It is a cause of concern as to why the IMD had repeatedly failed to predict and inform about the upcoming disasters. Or, maybe it managed to communicate, but the authorities did not have a proper protocol to respond
India has been home to several natural disasters in the recent times. There has been a trend of increasing calamities, both man-made and natural. The increasing rate is a cause of concern for the entire global community. Recently, we have had two major disasters — the floods in Jammu & Kashmir and the cyclone in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Both the calamities were natural in occurrence. The wrath of nature cannot be avoided. However, the Indian Meteorological Department and other scientific agencies are well equipped to provide warnings ahead of any calamity. Nature’s fury is natural in occurrence, most of it is due to human interference. If this is checked, major calamities can be minimised.
The devastating floods in Jammu & Kashmir, one of the worst in the last 60 years, claimed more than 200 lives. Many people were displaced and more than 82,000 people were rescued by the Indian Army. Jammu & Kashmir did not have a flood forecast system or a plan for disaster management.
It’s not that Jammu & Kashmir is not vulnerable to floods. The National Institute of Disaster Management profile of Jammu & Kashmir states that the State is prone to flashfloods. The State was earlier ravaged by floods in 1959 and 1992.
It seems, lessons from the Uttarakhand tragedy have not been learnt. Illegal encroachments and the desire to have more and more land result in riverbanks turning into commercial and residential areas. Uttarakhand was not well prepared for the major calamity. The biggest flaw at that time was a communication failure. Communication systems were not equipped to handle the crisis, due to which co-ordination between search, relief and rescue operations could not be established. Had the India Meteorological Department alerted the State Government, the authorities would have been better prepared.
Jammu & Kashmir too had a similar story. The respective agencies failed to communicate, and there was a complete lack of planning and awareness. Adding on, projects and funds meant to save lives were delayed.
Cyclone Hudhud, that hit the coasts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, was predicted earlier, and the States were well-prepared to handle the disaster. The respective States contained the ferocity of Hudhud with an effective disaster management plan. lessons from the earlier cyclone Phailin that hit the coast of Odisha almost a year ago had been learnt. Disaster management plans have improved, and the States took various evacuation plans to mitigate the loss of life. lakhs of people were shifted to safer places before Hudhud made its landfall. Death toll in the devastating Hudhud that battered the Andhra and Odisha, mounted to 25.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency high-level meeting to review vigilance for cyclone. Mr Modi instructed senior officials of the Union Government to ensure close contact with people so that rescue and relief operations proceed smoothly. He also ensured that people are informed about the cyclone on a real-time basis.
Andhra Pradesh was the worst hit. The city was torn apart with the passage of Hudhud. People were faced with unprecedented scarcity of food, water and electricity. It posed a litmus test for the Chandrababu Naidu Government as to how speedily normalcy be restored, for the city looked like a war zone after the damage caused by the cyclone. The Union Government has announced central aid of Rs1,000 crore as interim relief.
Odisha has set an example for other States. It has proved that what is required to face natural calamities is cool-headed coordination between the Centre and the State. Odisha had developed a system of communicating cyclone warnings — through mass media, public address systems and religious places. The authorities had set up various weather-monitoring systems in collaboration with the IMD.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had set up the National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi in the year 2005. The Disaster Management Act 2005 (Act 53) was applicable to all the States in India. The Act envisages setting up of a National Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authorities at the State level and District Disaster Management Authorities at the District level.
The NDMA has often been criticised for its failure to achieve its objectives. The task force constituted under the chairmanship of former Agriculture Secretary PK Mishra called NDMA “a think tank without any link to ground realities”, and also pointed out the lack of functional integration between the NDMA and the Home Ministry. Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh admitted that an effective communication system was necessary to deal with disasters like the recent deluge in Jammu & Kashmir. Mr Singh added that the organisation would be revamped soon.
It is a cause of concern as to why the IMD repeatedly failed to predict the upcoming disasters. Or, maybe it communicated, but the authorities did not have a proper protocol to respond.