement developmental plans to provide resilience to such disasters,
mobilize resources including communication and tele-medicinal services
to help in rehabilitation and post-disaster reduction.

Disaster management, on the other hand involves:

pre-disaster planning, preparedness, monitoring including relief management capability

prediction and early warning
damage assessment and relief management.

Disaster reduction is a systematic work which involves with different regions, different
professions and different scientific fields, and has become an important measure for human,
society and nature sustainable development.
General Preparedness
The main characteristics of a major disaster are that irrespective of the origin, after a little while
the scene is the same:
total chaos all around
lack of utilities which we have always taken for granted
no relief and rescue teams for several days
lack of medical facilities
Thus, the sufferings are not just due to the disaster, but, post-disaster, many more people die and
suffer because of:
1. lack of food, shelter
2. lack of medical attention
3. hygiene issues causing health hazards
The nature of disaster might only change the sequence of events thats all.
Hence, it is important to have the following precautions/preparations done if your
neighbourhood is prone to any of the disasters. While preparing, remember, after a major disaster
it might be at least 3 to 5 days, before the first signs of relief is visible. All your preparations
should be done with this in mind. Its not just important to survive the immediate disaster, but, you
need to be able to sustain yourself for next several days all on your own maybe, without any
utilities etc.
First and foremost, remember, after a disaster, you might not have stores open. Everything might
be closed down. Hence, its important that you have all the life-saving material with you well in
advance.
Here is a list of items that you should have with you, which can help you stay without utilities for
a few days:

Non-perishable food to last you several days. These should be something, which do not
require cooking, have high shelf-life, without need for refrigeration or other special
conditions, and, preferably take lesser space to store so that you can store adequate
amount for a few days. These include: canned food items, dry-fruits, high protein biscuits
etc.
Drinking water to last you several days.
Some blankets etc. to keep you warm, in case houses are damaged. Remember, there
might not be electricity and/or gas-connections to provide you heating.
A supply of your medicines for several days.
Flashlight which operates on batteries. It might help you navigate your way in darkness,
if electrical system has failed
A battery operated radio. It might be your only source of information.
Some spare batteries to run your flashlight/torch and the radio
If you use cordless phones, have a regular phone also connected. Cordless phones need
electrical power to operate. In case of electrical failures, the cordless phones might not
work.

In addition, you should have the following items:

a. First Aid box, to take care of minor injuries (for yourself, your family members, and/or
even unknown persons who might be injured)
b. Good, comfortable long-boots. With roads damaged, and, too much debris everywhere,
you could be on your feet for next several days. A pair of good long-boots would be very
helpful.
c. The fuel-tank of your vehicle should always be above the Half-Mark. The petrol pumps
(gas-stations) might either be non-operational, or, might have long queues. In case, an
evacuation is required, the last thing you want to do is get stuck in a huge serpentine
queue at the petrol pump.
So, now that you have taken care of your food and shelter, one of the most important things is to
maintain proper sanitary conditions. Toilet flush systems might not work either due to lack of
water, or, due to breakage/damage to plumbing pipes/fittings etc. Thus, a lot of people die due to
outbreak of diseases associated with lack of sanitary conditions. Lack of water creates unhygienic
conditions, which result in outbreak of such diseases. A simple technique can help you ward-off
this situation.
You should have several (plastic/polythene) garbage-bags. Use these bags for excretion inside
it. The toilet paper can also be thrown inside the same bag. Once it has been used a few times,
close its mouth tightly, and, let it lie in a corner. As long as it has been sealed properly at its
mouth, there is little risk from it. Once the relief teams start coming in, and, utilities start
returning back to normal, these bags should be disposed off. This is much safer than excreting in
the open. That would be risky for you, as well as open-excretion would give rise to several
sanitary issues.
Some other precautions that you can take, which would make it easier for you/your
friends/relatives to control anxiety:

