District Disaster Management Plan Sindhudurg Essay Example

the plan so that during disaster their optimum use can be derived. The resource inventory, the IDRN is now linked with the website which is vital to cope with the crisis. It will give the detail information to any officer at the time of disaster. He can view the available resources and order them at the time of disaster.

The most necessary equipments, skilled manpower and critical supplies are included in the inventory resources. During disaster, the resources from this website can be ordered without delay which will make the response time lesser. List of medical doctors, control room of various departments, ambulances, blood banks, public health centers, government and private hospitals have been included in this plan. This plan also provides important list of websites, related to meteorology, earthquake, flood, fire, disaster related training institutions, available materials etc.

As a whole, this is a genuine effort of district administration to develop the plan and if you have any suggestions and comments be free to convey the same so that we can include them in the next edition. We are thankful to all the institutions and persons who have provided us the vital information in time. Also some blank space has been provided wherever possible so that any further new information can be included as and when required.

Introduction

Background

Natural Disasters are known to mankind before it evolved and will happen afterwards also. It reminds us of a meteorite that had hit the earth which eventually wiped off the entire dinosaurs, million years ago. Today, also we witness them in the form of Earthquake, Floods, Landslides, Cyclones, Wildfires, Avalanches, Cloudburst, Heat and cold waves and the tsunamis. Many countries

have suffered loss of human lives and damage to property; their economic losses have been in million dollars. Thus, disasters not only kill people, but also have tremendous effect on economy.

It enhances the poverty of an already poor country and makes it impoverish. In disasters, it is the poor and under privileged, who are the worst affected, they tend to lose their shelter, livelihood and become more impoverished.

Need for Disaster Management

Data on disaster occurrence, its effect upon people and its cost to countries, are primary inputs to analyze the temporal and geographical trends in disaster impact. Disaster losses, provide the basis for identifying where, and to what extent, the potentially negative outcomes embedded in the concept of risk is realized. They help to understand where, and to whom, disaster risk becomes impact.

They also provide the basis for risk assessment processes, a departing point for the application of disaster reduction measures. – UN ISDR Development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into development process. Investments in mitigation are more cost effective than expenditure on relief and rehabilitation. Prevention and mitigation contribute to lasting improvement in safety and are essential to integrated disaster management. Disaster response alone is not sufficient as it yields only temporary results at very high cost. So emphasis must be on Disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness, which help in achieving objectivity of vulnerability reduction.

What is a Disaster?

A Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that causes serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human material economic or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own

resources. ” UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, A Disaster is a "Situation or event, which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to national or international level for external assistance; an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering".  Centre for Research of Epidemiology of Disaster, Belgium

Hazard:

• is a natural physical event which has a potential to convert into a disaster, causing widespread injury or deaths and damage to public or private property or the environment.

Vulnerability:

means inability to resist a hazard or respond when a disaster has occurred. It depends on several factors such as people’s age and state of health, local environmental and sanitary conditions, as well as on the quality and state of local buildings and their location with respect to any hazards. UNISDR 10

Disaster Preparedness Pre-disaster activities that are undertaken within the context of disaster risk management and are based on sound risk analysis.

This includes the development/enhancement of an overall preparedness strategy, policy, institutional structure, warning and forecasting capabilities, and plans that define measures geared to helping at-risk communities safeguard their lives and assets by being alert to hazards and taking appropriate action in the face of an imminent threat or an actual disaster.  Office of Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs.

Disaster risk reduction, attempts to look back at the root causes of risks and vulnerabilities in a society, state, town or even a single household. Factors can be broad or specific, depending on the scope of risk and vulnerability assessments.

Natural hazard:

Natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental

damage.

The Natural disasters were split into 3 specific groups:

1. Hydro-meteorological disasters: Floods and wave surges, storms, droughts and related disasters, and landslides & avalanches;
2. Geophysical disasters: Earthquakes & tsunamis and volcanic eruptions;
3. Biological disasters: Epidemics and insect infestations.
4. Man made disasters Disasters due to human activities could be unintentional, but lack of safety measures and abiding by certain safety rules and regulations. Most of these are due to certain accidents. Terrorism, Bomb blast, Wars, Riots, technology related, Accidents, Chemical and Nuclear, Industrial accidents etc.

