Transcript Civil Defence in India Building People’s Disaster Resilience

Disasters in India
(Types & Consequences)
&
Nature of Civil Defence
Organization
A
Tribute
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
We pay homage to the Pioneer of Indian Ambulance Corps in South
Africa as first voluntary service organized by an Indian in Modern
Times.
Mahatma Gandhi was awarded QSA Boer War Medal in 1900
Civil Defence in
India
Building People’s Disaster Resilience
Civil Defence
Civil Defence all over the world and in
India has been a government program that
provides guidance and assistance in
preparing for, responding to and
recovering from public emergencies that
result from conflict or natural disasters.
CD Measures
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Civil Defence measures are designed to
deal
with
immediate
emergency
conditions, protect the public and restore
vital services and facilities that have been
destroyed or damaged by disaster.
Major Tasks of Civil Defence
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To make sure that the public is warned of danger and
provided with instructions on how to avoid hazards.
Advice people to protect themselves by either
evacuating the area or remain and take shelter.
Organizing immediate relief to the survivors.
Support emergency services
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Rescue Operations
Firefighting
Law Enforcement
Medical Care
Public Works repair
Provision of voluntary Food, Shelter and Clothing.
Assist in Recovery Operations
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Clearance of debris
Restoring utility services
Managing relocations centers
What was the need ?
 The
number of incidents happening
during World War II were enormous &
beyond the capacity of local
Emergency services.
 There was a need for unifying the
overall efforts of the country to survive
a catastrophe & raise public morale.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949,
and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed
Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.
Chapter VI. Civil Defence
Art 61. - Definitions and scope
For the purpose of this Protocol:
(1) "Civil defence" means the performance of some or all of the under-mentioned
humanitarian tasks intended to protect the civilian population against the dangers, and
to help it to recover from the immediate effects, of hostilities or disasters and also to
provide the conditions necessary for its survival. These tasks are:
(a) warning;
(b) evacuation;
(c) management of shelters;
(d) management of blackout measures;
(e) rescue;
(f) medical services, including first aid, and religious assistance;
(g) fire-fighting;
(h) detection and marking of danger areas;
(i) decontamination and similar protective measures;
(j) provision of emergency accommodation and supplies;
(k) emergency assistance in the restoration and maintenance of order in distressed
areas;
(l) emergency repair of indispensable public utilities;
(m) emergency disposal of the dead;
(n) assistance in the preservation of objects essential for survival;
(o) complementary activities necessary to carry out any of the tasks mentioned above,
including, but not limited to, planning and organization;
Art 62. General Protection
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Civilian civil defence organizations and
their personnel shall be respected and
protected, subject to the provisions of
this
Protocol,
particularly
the
provisions of this section. They shall
be entitled to perform their civil
defence tasks except in case of
imperative
military
necessity.
Article 15 : International
Distinctive sign
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The international distinctive sign of civil defence provided for in
Article 66, paragraph 4, of the Protocol is an equilateral blue
triangle on an orange ground. A model is shown in Figure 4:
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It is recommended that:
a) if the blue triangle is on a flag or armlet or tabard, the ground
to the triangle be the orange flag, armlet or tabard;
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b) one of the angles of the triangle be pointed vertically
upwards;
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c) no angle of the triangle touch the edge of the orange ground.
Civil Defence in India
The Civil Defence programme in
India relies on the individual
and the locality, doing that
which is necessary to increase
the chances of survival, to
minimise damage and to
recover quickly.
The Threat
India’s Security Concerns
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India faces varied and complex
security challenges ranging
from low intensity conflicts
characterized by tribal, ethnic
and left wing movements and
ideologies
India is one of the most disaster
prone countries in the world.
Over 65% land area vulnerable to earthquakes;
70% of land under cultivation prone to drought;
40 million hectares to floods;
8,000 km coastline to cyclones.
A Major Disaster occurs every 2-3 years;
5 crore people affected annually
10 lakh houses damaged annually along with human,social and
other losses
During 1985-2003, the annual average damage due to natural
disasters has been estimated at 7 crore US $
The TSUNAMI in the Indian Ocean
Terrorism
The global environment has
reduced the probability of conflict
considerably but Terrorism is on
the rise and becoming a cheap
mode for nations to commit acts
of aggression with less fear of
retaliation.
Why Worry about
Radiological Weapons ?
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Enough fissile material is missing to construct
numerous nuclear devices
Enough radioactive material is missing to
contaminate large areas using Radiation
Dispersion Devices (RDD)
Technology to build a nuclear device, radiation
bomb, or RDD is readily available
Nuclear weapon facilities within the former
Soviet Union have not been well guarded or
financed, which increased the probability of theft
Why Worry about
Chemical Weapons?
POISON
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Some countries covertly allow terrorists to use their
stockpile
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The production technology is widely available
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Production facilities can be disguised as legitimate
chemical business activities
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Terrorists have already used chemical weapons
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At least 28 nations have chemical weapons
programs
Why Worry about
Biological Weapons?