Designate a person outside your area, who should be your contact point. Instead of all
your friends and family members trying to reach you (after the news of the disaster
spreads) to inquire about you, you should maybe, inform just one person outside the
zone of disaster. This one person should inform other friends and relations. This serves
three main purposes:
1. After a disaster, everybody is calling all their loved ones to enquire about their
well-being. This causes a severe burden on the communication system which
are not designed to handle everybody on the phone at the same time. Hence,
many of your friends and relatives are not able to get through you and thus,
their anxiety about you keeps getting increased. Instead, if it was pre-decided,
they all would call just one person who is outside the zone of disaster, and, the
communication network there is not over-stretched.
2. The already over-stretched telecom network is saved some load. This allows
relief agencies to use the available telecom bandwidth for rescue and relief
operations.
3. Your own supply of batteries etc. lasts longer, if you receive fewer calls
So, suppose, I grew up in city A, and, then, have moved to city B. Hence, most of my
friends and relatives are in city A. Now, if there is a disaster in city B, I would call up just
one of my friends/relatives (pre-designated) in city A. All my other friends and relatives
would get in touch with this pre-designated person in city A to inquire about me.

Designate a meeting place for your entire family. When a disaster occurs, different
members of the family could be at different places. Even if all of them have survived, you
all might be taken to different shelter-camps and/or medical facilities. You dont want
you/your family members running all around the town locating each other. Hence, there
should be a pre-designated place, where, all of you would meet/send your locations at
the first available opportunity. This pre-designated place could be some friend/relative
outside the immediate zone of disaster, say a friends place. Even if you can not
physically be there, you can atleast call up and leave a message there about your
location and/or well-being, as soon as there is an opportunity.
If you have a school-going child, arrange with someone to pick up the child in case of a
disaster. With communication and transportation network having broken down, this
someone (which could be you-yourself) has to be somebody in the walking distance of
the school. This person can simply walk down to the school, and, pick up the child. The
school should be informed in advance about this person being one of the allowed
guardians to pick up the child in case of an emergency/disaster.
Once again, have phone numbers for your childs friends parents with you. Instead of
everybody trying to call up the school, share information among each other. The number
of phone lines that a school would have would be too few compared to the number of
parents trying to get information about the safety of their kids. Hence, if a fewer parents
call up, and, can share information among each other, it would be helpful.

Also, remember, with so many kids on their hands, the teachers and the school staff
would have their own anxiety. Hence, cooperate with the school, rather than trying to
complicate matters for them by insisting/questioning/rushing-in etc.

The above is also true, if you have an aged parent at home, and, there is nobody at home
to help them evacuate etc. during the time of disaster. Please enlist the help of some
neighbour to provide timely assistance to the aged and feeble people.
You should know the location of the controls for your utilities, as well as how to turn
them on/off specially, water, electricity, gas etc. Depending on the situation, you might
need to shut off certain utilities. E.g. if water lines are leaking, and, water is pouring in,
you might want to turn off the water line. Or, if electrical wires are snapped, you might
want to turn off electricity supply. Usually, there are several levels of controls, e.g. for
electricity, there might be switches to turns off supply for individual rooms, entire house,
or, even entire neighbourhood. Depending upon the exact risk-location and nature of the
risk, you might want to turn off at the appropriate location. E.g. if the risk is only inside a
house, turn off the supply for just that one house, rather than the entire neighbourhood.

Now, that you are adequately prepared:

A. Do NOT panic at the time of the disaster. Think clearly. If you are already prepared by
having mentally gone through your disaster preparedness several times, you might just
know what to do. And, if you have already taken the precautions you might have all the
tools to deal with the situation.
B. Be prepared to stay in it for the long haul, rather than getting desperate and loosing hope.
C. If possible, try to help others those who are weak, e.g. the aged, small children, people
with any special needs, those who are sick etc.
Once you have secured your own life, try to help others also depending on your strength both
physical and emotional. Just make sure not to put your own life and safety into jeopardy. You
could help in one or more of the following:
i.
ii.
iii.

iv.

immediate help to the possible victims

search and rescue
record keeping (who is being sent to which hospital etc.) As soon as people start
coming to their senses, they would start looking for their near and dear ones. A good
record keeping system would allow people to know which of their near-and-dear ones
have survived, and, where have they been taken (specific relief camps, treatment facilities
etc.)
Crowd control so that people dont risk themselves by trying to go near damaged
structures because, inspite of their best of intentions, they could cause more damage to
either themselves or others

