A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India - Geological & Mining ...

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unfortunately, a disaster must occur to test progress in this respect. Further, if thejob is done properly, it won’t be as obvious as the ill effects of the disaster willhopefully have been averted or at least much alleviated.Reviews of major natural disaster crises show that, in by far the most cases,inadequate and inefficient relief and rescue efforts can be traced back to a lack ofpreparedness, at all levels, and lack of commitment on behalf of the government toestablish clear and rigid policy for building in high risk areas. NGOs stand to makea difference in bridging this gap and facilitating a better understanding of whatneeds to be mandated in policy and how to pass this information on to thegrassroots level. Essentially, those affected by the disaster directly need to beincluded in the planning of mitigation efforts. While an NGO may have establisheda high acceptance level in a particular community, increased and improvedcoordination among NGOs is necessary to be taken more seriously from top-downdisaster management actors. Building better partnerships and professionalisationof the sector is therefore of paramount importance to be taken in earnest.Looking back at previous disasters in India such as Orissa (cyclone, 1999) andGujarat (earthquake, 2001), the lack of preparedness programmes was highlightedas a major shortcoming in the response evaluations (Palakudiyil and Todd, 2003).NGOs have awakened to a realisation that better preparedness programmes arenecessary and need to be mainstreamed in the disaster continuum. PSI is a goodexample of how NGOs can best use their knowledge and experience towardsDMP. The very objectives set out in their original plans are a reflection of howNGOs should be working towards this end. During the course of 2 years PSI hasachieved the following:1) mass awareness campaigns for disaster vulnerabilities and preparednessmeasures for rural communities in Rudraprayag were carried out with greatsuccess.The Role of NGOs in Disaster Mitigation and Response – A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India 71
2) mitigation measures were taken in a region highly vulnerable to naturalhazards through the promotion of earthquake-safe constructions.3) earthquake safety measures were demonstrated to both masons andhomeowners and have more routinely been incorporated in new ruralbuilding construction practice in the region. One shortcoming of this effort,however, is that homeowners still view the cost of construction for suchfeatures as very high; intensified education about the cost of earthquakesafefeatures is therefore recommended. In addition, in order to encouragemore homeowners to use these features, it is necessary that changes bemade at policy level.4) hazards have been identified in the operational area by the communitiesthemselves and effective response mechanisms have been put in place.However, it is important to continually follow-up on the sustainability of theseprogrammes as to not risk the work of three years.5) a human and information resource pool has been created that can respondeffectively to disasters in Uttarakhand and elsewhere. The development oftask forces has met this end but, again, there needs to be a sustainedinteraction with taskforce members marking continued progress.6) PSI has developed a policy recommendation document to assist theRudraprayag district administration in developing an appropriate disastermanagement plan with particular focus on women and other vulnerablesections of the society. Although this plan has been drafted, the process ofeffecting its integration is slow. Improved dialogue between NGOs,government and other stakeholders is necessary to meet this end.7) Policy analysis has been provided to support to governmental agencies indeveloping effective disaster-related policies, but again is lacking incoordination and follow through. While initiatives directed at the grassrootslevel for raising awareness levels have taken distinct shape over the lastthree years, programmes necessitating collaboration of more top-downstakeholders has been slow in progressing. To remedy this, PSI hasorganised a workshop in April 2006 as one of the first steps in bringing allThe Role of NGOs in Disaster Mitigation and Response – A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India 72
Page 1 and 2:
The Role of Non GovernmentalOrganis
Page 3 and 4:
Table of contentsChapter 1 - Introd
Page 5 and 6:
List of figuresFigure 1.1: Study re
Page 7 and 8:
preparedness, and has potential to
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This case study investigates the im
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• What are homeowner perceptions
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Seismic activity in this area is du
Page 15 and 16:
The study comprises two regions: St
Page 17 and 18:
1.4.1 - b Study Area B- Almora dist
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etc. operational). The study involv
Page 21 and 22:
Chapter 2 - Theoretical Orientation
Page 23 and 24:
2.1.2 VulnerabilityVulnerability is
Page 25 and 26:
of a disaster everyone knows how to
Page 27 and 28: disaster management in the country,
Page 29 and 30: Despite the apparent increased cons
Page 31 and 32: 2.3.1 Disaster Mitigation and Prepa
Page 33 and 34: save lives. This event marked a pri
Page 35 and 36: Systems technologies and education
Page 37 and 38: As suggested previously, there is a
Page 39 and 40: on the main agenda (Benson et al, 2
Page 41 and 42: Frame structureFramed structures ha
Page 43 and 44: The curriculum of the PSI workshops
Page 45 and 46: Figure 2.2a: Community based disast
Page 47 and 48: district irrespective of the fact t
Page 49 and 50: etrofitting, monitoring and homeown
Page 51 and 52: structures as an alarming forty-fiv
Page 53 and 54: Reponses for what features masons t
Page 55 and 56: trained masons in the Study Area A
Page 57 and 58: ecommended that a similar study be
Page 59 and 60: 3.1.2b Awareness and Dissemination
Page 61 and 62: It is interesting to note that when
Page 63 and 64: Community based disaster preparedne
Page 65 and 66: 3.1.3 - Section 3 Housing Impact As
Page 67 and 68: Load-bearing1.single steel rod in e
Page 69 and 70: The overall proportion of newly bui
Page 71 and 72: etween stirrups of 6-12 inches. Alt
Page 73 and 74: Table 3.7: Percentage of safe house
Page 75 and 76: 3.2 DiscussionThe discussion segmen
Page 77: In Study Area A the number of earth
Page 81 and 82: 3.3 ConclusionsIn conclusion, the s
Page 83 and 84: ReferencesAlexander, D., 1997. The
Page 85 and 86: Guptasarma, D. 1996. Is the Seismic
Page 87 and 88: Telford, J. and Cosgrave, J., 2007.
Page 89 and 90: Annex I - Earthquake safe featuresT
Page 91 and 92: The Role of NGOs in Disaster Mitiga
Page 97 and 98: Annex 2 - Mason Interview ResultsSt
Page 99 and 100: 11. How to make such a course more
Page 101 and 102: sloped roof 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 1 2.78s
Page 103 and 104: 17. Do homeowners request earthquak
Page 105 and 106: light roof 1 0 1 2.78 0 0.00RCC 1 3
Page 107 and 108: 6. How long have you lived in the v
Page 109 and 110: 16. Do you have an emergency commun
Page 111 and 112: 26. What activities related to the
Page 113 and 114: 36. Would you prefer traditional ma
Page 115 and 116: Appendix IV - Breakdown of earthqua
Page 117: Appendix IV - Breakdown of earthqua
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