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Theft from production facilities is likely
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Production technology is widely available
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Terrorists have already used biological weapons
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Biological weapons production can be disguised
as a legitimate pharmaceutical enterprise
At least 12 nations possess biological weapons
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Why Worry about
Big Conventional Bombs?
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Technology is more available
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Terrorist have used large
bombs
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Military grade explosives are
more available
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Yield big news media
coverage
Hazardous Chemical Incident
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Methylisocyanate (MIC)
incident at Bhopal, India
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3,300 people killed
immediately; 16,000 after
ten years
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40 tons of MIC released
that covered 20 Km2
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Over 500,000 people
suffered effects of gas
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Ground water hazard for
ten years
Climate Change
Even if we go by the estimates of
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
by 2100, 5764 sq. km of India’s coastal area
will be submerged under the sea, triggering
massive migration of the people towards
hinterland
 63 million people in India and 62 million in
Bangladesh live within 10 meters of the sea
levels that includes the population of cities of
Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai.
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Beginning of the conflicts
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Displaced people will need food, water shelter
and jobs
Government may be in a position to provide
shelter but already in dire state government will
be not be able to provide food, water and jobs
also
Desperation will lead to agitation
Unable to solve the root cause of agitation will
result in conflicts
Radical Groups will exploit the situation & major
conflicts will begin leading to breakdown of any
semblance of administration and internal
security
Can Civil Defence do Anything?
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Relatively, small investments in Preparedness
against emergencies enable communities to speed
up Recovery by months or years and thereby
prevent millions of deaths due to hunger, weather
and epidemics that may occur consequent to many
major disasters.
According to the human capital theory in economics,
the country’s population is valued more than other
factors like land, industry and wealth due to its
capacity to rebuild a country after its destruction by
nature’s forces. Therefore, to ensure economic
stability and security of the country it is essential that
a strong Civil Defence Corps is available for
protection of its people.
Civil Defence builds Resilience
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Civil Defence has stressed on building
confidence, reducing fear and uncertainty,
ensure higher survival rate, assist in raising
people’s quality of life that has made
economic benefits feasible. The Civil
Defence concept’s core objective has been
to instill in people, the strength to
understand that they are in control of their
own destiny and well prepared for the
uncertainties of the future.
CIVIL DEFENCE
“Civil Defence” includes any measures, not
amounting to actual combat, for affording protection
to any person, property, place or thing in India or
any part of the territory thereof against any hostile
attack, whether from air, land, sea or any other
places, or, for depriving any such attack of the
whole or part of its effect, whether such measures
are taken before, during, at or after the time of such
attack or any measure taken for the purpose of
disaster management, before, during, at, or after
any disaster.
CIVIL DEFENCE ORGANISATION
CENTRAL
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
UNION HOME MINISTER
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
HOME SECRETARY
CD COMMITTEE
SECRETARY (BM)
Director General NDRF & CD
JOINT PLANNING STAFF
JOINT SECRETARY
DY. SECRETARY
CD BRANCH
DY. DGCD H.G. & CD
FIRE ADVISOR
CIVIL DEFENCE ORGANISATION
STATE
HOME DEPARTMENT
CIVIL DEFENCE ADVISORY
DIRECTOR OF
COMMITTEE
CIVIL DEFENCE
LOCAL LEVEL
CIVIL DEFENCE CONTROLLER
CIVIL DEFENCE OFFICER
ZONAL OFFICERS
DIVISIONAL WARDENS
POST WARDENS
SECTOR WARDENS
CIVIL DEFENCE SERVICES
Organization in a Town
CD Controller
Dy. CD Controller
Zone (6 lakh) ………………….
Divisional Warden (2 lakh)……………
Dy. Divisional Warden
Post Warden (20,000)…………..
Sector Wardens (4000)………….
Civil Defence Corps
Services Rendered
HEADQUARTER SERVICE
WARDEN SERVICE
COMMUNICATION SERVICE
CASUALTY SERVICE
FIRE FIGHTING SERVICE
TRAINING SERVICE
RESCUE SERVICE
SALVAGE SERVICE
DEPOT & TRANSPORT SERVICE
SUPPLY SERVICE
WELFARE SERVICE
CORPSE DISPOSAL SERVICE
Do we need it today ?
Obviously YES, because –
 The Emergency Services are still not
adequate.
 The Response time-lag for services to
arrive at the scene of incident is growing
longer.
 The higher degree of stress for the
Emergency Services personnel needs
large resource of back-up volunteers.
Training Needs
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The tasks performed by Civil Defence
volunteers with the assistance of local
authorities are
Immediate search & rescue
 Medical support and transportation
 Security and Traffic arrangements
 Fire Fighting support
 Immediate relief in the form of food, shelter,
clothing
 Disposal of dead and carcasses.
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Conclusion
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Research into Human reactions to
Disaster has overwhelmingly recognized
that Resilience to Disasters is much more
commonly displayed by individuals having
pre-knowledge and training to withstand
the consequences.
We Can’t do everything
But
We Can Do Some thing
and
We Intend to
do Them Very Well
Thank you