A disaster is an event or series of events that leads to sudden disruption of normal life, causing severe damage to life and property to an extent, that available social and economic protection mechanism are inadequate to cope. Disasters could be, natural (geological, hydro-meteorological and biological) or induced by human processes (environmental degradation an technological hazards).
While we cannot prevent an earthquake or a hurricane from occurring, or volcano from erupting, we can apply the scientific knowledge and technical know-how to issue early warnings on volcanoes and organize proper community response to such warnings. Science and technology help us to understand the mechanism of natural hazards of atmospherical, geological, hydrological, and biological origins which are made up of an orderly systems of facts that have been learned from study, experiments, and observations of floods, severe storms, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, and their impacts on humankind and his works.
Information Technology in Disaster Management
Information Technology is changing every aspect of human life. it enhances the quality and effectiveness of trade, manufacturing, services, other aspects of human life such a education, research, culture, entertainment, communication, national security, etc. Disaster management needs drastic improvements n its sources to decrease damage and see the life of people, To achieve this main object, disaster management has to face challenges for data collection, data management, translation integration and communication. IT pays crucial role in this respect. The advanced techniques of information technology such as remote sensing satellite communication, GIS, etc. can help in planning and implementation of disaster management.
The changing trends have opened up a large number of scientific and technological resources and skills to reduce disaster risk. The information and communication Technology tools are discussed below:
1. Internet
In the present era of electronic communication, the internet provides a useful platform for disaster mitigation communications. The role of Internet is becoming increasingly important because of the following reasons:
- It facilitates, the opportunities to enhance the capabilities of addressing hazard awareness and risk management practices before, during, and following emergency events.
- It provides a new and potentially revolutionary option for the rapid, automatic, and global dissemination of disaster information.
- Network equally provides the means of access to more reference and resource material to more people, in more ways.
2. GIS and Remote Sensing
Geographic information technology tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote sensing (RS) support all aspects of disaster management. GIS and RS are essential as effective preparedness, communication and training tool for disaster management. Most potential disasters can be modeled. Modeling allows disaster managers to view the scope of a disaster , where the damage may be the greatest, what lives and property at highest risk, and what rspose resources are required and where GIS can play a very important role in this exercise. The specific GIS applications in the field of Risk the assessment are:
- Hazard Mapping
- Threat Maps
- Disaster Management
- Records Management
Some application of GIS and Remote Sensing in various disasters is as follows:-
a. Drought
GIS and Remote Sensing can be used in drought relief management such as early warnings of drought conditions will help to plan out the strategies to organize relief work. Satellite data may be used for to target potential groundwater sites for taking up well-digging programmes.
b. Earthquake
GIS and Remote Sensing can be used fro preparing seismic hazards maps in order to assess the exact nature of risks.
c. Floods
Satellite data can be effectively used for mapping and monitoring the flood inundated areas, flood damage assessment, flood hazard zoning and post-flood survey of rivers configuration and protection works.
d. Cyclone
A cyclone is a storm accompanied by high speed whistling an howling winds. It brings torrential rains. A cyclone causes heavy floods. It uproots electricity supply and telecommunication lines. Road and rail movements come to halt. There can be outbreak of diseases like Cholera, Jaundice or Viral fever. Advanced techniques like, GIS, remote sensing tools can be used to identify the vulnerable population with the single hazard component. These tools can be used to calculate state level population affected by different type of storms. But, calculating vulnerability by GIS with multiple hazards and coping capacity is not easy job for decision makers.
3. Warning and Forecasting System
An advance system of forecasting, monitoring and issuing early warning plays the most significant part in determining whether a natural hazard will assume disastrous proportions or not. Our country has the following forecasting systems:
A. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)
Indian meteorological Department provides cyclone warnings from the Area Cyclone Warning Centres (ACWCs. It has developed the necessary infrastructure to originate and disseminate the cyclone warning at appropriate levels. It has made operational a satellite based communication system called Cyclone Warning Dissemination System for direct dissemination of cyclone warnings to the cyclone prone coastal areas.
B. National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA)
Long -term drought proofing programmes on the natural resources of the district have been greatly helped by the use of satellite data obtained b NRSA. Satellite data can be used very effectively for mapping and monitoring the flood-inundated areas, flood damage assessment, flood hazard zoning and past flood survey of river configuration and protection works.
C. Seismological Observations
Seismological observations in the county are made through national network of 36 seismic stations operated by the IMD, which is the nodal agency. These stations have collected data over long periods of time.
D. Flood Forecasting
The Central Water Commission (CWC), Ministry of Water Resources, issues floods forecasts and warnings. These are used for alerting the public and for taking appropriate measures by concerned administrative and state engineering agencies in the flood hazard mitigation. Information is gathered from the CWCs vast network of Forecasting Stations on various rivers in the country.
Information on cyclone warnings is furnished on a real-time basis to the control room set up in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. High power Cyclone Detection Radars (CDRs) that are installed along the coastal belt of India have proved to be very useful tool to the cyclone locate warning work. These radars can locate and track approaching Tropical Cyclones within a range of 400 km. The existing mode of dissemination of cyclone warnings to various government officials is through high priority telegrams, telephones, telex and fax.
Disaster management activities depend on large volumes of accurate, relevant, on time geo-information that various organizations systematically create and maintain. The advancement in Information and Communication Technology in the form of Internet, GIS, Remote Sensing, Satellite communication, etc. can help a great dealing planning an implementation of hazards reduction schemes. For maximum benefit, new technologies for public communication should be made use and natural disaster mitigation messages should be conveyed through these measures. GIS can improve the quality and power of analysis of natural hazards assessments, guide development activities and assist planners in the selection of mitigation measures and in the implementation of emergency preparedness and response action. Remote Sensing, on the other hand, as a tool can very effectively contribute towards identification of hazardous areas, monitor the planet for its change on a real time basis and give early warning to many impending disasters. Communication satellites have become vital for providing emergency communication and timely relief measures. Integration of space technology inputs into natural disaster monitoring an mitigation mechanisms is critical for hazard reduction. Awareness and training in information technology in a much grater measures is required to develop human resources.
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