Try to be on your own and pick up your lives as soon as its possible and safe to do so. Dont
depend on alms and doles to bail you out.
Medical and other help would be really limited. Dont try to make too much noise about minor
stuff. Adjust and compromise. Let resources be used by those who have greater need for it.
If it appears that it will take a long time for the life to return to normalcy, and, one has to move
(creating situations of migration/refugee etc.), try to move in with a relative or friend for the
duration, rather than relief camps being run by various relief agencies. This will have several
benefits. The most notable being:
a. lesser burden on the relief system
b. lesser concentration at one place, because, the places running the relief centers also get
overburdened by the sudden increase in demand to support a much larger number of
people
c. better sanitary and hygienic conditions
d. Most importantly: much less distressing psychologically and emotionally
Disaster management is a process or strategy that is implemented when any type of catastrophic
event takes place. Sometimes referred to as disaster recovery management, the process may be
initiated when anything threatens to disrupt normal operations or puts the lives of human beings
at risk. Governments on all levels as well as many businesses create some sort of disaster plan
that make it possible to overcome the catastrophe and return to normal function as quickly as
possible.

One of the essential elements of disaster management involves defining the types of catastrophes
that could possibly disrupt the day to day operation of a city, town, business, or country.
Identifying those potential disasters makes it possible to create contingency plans, assemble
supplies, and create procedures that can be initiated when and if a given disaster does come to

pass. A truly comprehensive disaster management plan will encompass a wide range of
possibilities that can easily be adapted in the event one disaster sets off a chain reaction of other
types of disasters in its wake.
Because of the need to continue functioning in emergency situations, disaster management plans
are often multi-layered and can address such issues as floods, hurricanes, fires, bombings, and
even mass failures of utilities or the rapid spread of disease. The disaster plan is likely to address
such as important matters as evacuating people from an impacted region, arranging temporary
housing, food, and medical care. It is not unusual for the plan to also work toward containing and
possibly neutralizing the root causes of the disaster if at all possible.
The process of disaster management will often address the issue of ongoing communication.
Since many disasters can cause communication networks to fail, a competent disaster plan will
include the quick setup of alternative communication capabilities that do not rely on the various
switches, towers and hubs that are usually part of telephone and cellular communication
networks. Often making use of short-wave transmissions that are supported with satellite
technology, the communication flow can continue from the area impacted by the disaster to other
points where aid can be extended when and as possible.
As part of the crisis management component of a disaster plan, it is not unusual for some type of
disaster kit to be developed. The kit may include food and clothing for people who are evacuated
from an area that has experienced flooding or extensive damage from a hurricane or tornado. Kits
may also include basic medication to help with headaches, fevers, and other minor ailments. In
some cases, the kits may include items such as sleeping bags or other necessities that will help
displaced persons to cope with the after effects of the disaster.
Creating an effective disaster management plan is often easier said than done. As many nations
have learned, what were thought to be comprehensive emergency plans turned out to be partially
effective at best. In recent years, many government agencies stretching from the local to the
national level have taken steps to revisit the structure of their disaster plans and run computer
simulations to identify weaknesses in the plans, and refine them so they can operate with more
speed and efficiency.
Disaster Risk Management:

Risk management for disasters includes analysis of the most likely serious issues to
occur and creates training programs that will teach employees exactly what to do in case
of a given circumstance. In addition, disaster risk management can involve measures
like redundant files and automated systems that allow the company to keep functioning
regardless of the circumstances.

Companies that have employees in high-risk areas even include hostage recovery
coverages in their risk management insurance packages. One line of risk management
insurance that has grown is cyber-risk coverage.

Chemical Leaks/Spill Over

As the world is making rapid advancements in the field of industrialization, there are huge
chemicals plants dealing with all kinds of chemicals. Some of these chemical plants deal with
seemingly simple (non-hazardous) chemicals, while, some other chemicals could be dealing with
hazardous materials.
Risks associated with chemicals and chemical industries include:

Risks due to blast of certain equipments involved in large chemical plants, e.g. boiler etc.
Risks due to leakage of chemicals wherever they are stored/transported/used in small
quantities etc.