 Worst Disasters in the world

1. Bam earthquake, Iran, Dec 2003, magnitude 6. 6 and 26,271 dead, 30,000 injured
2. South Asian tsunami, Dec 2004, magnitude 9.3 and 230,000 dead in 14 nations, 125000 injured, 45,752 missing and 1. 69 million homeless
3. Sichuan earthquake, China, May 2008, magnitude – 7 and 8 69,195 dead, 18,392 homeless and 374,643 injured and 115 billion dollars loss
4. Haiti earthquake, Jan 2010, magnitude 7 and 150,000 dead, 300,000 injured and 100 million dollars loss
5. Pakistan floods, Jul 2010 --- 2,000 dead, 20 million affected and loss of 43 billion dollars
6. Japan tsunami, Mar 2011, magnitude 9 and 15,188 dead, 5,337 injured, 8,742 missing and loss of 300 billion dollars

The Indian scenario India has been vulnerable to many disasters in the past both natural and man made. Nearly, 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquake, 8% for cyclones and 68% for drought. Some of them are mentioned below along with number of people dead and the economic losses incurred.

Natural disasters in India

1. Latur earthquake, Sept. 1993, magnitude 6. 4 and 20,000 dead and 30,000 injured 11
2. Orissa super cyclone, Oct 1999, 15,000 dead 275,000 homes destroyed and 8,119
   

injured and 4. 9 billion dollars loss

As it is said that, plan development is one of the vital objectives of this project much more attention has been paid by the district administration to develop the plan so that it will 12 be more useful to handle the disasters timely in future. Therefore, genuine efforts have been dedicated to develop the District Disaster Management Plan. Disaster Management has comprehensive cycle that includes preparedness, response, recovery and reduction phases. Based on this cycle, the response part is addressed with Incident Command System, a best management tool, and linked with resource inventory connected to website India Disaster Resource Network.

Above all, this plan will be a true guide to a disaster manager at district level, since it provides all necessary information

required for timely and effective response to any unexpected disaster. Being a coastal district Sindhudurg is largely prone to cyclones and flash floods. Considering this situation, the District Disaster Management Plan has been developed and covered all relevant information related to human resources, equipments and critical supplies. Importance of Multi-hazard Management Plan It is apparent that this district is prone to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, landslides etc. Also, it cannot ignore the man-made disasters.

So the district plan is designed as per the present need and the major strategies to respond to any unexpected situation have also been considered. In the multi-hazard district plan, all the disasters will be handled properly following the given response mechanism, like ICS, use of resource inventory, Standard Operating Procedures, keeping coordination with the line agencies and proper community based awareness activities. SOP of line departments is designed to make them alert. It highlights their role and responsibilities during, after and normal time of the disaster.

The main features of multi-hazard plan are:

1. It gives importance to all the disasters equally and helps to mitigate the situation beforehand.
2. All the departments are assigned with their proper role and responsibilities, which are clearly indicated in the SOPs.
3. The District administration has to be alert round the year as disasters may occur any time, anywhere in the district, irrespective of time and location.

NDMA Non structural measures:

• Non engineered measures to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards such as education, training and emergency planning, capacity development, general public awareness, early warning system, hazard vulnerability risk analysis, communication mechanism etc.

To prevent loss of human life and property damage To study, analyze and evaluate

the disasters To identify the vulnerable locations and do the vulnerability and risk analysis To improve preparedness, prevention and mitigation at district level To ascertain the status of existing resources and facilities available To recommend appropriate strategies and responses to deal with future disasters.

DISTRICT PROFILE

Location and Extent The earlier Ratnagiri district was divided into two districts, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on 1st May 1981 for the industrial and agriculture development of the southern part of the Konkan division. Sindhudurg District is located at the southwest corner of Maharashtra state along with the western coast in the Konkan region. It is one of the six districts in the Konkan Division along with Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane, Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban.

It lies between latitudes 15° 40’ to 16° 40’ north and 73° 20’ to 74° 10’ east longitudes. The district headquarter is at Oras Budruk which lies on the Mumbai Goa Highway and is well connected by bus routes to the state capital, Mumbai and other major towns in Maharashtra. The state capital of Mumbai is 550 kms to the north of this district, while Kolhapur is 160 kms to the east, Ratnagiri 192 kms to the north and Panaji, the capital of Goa is 80 kms to the south.

