Disaster Management

Reassessing India’s Disaster Management Preparedness and the Role of the Indian Armed Forces

In recent years, the intensity of the occurrence of natural disasters has increased manifold. Responding to this, the Government of India has undertaken various measures to mitigate the impact of disasters. Even so, the response of the civil authorities is often found inadequate and the armed forces are called out to assist the civil administration. The armed forces never fail to respond in a prompt manner, but without proper data on various local resources, skills, essential services and equipment.

The Role of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force in Disaster Management

A wealthy twin-island nation, Trinidad and Tobago has had few serious disasters to challenge its capacity to cope with such incidents. Although several plans for disaster management exist, these have remained largely th eoretical exercises. However, recent instances of devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, with the accompanying tsunami in the latter, have prompted some steps towards an enhanced role for the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) in disaster management.

Asimakopoulou, Eleana and Nik Bessis (eds.,),Advanced ICTs for Disaster Management and Threat Detection: Collaborative and Distributive Frameworks

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines disaster as “any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area.” The recurring occurrence of various natural and man made disasters in recent decades have drawn the states’ focus towards ensuring the safety of life, as well as preparedness and mitigation measures; hence disaster management.

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in India’s National Strategy

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations have attracted the attention of the global community in recent years. Building capabilities, interoperability and a conceptual framework for participation in these operations is gaining increasing urgency among Indian policymakers. The Indian armed forces have a wide experience of disaster relief operations both at home and abroad, where they have been the core of relief operations.