Sometimes, seemingly harmless chemicals can also turn out to be hazardous, after they come in
contact with other chemicals.
Depending upon the toxicity of the material involved, the most common kinds of problems that
might be caused due to a chemical leak/plant accident might include:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Blast and explosion

Irritation to eyes, throats etc.
Pollution and/or poisoning of air, water-bodies etc.
Impact on vegetation and animals (including fishes in water-bodies)

e. Difficulty in breathing etc.

f. Fumes
g. Heat and/or fire etc.

Usually, chemical plants employ certain bare minimum safety measures. The amount of safety
measures employed by chemical plants is a function of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Risk and hazard associated with the specific chemical plants

Local laws and regulations
Vigilance level of local community
Technical competence of the plant managers
The companys own standard of ethics vs- short-term profitability decisions etc.

However, the places where there are practically no safety measures include:

While transportation. More often than not, most truck drivers have no knowledge of what
they might be carrying, the detailed chemical property of the material they are carrying,
the reactivity of their cargo with other elements etc. Hence, if an untoward incident
happens during the transportation of chemicals, there might not be anybody with a good
knowledge of what is to be done.
Places where the chemicals might be stored, e.g. trading godowns etc. Again, in such
cases, it is quite likely that the traders dealing in these chemicals might not be aware of
the reactivity of these chemicals with other agents.

Thus, if an accident involving chemicals occurs during transportation etc., its best to stay away
unless, you are very clear as to what is the material involved, and, its specific properties as well
as how to mitigate the situation.
However, if there is large chemical plant, or, storage around you, you should take adequate
precaution.
Irrespective of the amount of sophistication, safety and control measures that a plant can take, the
fact is that accidents do happen even in most advanced factories.
It should also be understood that irrespective of the amount of care etc., sometimes, another
disaster say, an earthquake, typhoon etc. could cause large scale structural damage; also, on
structural damage page, there is a ref. to chemical leaks etc. Please link this page at that place),
causing leaks etc. in pipes, tanks etc.
Usually, minor incidents of chemical discharges/leaks leading to irritation, coughing etc. are
reported almost on a daily basis.
However, once in a while, mass-scale poisonings have also been witnessed. The most notoriously
known incident is of-course Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Some of the other major incidents involving
chemical units include:

Contamination of the Songhua River in China following an explosion at the Jilin

Chemical Industrial Company plant in Novement 2005.
Gasoline pipeline explosion at Ihado in Nigeria in May 2006
Explosion at Azote de France (AZF) factory near Toulouse, France which released
Ammonium Nitrate in September 2001

Most people believe that it is the responsibility of the factory owner and the managers to maintain
adequate safety precautions within the factory. Thus, why should they bother to take these
precautions? While, it is true that the factory has to take the ultimate responsibility, the fact is that
the community in the immediately locality has to bear the brunt. Hence, it is in the interest of the
local community to keep adequate precautions. In most large incidents, even if the owner/manger
is punished (even to the extent of being jailed), the harm is already done to the local population.
Thus, it is in the interest of all the stakeholders that chemical accidents are prevented, and, even if
they do occur, the loss is minimal; because, irrespective of where the ultimate responsibility lies,
the suffering will be for the local population.
The preparedness for people around large chemical plants and storage facilities should include:
1. Be aware as to what are the kind of chemicals being used/produced/stored/handled at the
facility
2. Besides knowing the names of these various chemicals, the people should also learn, the
toxicity level of these chemicals, their important properties, including reactivity with
other chemicals found/used/stored in the nearby areas
3. Be aware of the various processes/machines etc. involved which could create a
blast/explosion etc.
4. Installing a mechanism for alerting, when something goes wrong. This is for the factory
to alert the local community that something has gone wrong. This could be as simple as
siren based system
5. Installing a mechanism for the community to be able to alert the factory staff, in case they
notice something going wrong (e.g. unusual discharge from chimney and/or any other