River Systems and Dams There are six major rivers in the district.

1. Vaghothan
2. Sukhnadi
3. Tillari
4. Karli
5. Gadnadi
6. Terekhol

1.The Vaghothan river has a course of about 48 kms from the Shivgad pass to it’s mouth which is protected by the Deogad promontory from the south.

2. Gad River flows in a southwesterly course from the Sahyadris and joins the sea 3 miles north of Malvan.

3. Karli river is also known as Sarambal

in the upper reaches and as Karli only at its mouth.

4. Terekhol in its upper reaches is known as Banda river and in the lower reaches as Terekhol.

Size Large Large Medium Medium Medium Medium Small Small Small Small Small Small Small Small Status Complete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Complete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete 17 There are some other rivers such as Kalne river, Ianavali river, Kasal river, Kharepatan river, Kalaval river, Karli and Redi creek. The following is the list of major dams in Sindhudurg district regarding their location, size and status.

Industries There are 2587 industries situated in 3 Industrial Estates

1.Kudal

2. Industrial Estate, Kudal

3. Industrial Estate Majgaon, Tal.

Sawantwadi The main industries are Plastic Engineering, Aluminium, Cashew Processing, Oil Paints, Cement Pipes. One Pig Iron Factory is run by Tata Metallics at Redi. Details of the Industrial Estates given below Name of the Estate No. of No. of major industries hazardous and polluting industries M. I. D. C. area, 161 Nil Kudal, Pinguli, Nerur 28 Nil Udyamnagar, KudalSawantwadi road At post 58 Nil Majgaon, Tal. Sawantwadi. Location Total work force 1419 M. I. D. C. Kudal Kudal Co-operative Industrial Estate, Kudal Industrial Majgaon, Sawantwadi Estate, Tal. 168 1000

Power Stations and Electricity Installations There are 18 power stations in the district. Electrification was made in 4 towns and 741 villages.

Name of the List of Power Taluka Station Sawantwadi Sawantwadi, Amboli, Malewad, Sasoli, Bhedshi Kankavli Kankavli, Kharepatan, Asalde, Phonda Malvan Kumbharmath, Masure Kudal Kudal, Oros, Mangaon Name of Taluka Deogad List of Power Station Wada, Tale Bazar Vengurla Vengurla Vaibhavwadi Vaibhavwadi 18

Transport and Communication Network Konkan Railway from Kharepatan to Goa passes through this

district and covers 101 kms. The total length of National Highway in the district is 107. 91 km whereas the State Highway and ZP road also access to the whole district. Almost all parts of the district are connected by ST bus service. Post office and telephone services are already available in each and every part of the district.

Education Sindhudurg district has a good educational infrastructure. Its literacy rate indicates that the basic education facility is accessed to each and every corner of the district. Besides it also has medical, engineering, polytechnic, and training institutes, which help the youths here to be its beneficiaries. Particulars Number Particulars Number Total Primary 1448 Total higher 43 School secondary schools Total Secondary 207 +1 Total ITI’s 3 Total Engineering 1 College Total Medical 2 Colleges 2. 10 Tourism Sindhudurg District has been designated as a Tourism District and special initiatives have proposed. The state government has undertaken the development of tourist centres as follows:2. 10. 1 Scenic Temples 1.

Bharadidevi:

Is a godess of Anganewadi where she has occurred in a self existant rock form. It is believed that when a person asks for a favor goddess fulfills it.

1.Annual fair of this goddess is witnessed by large number of devotees.

2. Rawool Maharaj Mutt: A potent saint of Konkan who sacrificed himself for the welfare of the society. Later he self immolated himself at Pinguli where mutt stands in his name.

3. KunkeshwarTemple: The nature has bestowed beauty by placing this temple on the bank of Arabian Sea. The original Hemadpanthy architectural style temple is believed to be built by one Arabian businessman.

4.Datta Mandir: Birthplace of Paramhans Pariwajakacharya Vasudevanand Saraswati alias Tembyeswami

who has left rich treasure of philosophy written in form of granthas.

5. Mahalaxmi Temple: At Narur this temple is located at the bottom of Ranganagad fort. Trekkers seek blessings of goddess Mahalaxmi before moving upwards towards Ranganagad.

6. Vetoba Temple (14 km from Vengurla): Vetal the king of ghosts is considered as watchmen of Aravali village, which is blessed by spectacular seashore.

7. Hiranyakeshi (3 km from Amboli): Scenic place of worship dedicated to Lord Shiva. Where pilgrims gather in large numbers during Mahashivratri. The Hiranyakeshi River originates from this place.

Natural Ports 1. Vengurla: Set within the magnificent natural harbour.

1.This sleepy little town is renowned for its historic building Dutch Wakhar (a factory) and heritage Sagar Bunglow

2. Malvan Jetty:

Is a home of fishing trawlers. A short boat ride from this jetty takes you to the Sindhudurg fort. been 19

3. Sarjekot (4 km from Malvan): This port is a scenic splendor on the mouth of Talashil Creek. Sarjekot received its name from Sarjekot fort constructed by Shivaji Maharaj in 1668.

4. Redi (21 km from Vengurla): The old anchor Revati port area is the nicest spot for picnics in Sindhudurg. The historic significance of this place is Yashwantgad fort and self existent Lord Ganesh who attracts large number of devotees.

5. Devgad: Is a natural harbour and a well-guarded port town named after Devgad fort.

Marathas valiant naval commander was instrumental in erecting this elegant looking fort.

Historic Forts 1. Sindhudurg Fort: On a low island and about a mile from the Malvan’s shore, this fort is said to be a pride of Maratha glory.

1.Palm and footprints of great king also preserved here on a dried lime slab in a tower.

2. Rangnagad:

At an altitude of 2600 ft. Ranganagad is a trekkers delight.

3. Vijaydurg: Pre Shivaji period fort erected during Adilshah’s regime.

Shivaji captured this fort in 1653 & restored its dignity.

Important Beaches 1. Tarkarli Beach: Considered as a queen of Sindhudurg’s beaches.

1. The miles long stretch of delighting cajurina plantations and unique rural cottages lined up in dunes impresses upon a visitor to make halt at this beach.

2. Nivati Beach: Fishermen seen launching their traditional boats and nets daily into the sea is an interesting feature to watch on this beach.

3. Mochemad Beach: In a settlement of fishermen this beach attracts tourists by its breathtaking scenery.

4. Shiroda Beach: This Cajurina fringed beach of Velagar is a feast for the eyes of the visitors.

Luring Waterfalls

1. Saitavade Fall:

• Rapidly flows through the cracks of curious black rocks of Padaghar.This fall has produced scenic pool at the base. Mirror like water rushing over the rocks is a delight for photographers.

2. Napane Waterfall: Here you can explore the secret of cascading water by reaching close to the spot from where the water emerges from the sedimentary rocks in the form of bubbles.

3. Nangartas Fall: When you arrive at this fall walk cautiously at the edge of the drop off. Stand on the erected platform for viewers and let your eyes follow the sound of falling water into the cavity of the rocks.

4. Chorla Fall: Yet another beautiful waterfall in the picturesque mountain of Sahyadri. To view this fall one has to reach Virdi a village of Dodamarg taluka situated on the Maharashtra - Karnataka border.

Hill Resorts

1. Dajipur: The luxuriant forest of Dajipur near the backwater of Radhanagari dam is a natural

habitat to large population of wild animals. Indian bison is a star attraction of this reserve.

2. Amboli: The pristine beauty of this eco friendly hill station offers more to the visitor’s then traditional summer beach holiday. Numerous viewpoints, botanical garden, flora and fauna, silence of wilderness and countless streams of milky waters in the rainy season.

Geography and Topography

A. Housing Pattern. The houses built in the district are of sloping roofs as the rain water should drain off. There are also R. C. C. buildings constructed in this area. In rural areas, mostly the houses are of mud or brick walls. There are also some pacca houses in the rural areas.

B. Landholding Pattern Sindhudurg district is a part of the Konkan division and enjoys a coastline with the Arabian Sea. Sawantwadi, Kudal and Vaibhavwadi talukas are situated in the hilly area, which covers about 85% of the district. Predominant soil type is typically reddish laterite soil. Two types of laterite – Primary or Insitu and Secondary or Transported. The details of land use statistics are given below.