kind of liquid/gaseous vent/outlet etc.). This could be as simple as the phone nos. for the
important factory department being available easily with many people in the community.
Now, the biggest question is: how do people learn about most of the above information. Clearly,
the best people to impact this knowledge are the factory personnel themselves, who are most
knowledgeable in these matters.
However, in general, most factories are very wary of sharing such information with the local
community. The reason is very simple. With a high increase in sensitivity of local community
towards hazardous material/activities in the vicinity, most factory personnel are afraid of arming
the local community with this kind of knowledge. Many of them fear that once the community is
aware of the actual level of hazards, they might create more problems by protesting against the
activities of the factory.
Thus, a first step towards achieving the above goal is establishing a very cordial and trusting
relationship between the community and the factory. This is easier said than done. This trust can
develop slowly over a long period. This will happen only if both the sides realize that the
development of such relationship and information sharing is beneficial to both the parties. More
importantly, they have to realize that they both depend on each other for survival and sustenance.
A community gets benefited from large industrial activity in the form of:
1. Jobs
2. Entrepreneurship opportunities, through providing service to the factory
3. Improvement in general economic condition, resulting in less lawlessness, mugging,
theft, stealing etc. This last factor impacts even those who might not be related to the
industrial unit in any direct manner.
The factory gets benefited from the local community, in the form of:
i.
ii.
iii.

labor
Services being available locally etc.
Besides, a peaceful and cooperative community is helpful to the factorys smooth
functioning

Once basic level of trust has been established, the relationship can be taken to the next level,
where, the factory personnel start sharing details of hazards/risks with the local community. Here,
again, both the parties have to realize that they both are in a win-win situation with sharing this
kind of information.
The community gets benefited as it gets equipped with the real information, and, is able to
minimize losses, if and when an accident occurs
The factory gets benefited as the community is now better understanding and appreciative of the
situation. If community members can take care of themselves, factory personnel can concentrate
on bringing the situation under control. Otherwise, while they have an ugly accident on their
hand, many times, some senior officers are involved in pacifying community members etc.
while, at that instant they should be working towards fixing the actual issue which triggered the
event.
If this level of trust is established and information is adequately shared with the community:
a. People should be able to recognize the onsite of a chemical leak etc. This could be
through information communicated by the factory (say: some kind of siren etc.), or,
through observation of some other visible symptoms (change in colour/quantity/any other
physical characteristics of discharge).
b. If required, inform the factory personnel so that they can take corrective action.
c. Now, depending on the nature of the discharge, you might want to stay indoors (say:
some gas, which causes irritation, but, is expected to blow over with wind), or, maybe
evacuate immediately (if its highly poisonous) etc. Since the response range could be
huge and what is best course of action in one kind of gas could be fatal in another kind
of gas hence, its best that the nature of chemicals involved is already known in advance
including the most appropriate response.
Those who stay in the vicinity of transport corridors handling large amount of chemicals they
should also arm themselves with knowledge of the chemicals being transported through that
route.
Sometimes, there are some major transit routes, e.g. shipping ports etc. where many different
kinds of chemicals are stored. For people staying in such areas, its impossible to know about all
the chemicals that would be transiting through that area. In such situations, the people should
learn about the 4-colour hazard classification. Most vessels and vehicles carry the hazard

classification in the form of a placard displayed. However, the trick is in being able to identify the
nature of the material, based on the displayed placard.
There are many kinds of classification used across the world. It is most essential that you should
be familiar with the classification system mandated by law in your local area. If the material is
being transported through your area, it would have to comply with the local laws. Hence, the
transporting vehicle/vessel should be maintaining the placard/notification as per the laws
applicable there.
If you are still not aware of what kind of chemical is involved, it is best to stay away. Some
general rules of thumb include:
1. If its a gaseous substance, stay upwind. The gaseous element wont reach you
2. If its a liquid substance, stay upslope. The liquid element wont reach you
3. If its some kind of explosive, a good rule of thumb would be:
Stretch your active hand (right for most people) in front of you. Fold the palm into a
fist, but, put your thumb up. Bring this thumb in the line between your eye (one eye
closed, the thumb is in the line with the other eye) and the incident. If the thumb can
cover the incident fully, you are most probably at a safe distance from the hazard.
4. Please remember that this is a general rule of thumb. There might be some specifically
vigorous events (say: nuclear reactions etc.) where this rule wont work in the sense
that a false sense of security might be created.
Search and Rescue
The first thing before taking part in a Search and Rescue operation is to make sure that you
dont put yourself also at risk by unnecessarily exposing yourself to a hazard.
If the search and rescue operation needs you to enter or go near a structure, you should first
assess the stability of the structure. Uncontrolled movement on/around the structure could further
destabilize the structure, causing more damage to the people who might be already trapped
beneath the debris, as well as causing damage to the rescuers and/or curious onlookers and
bystanders.
Searching inside a building
If you are going inside a building, the biggest risk is that you might loose your way while inside
the building. At any time - while inside the building, you should always be in a position to be able
to evacuate immediately in case, there are some threat perceptions (say: aftershocks of an
earthquake), or, any other instability to the structure, or, some other hazard (say: fire etc.) One of
the simplest way is: when entering a building, keep your left hand along the wall (on your left
side), and, move only along this wall. If you have to move away from the wall, come back
immediately to the same wall at the earliest possible. If you encounter doors/passages along,
you might enter those doors/passages as long as you have your left hand along the wall. The
advantage is: If you follow this discipline strictly, there is no way for you to get lost. In case of a
need, you can always retrace back your steps. Simply turn-around, and, put your right hand along
the wall (on your right side after turning around), and, follow the wall. It is as simple as that.
Some of the reasons, why you might have to leave the wall:

Some obstruction (say, table etc. kept alongside the wall). In such cases, it might be better
to walk around the obstruction, rather than walk over it.
Some victim slightly away from the wall. Since, the aim was to rescue the victim, you
might want to leave the wall, and, approach the victim.

This method is helpful even for conducting searches in dark-buildings. However, dark buildings
could create other potential hazards. Hence, if you have to enter a dark building, you should take
with you flashlights and torches because, there might be other potential hazards, which you
might not be able to see.
The above approach does not guarantee that you will cover each and every portion of the
building. The amount of portion covered would depend on the layout of the building, its doors
etc. However, it provides 100% assurance that you wont get lost.
Whenever you enter a building to conduct a search/rescue operation, always ensure that there are
people outside who are aware of the fact that you have gone inside the building. While some
members of the search team are gone inside the building, some other members should stay
outside but in communication with the members who have gone inside.
Searching for people trapped under debris
This should be done very carefully. This presents two dimensions of danger. As you move debris,
you could be changing the balance of the debris, and, thereby further destabilizing whatever
structure exists. Before you start to move large pieces of rocks and debris, make an attempt to
listen below debris and catch any sign of movement, or, somebodys response. Always call-out
for somebody having been trapped below the debris. The response could be in terms of a voice

from the trapped person or, some taps by the victim. Even if there is no response, it should
*not* be assumed that there is nobody below. The trapped person could be unconscious, or, might
be too feeble to respond.
This means, while removing debris from one place, the removed debris should not be put on top
of another pile of debris which is not guaranteed to be clear of any trapped person. Otherwise,
somebody trapped below this other pile could be getting further trapped. This also means that
the rescue operations should always be conducted from outside towards inside unless, it is
known for certain that the inner portion of the debris contains some victims in which case, we
might attend to the inner portion immediately.
While removing debris, one should continuously try to assess, if there is a victim below. Its
possible that a victim who was not able to hear you can now hear you as some layers of debris
have been removed. Once you know that there is a victim, and, that person has given an
indication that he/she can hear you, continue to always convey messages of encouragement and
reassurance that the relief team is on its way. This will provide an immense psychological boost
to the victim.
When conducting relief operations in debris, the entire efforts should be coordinated. If several
teams are working without any coordination, the various teams could come in each others way
as well as cause imbalance to the structure, causing it to further fall, and, this time, it could take
the rescue personnel down. Also, some simple safety precautions should be taken.
1. At any instant, no part of your body should be below any heavy object. Suppose, you
have to lift a heavy object. As soon as its lifted slightly above the ground, put some piece
of brick, wooden log, rock etc. directly below the object. The idea is: If for some reason,
the object slips through or falls, your hand/legs should have a good clearing from the
ground. Use some sturdy stick/pole etc. to place/move bricks/logs etc. below the object
being lifted, rather than putting your own hand/leg below the object.
2. Lifting: If you have to lift a heavy object, dont bend your body around waist. It could
cause back-pain. The right way is to bend your knees, while, keeping your back straight.
Hold the object firmly, and, now, straighten your legs/knee.
3. Instead of using your force, use the concept of levers to lift heavy objects. A lever is a
sturdy pole. Place one end of this pole below the object to be lifted. Place some strong,
solid piece of material below this pole, not very far (say: at approximately 1/3rd the total
length of the pole from the object to be lifted). Go to the other end of the pole. Now,
you can pull the other end down, and, the object would get lifted. The effort that you
would require to lift would be too less, compared to the object being lifted. The other
advantage is: your limbs are nowhere directly below the object being lifted.
One of the concerns could be: when there is so much destruction all-around, where would
we get such sophisticated tools. Well, the tools would be found in the debris itself.
4. Dont forget to wear gloves, when you are dealing with debris, and, a pair of good shoes.
There might be glass-shards, sharp edges, and, what not.
Triage The concept of triage was introduced by French military, and, it translates into:
sorting.
During a disaster, there might be too many people who need medical attention and, medical
facilities would be in severe short-supply. Hence, its important to sort out the victims in terms of:

who needs immediate medical treatment

for whom can the treatment be delayed
who need not be given any treatment

The last category includes people, who dont need medical treatment, because they are not much
hurt, or, people who are already dead. This last category also includes people, who need not be
given any treatment, because their chances of survival are very remote. For all practical purposes,
these people might be treated as dead. The logic here is: instead of tying up medical facilities
for this person who has almost no sign of survival, the same facility might be extended to
somebody who has a much better chance of surviving.
Thus, as part of triage, its highly possible that a person who is actually alive might be classified
as dead. Needless to say, this experience could provide quite traumatic for the person
conducting the categorization. It is not easy to classify a living person as dead, and, be aware
that this classification/judgement would deny him any chance of survival. However, the right
context to look at is: by not tying up the medical resources for this one person, you are actually
providing the chance of treatment and survival to some more people. Otherwise, an attempt to get
medical treatment to this person could result in denial of timely treatment to another person,
who had a much better chances of survival, while, this person anyways does not survive.

Sometimes, a person in very heavy pain could be crying the loudest, but, that does not mean
he/she needs immediate treatment. His/her treatment could be delayed without any risk of
his/her life. E.g. a fractured arm etc. While, this person could be in immense pain, his treatment
can wait. His sight could also evoke immense sympathy but, once again, this is a case where,
the volunteer has to exercise his/her mind judiciously.
The people who might need immediate treatment are:

those who are loosing blood

those who seem to be in a state of delirium
those who are showing weakness of vital signs