Land Use Category Built up land Agricultural land Forest land Waste land Other fallow, water bodies, rivers Total

C. Livelihood & Occupation Details Most of the people here are engaged in farming and related occupations. Horticulture is the main source of earning. Most of the people are also engaged in private and governmental jobs. Area Hectares 6,000 2,18,000 39,156 2,48,000 9,544 5,20,700 In Percentage to total geographical area 1. 15% 41. 87% 7. 52% 47. 63% 1. 83% 100%

D. Agriculture and Major Crops The main kharif and rabbi crop is paddy. Most of the kharif cropping season is June to October.

Now most of the land is under horticulture use. ALPHONSO mango, known as the king of the mangoes hails from this district.It is the major foreign exchange earner for the district. The major cash crops are mango, cashew and coconut.

E. Climate and Weather The climate of the district is typical of the Konkan coastal area and is hot and humid in the summers and mild in winters. The average maximum and minimum temperatures recorded are 33. 2 and 15. 3 degree Celsius respectively.

F. Rainfall The rainfall is quite heavy during the months of June to September due to the southwest monsoon winds. The total annual rainfall is 3045. 4 mm, the average rainfall is 2750 mm and maximum average rainfall is 1094. 37 mm in July. March, April, May are the months of water scarcity.

Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis

This chapter largely deals with the disasters that Sindhudurg district experienced. Based on this, the vulnerability assessment of people and their income sources, infrastructure, crops, livestock resources, drinking water supply, daily necessities, communication and transportation system, public distribution, medical facilities and other elements has been done so that such elements can be safely shifted to, or to be taken care of before any unexpected disaster or during the disasters. This is the most important part of the plan. Vulnerability assessment deals with the socio-economic vulnerability, housing vulnerability and environmental vulnerability. History of Disasters in Sindhudurg District

Sindhudurg district is situated in the coastal region and having a proximity to Arabian Sea. This district has a high amount of rainfall primarily because of the clouds of the southwest monsoon winds are blocked at the Sahyadri mountains and so shed a

lot of rain on the eastern side of the Western Ghat scarp. This leads to very high rainfall in the foothills of the Sahyadris on the Konkan side with most of the Konkan rivers having their origin in the runoff from the steep mountain slopes. Such a heavy rainfall causes largely flash floods, and occasionally landslides, road accidents.

The major calamities, which the district administration in Sindhudurg district has to face, are floods in the major rivers and road accidents on the Mumbai- Konkan - Goa Highway.

Due to this, various disasters occur whose details have been given below:

A. Flood Flash floods bring about disasters. As expressed above there was a critical situation in some parts of the district during 2005-06 floods. Most of the rivers were overflowing and there was a loss of life and property. The river water entered the standing crops and the farmers suffered a huge loss. Most of the livestock also was flown away in this flood. Some people were shifted to safe shelters but there was no rehabilitation.

B. Road and Rail Accidents There is a good network of pucca and kaccha road in the district with 582. 55 km of state highway and 2416. 20 km Zilla Parishad roads. About 107 km of the National Highway Mumbai-Konkan-Goa passes through this district and has considerable transport of hazardous materials which are offloaded at Marmagoa harbour in Goa and transported to Mumbai and places in Maharashtra.

The information from the police and RTO reveals that road accidents take place on this highway, which are related to tankers carrying hazardous materials. No road site settlements and villages are affected by these accidents. Konkan railway started

running in the district on 20th Jan 1997. Its network is about 103 km. in Sindhudurg district. For this project nearly 800 hectares of land was occupied. There are two tunnels one at Vaibhavwadi and the other at Kharepatan.

There are six railway stations such as

1. Sawantwadi

2. Kudal

3. Sindhudurg

4. Kankavali

5. Nandgaon

6. Vaibhavwadi.

It proves to be a great boon to the people here as their time and money is saved as they travel to Mumbai and other places of the country. Also the perishable goods for which Konkan is famous such as Alphonso mangoes, jackfruits, cashews, fish can be supplied to far away places. 24 A railway accident occurred in the year 2003 in the monsoon season near Berle,Vaibhavwadi when the 904 Karwar – Mumbai Central derailed in which 52 passengers died and many were injured. So, to cope with such disasters in the future some safety measures must be followed. C. Landslides Due to heavy rain some parts of the district experienced landslides along with tree collapse leading to the human loss. Landslides largely occur in three major hill stations and make troubles in movement of vehicles on both National and State Highways. So, it is a regular event, which cannot be ignored in disaster management plan.

The proximity of the Western Ghat Fault Scarp and evidences of neo tectonic activities in the Konkan area point to the earth movements in the recent past and the possibility of an earthquake cannot be ruled out. There is no history of earthquakes in this district earlier. Vulnerability Assessment A. Flood and Cyclones Based on the previous history, Sindhudurg district has an unexpected rainfall and flash flood followed by landslides

and road accidents. This district receives high amount of rainfall during the rainy season. As a result most of the rivers get excess water and experience floods. This heavy rainfall also results in landslides in isolated areas characterized by steep slopes. 25

The major rivers where flood comes at least once a year are:

1. Waghotan

2. Sukhnadi

3. Tillari

4. Karli

5. Gad Nadi

The people living in kaccha mud houses are more vulnerable to flood. Here most of the people are engaged in agriculture therefore standing crops may be destroyed. Old people, pregnant women, disabled persons are highly vulnerable. They have to be shifted to safe shelters. It is estimated that the above 85 villages are vulnerable to floods and cyclones. The main elements that are vulnerable are the people staying near riversides, poor people, children, old people and ailing people. The houses and the belongings of such people will be damaged. As the main occupation of the people here is agriculture, their crops will be washed away. That is they will lose their livelihood.

Taramumbari Mith Mumbari Anandwadi Deogad Killa Jamsande Wadatar Mallai Vijaydurg Kharepatan The villages near the three coastal talukas will suffer a lot during high tide, cyclone, storm, etc. The fishermen living in these areas lose their livelihood. They do not get the danger warnings in time. Most of the land near the seacoast gets eroded and submerged into the sea every year. B. Road Accidents About 107 km of the National Highway Mumbai-Konkan-Goa passes through this district and has considerable transport of hazardous materials which are offloaded at Marmagoa harbour in Goa and transported to Mumbai and places in Maharashtra. State Highway carry goods as well

as people everyday on a large scale. Most of the accidents occur during rainy season due to slippery roads. Also the drivers do not follow the traffic signals. The roadside houses, buildings are more likely to get affected due to the road accidents. C. Landslides Due to heavy rain some parts of the district experiences landslides along with tree collapse leading to human loss. The passengers have to stay where they are. Amboli Ghat on Sawantwadi – Amboli -Belgaum Road State Highway supplies daily necessities such as milk, various goods which comes to a standstill. As a whole the communication system may totally get disrupted.

There is a control room at the district head quarter and at each tahsil office during monsoon period i. e. from June to October. During the remaining period only the control room of Police works round the clock. 30 The officers of the control room of the district administration receives the information of flood, heavy rainfall, cyclone warning, uprooting of large number of trees, electric poles, road accidents, from various parts of the district and from IMD Colaba office and transmitting them to all Tahsil offices, Collector, RDC and Dy Collectors, Port and Fisheries Department. The Irrigation Department maintains control room on all the dam sites from June to October every year.

Institutional Mechanism

The disaster management will be more effective and sustainable if it is institutionalised. For this purpose Government of India has already passed Disaster Management Act on 23rd December, 2005, where it is clearly outlined that a Disaster Management Authority to be formed at the district level. It will be the apex body at the district level. Disaster management would

involve many layers of participating organization. The three focal levels would be State, District and the site of the disaster. The State level agencies would be involved in policy/decisions making, resource and budget allocation and monitoring through the State Emergency Operations Centre.

Similarly, at district level a District Disaster Management Authority is already formed and activated to mitigate any unexpected situation in the district. There are seven members included in this authority.

The Institutional Framework for disaster management developed at the District, Taluka and Village level is as follows:At each level, apart from disaster management committee, each level has a disaster management plan along with the various task forces like search and rescue, first aid, early warning, shelter management, etc. Sindhudurg district has its own district disaster management authority chaired by the district collector. Besides, the district disaster management committee is also working under district collector where all line departments are its member. The District search and rescue team consists of 36 members belonging to various departments is also set up in the district. At taluka level every taluka in the district has a taluka disaster management committee headed by tahsildar. As said above all line departments at taluka level are its members. Also a search and rescue team as well as first aid team have been set up at every taluka.

At village level, every panchayat has a village disaster management plan as well as village disaster management committee. The VDMC chaired by sarpanch includes talathi, gramsevak, teacher, health workers, etc. of 10 – 12 persons. Also a search and rescue team as well as first aid team have been set up and trained at every village.