Sometimes, a person might be unconscious. In the absence of any medical instrument, and, lack
of adequately trained medical staff, it might be difficult to judge the strength of vital signs. A
good indication in such situations could be: Pinch and hold one of the fingers between your
thumb and index finger for 2-3 seconds. Now, leave his/her finger. Observe, how long does it take
for that particular place to turn back to normal (pinkish) colour. If it takes longer to turn back into
the normal colour, his/her vital signs are not very good.
A disaster response team is a group of individuals who have designed plans to assist others in an
emergency or crisis event. Disaster response teams can be formed in churches, non-profit
organizations, and companies. Even families can organize their own disaster response team. The
role of the response team is to assist with the emotional and physical needs of a disaster victim.
Emergency counseling, food, child care, transportation, first aid, and other comforts are all very
important during a disaster. Disaster response teams are very helpful in causing an emergency or
disaster to have a less severe impact on those who are going through the crisis. There are two
specific types of disasters that can occur manmade and natural.
Natural disasters are things like earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other natural
occurrences that can wreak havoc on a population. Manmade disasters are things like terrorism,
explosions, wars, and any other activity produced by mankind that endangers the lives of
individuals. In the event of natural and manmade disasters, a disaster response team is there to
assist people with things like providing meals, clean-up, and rebuilding.
Large corporations often form disaster response teams that consist of employees willing to assist
their colleagues in the event of an emergency. In many cases, when the disaster is significant, the
disaster response team is simply not enough and volunteers are needed to assist the team.
Another thing that disaster response teams do is to run emergency drills. These drills and
exercises are designed to help team members have an accurate idea of what they should do and
how they should respond to a life threatening situation. Often the team members are prepared
through training that covers life-saving strategies. Drills are perfect for helping disaster response
teams know what they can anticipate in the event of a crisis. However, when a disaster happens,
improvisation is often required and people must simply think of their feet and handle chaos.
Emergency management is vital to reducing the amount of people who are injured or killed
during a disaster. It is vital that families prepare their own disaster response teams and have the
necessary supplies, preparations, and evacuation plans ready if something catastrophic happens.
Most family disaster response teams are created to keep family members together and
cooperating during an event like a tornado or nuclear attack.
Those who form disaster response teams are individuals with a true desire to help others and are
emotionally and mentally capable of handling emergency events. Those on a disaster response
team are often risking their lives by placing themselves in dangerous and precarious situations so
that they can rescue or help others. Most importantly, people on disaster response teams
understand that they cannot control a disaster but they can control what they do and how they
react during the disaster.
An incident response team or emergency response team (ERT) is a group of people who
prepare for and respond to any emergency incident, such as a natural disaster or an interruption of
business operations. Incident response teams are common in corporations as well as in public
service organizations. This team is generally composed of specific members designated before an
incident occurs, although under certain circumstances the team may be an ad-hoc group of willing
volunteers.
Incident response team members ideally are trained and prepared to fulfill the roles required by
the specific situation (for example, to serve as incident commander in the event of a large-scale
public emergency). As the size of an incident grows, and as more resources are drawn into the
event, the command of the situation may shift through several phases. In a small-scale event,
usually only a volunteer or Ad-hoc Team may respond. In small but growing, and large events,
both specific member and ad-hoc teams may work jointly in a unified command system.
Individual team members can be trained in various aspects of the response, be it Medical

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Assistance/First Aid, hazardous materials spills, hostage situations, information systems attacks
or disaster relief. Ideally the team has already defined a protocol or set of actions to perform to
mitigate the negative effects of the incident.
Disaster and Emergency Assistance Policy
ADB's Board of Directors approved on 1 June 2004 a comprehensive disaster and
emergency assistance policy that provides rehabilitation and reconstruction
assistance and assists developing member countries with prevention, preparation,
and mitigation of the impact of future disasters.
The underlying principles of the new policy include:

Adopting a systematic approach to disaster management, including natural

disasters and post-conflict
Mainstreaming disaster risk management as an integral part of the
development process
Strengthening partnerships among development and specialized organizations
to enhance the effectiveness of emergency aid, since no single agency can
provide all the resources needed to cope with disasters and the resulting
emergencies
Using resources more efficiently and effectively to better support pre- and
post-disaster activities
Improving organizational arrangements within ADB for planning,
implementing, and communicating effectively on disaster and emergencyrelated assistance.

Related questions on DISASTER

Have you ever been in a disaster?

What are some different kinds of disasters?
What kind of disasters are common in your country?
What is the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane?
What is the difference between a tornado and a hurricane?
What is disaster insurance?
o Do most people have it?
Are there ways we can prepare ourselves in advance to cope with disasters?
How are businesses affected by disasters?
How are families affected by disasters?
How are the problems solved after a disaster?
If you had the power to stop a natural disaster that has happened in the past,
which would you choose? Why?
What is the difference between natural disasters and manmade disasters?
o Can you name a few of each type?
o Where do these usually often occur?
Do some natural disasters occur repeatedly in the same area?
Do many people live in these areas?

What
What
o
o
o
o
o

are examples of manmade disasters?

examples are there of natural disasters?
What kind of damage can occur in each case?
Have you ever been in a natural disaster?
Do you know anyone who has been in a natural disaster?
Can you find someone in the class who has been in a natural disaster?
What natural disasters occur in your country?

Personal

Are you prepared for a disaster?

What can you do to prepare for a disaster?
Do you know someone who has been in a disaster?
How do you think you would react in a disaster?
How can we help children who are victims of disasters?
Does your family have a plan for what to do in the event of an earthquake?
Have you ever been injured?
Have you ever had a broken leg?
Can you find the story of anyone who lived through a disaster?
What would you do if you knew there would soon be a serious natural disaster
and this could be your last day on earth?

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