 District

Disaster Management Committee (DDMC)

Besides this, the Disaster Risk Management Programme also traced much to form Committees at the three levels with plans and task forces. A Disaster Management Committee exists to assist the Collector in  Reviewing the threat of disasters Vulnerability of the district to such disasters Evaluating the preparedness Considering the suggestions for improvement of the response document DDMP

District Control Room

The District Control Room, under the control of the district collector, will be the nerve center. It has been set up To monitor  Co-ordinate ¦ Implement the actions for disaster management 35

It works throughout the year and orders the various departments to work as per the directions during the disaster.

Communication Mechanism On the basis of reports from the possible disaster site, or on the warning from the agencies competent to issue such a warning, or on the receipt of warning or alert from Emergency Operations Center, the Collector will exercise the powers and responsibilities of the District Disaster Manager.

The list of the agencies competent for issuing warning or alert is given below :

• Disaster Earthquakes Floods Cyclones Epidemics Road accidents Industrial and Chemical Accidents Fires Agencies IMD, MERI Meteorology Department, Department IMD Public Health Department Police Industry, Police Fire Brigade, Police Irrigation

The warning or occurrence of disaster will be communicated to  Chief Secretary, Relief Commissioner, Emergency Operation Center Office of Divisional Commissioner All district level officials, Municipal Councils The Officials of central government located within the district Non-officials viz; Guardian Minister of the district, Mayor, ZP President, MPs, Local units of the Defense Services. The occurrence of the disaster would essentially bring into force the following :  The District Collector will activate the District

Control Room as the District Disaster Manager.  The DCR will be expanded to include desk arrangements with the responsibilities for specific tasks. All district level staff from various departments will be under the direction and control of the District Disaster Manager.

These would also include the district level staff of Zilla Parishad Municipal Authorities MSEDC MWSSB PWD MSRTC Irrigation District Industrial Center Telecommunications 36 Leave of all the officers and the staff working with the above organizations, as requisitioned by the District Disaster Manager, would automatically stand cancelled and the organizations would direct their staff to report on duty immediately.  The Relief Commissioner is the controlling authority in respect of Grants under “2245-Relief on account of Natural Calamities and also Loans and Advances”. He shall, therefore, ensure that adequate grants are placed at the disposal of the Collector under these budget head and that implementation of relief and rehabilitation measures is not hampered on account of paucity of funds or otherwise. The District Disaster Manager may in case of large-scale disasters get in touch with the local Defence units for assistance for rescue, evacuation and emergency relief measures.  The District Disaster Manager will have the authority to requisite resources, materials and equipments from the private sector. The District Disaster Manager will have the power to direct the industry to activate their on-site or off-site disaster management plan.

The District Disaster Manager will set-up Site Operation Center/s in the affected area with the desk arrangements.  The District Disaster Manager will authorize establishment of transit and /or relief camps, feeding centers and cattle camps. An on-going wireless communication and contact from the DCR to the Site Operation Centers, Transit

Camps, Feeding Centers, Relief Camps and Cattle Camps will be activated.  The District Disaster Manager will send the Preliminary Information Report and Action Taken Report, as per the available information, to the Chief Secretary/Relief Commissioner/Emergency Operation Center and the Divisional Commissioner.  The District Disaster Manager will authorize immediate evacuation whenever necessary. ¦ In the event of possibilities of the disasters in the adjoining districts, including those beyond the state borders, the District Disaster Manager will issue the alert warning to them. In multi-district disasters, if Additional Relief Commissioner is appointed at the multi-district level, the District Disaster Manager will report to the Additional Relief Commissioner. In the absence of the Collector, Additional Collector or Assistant Collector or Resident Deputy Collector will officiate and exercise all the powers and responsibilities of the District Disaster Manager listed above.

Site Operation System During Disaster

Following the ICS, the site operations would be taken into action. Depending on the nature of disaster and the type of damage, it may be necessary to set up a number of relief camps and/or cattle camps. In such a situation, the DDMA may decide to set-up a Site Operations Cente to reduce the pressure on District Control Room for field coordination.  Depending upon the disaster locations and the number of campsites, the DDMA may decide to set-up more than one Site Operations Center.