Bridging the gap in disaster risk reduction

Cyclone Remal left a trail of devastation across Assam, claimed four lives, and left at least a dozen school students injured when a tree fell on a school bus. Schools and colleges being kept open, particularly when the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) urged people “not to venture out unless advised to evacuate,” is baffling and points towards critical gaps in disaster risk reduction in the state. Natural disasters like floods, cyclones, thunderstorms, earthquakes, etc. cannot be prevented, but the risks associated with them can be reduced, and new risks can be prevented. Assam has a disaster risk reduction roadmap in place to reduce the losses and impacts of disasters. The dissemination of early warnings and alerts on disaster events has significantly improved, but more clarity is required on the follow-up actions that need to be taken by public and government departments. The ASDMA advisory included a list of 20 precautions that people in general were advised to follow. The state government has instructed all educational institutions in nine districts where a red alert has been issued to remain closed on Wednesday. The ASDMA advisory to administrative departments on precautions can be more elaborate and should list specific actions with respect to each precaution. Such a list of follow-up actions based on alerts and precautions needs to be dynamic and will require updating depending on developing situations. A ready list of actions will leave no room for any confusion and avoid situations like that experienced on Tuesday of unnecessarily exposing children to potential disaster risks. Restoration of power supply after a cyclonic storm gets over is a challenging task. Conversion of overhead electric lines into underground cables in densely populated urban areas like Guwahati City is a pragmatic option for preventing widespread disruptions in power supply. Such a solution involves huge costs and is one of the prime reasons behind the delay in the execution of the pilot project of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited of replacing the overhead wires with underground cables in the capital city. The long-term benefits of preventing disruptions in power supply due to cyclonic storms or thunderstorms through such projects should be considered in policy decisions on expenditure. The completion of the completion of the underground electric cable laying project will also enhance the aesthetic look of the city areas, as it will make hanging clutter disappear and give Guwahati a much-needed face lift. Disruption in road and railway connectivity due to landslides triggered by storms in the hill district of Dima Hasao is another critical gap in disaster management in the state that needs focused attention. Dislocations caused on railway tracks and the national highway in the hill district also cut off the Barak valley for an uncertain period. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the problem has only increased with an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events due to the impact of the impact of climate change. The cascading effects of such disruption on the socio-economic development of affected areas persist even after the restoration of connectivity. Making infrastructure projects more disaster-resilient requires innovative design and engineering solutions that are environmentally sustainable and financially prudent. Increasing allocation for research and development of disaster-resilient infrastructure in the Northeast region can go a long way towards reducing disaster-related losses and impacts. The Central Government can consider establishing one research centre in each state to support more research on disaster risk reduction. The ASDMA also advised administrations in several districts, including Kamrup (Metro), to consider anticipatory evacuation of vulnerable populations from landslide-prone areas. Undertaking evacuation of a large vulnerable population like that on the hills in the city is confronted with the hard realities of adequate disaster shelter facilities for evacuation. The usual practice during recurring annual floods in the state is to convert the school buildings in safer zones into makeshift relief camps. A large section of flood-hit people also take shelter on embankments and highways in some areas until flood waters recede. Lessons must be learned from Odisha, where more than 800 multipurpose disaster shelters have been built to evacuate vulnerable populations in cyclone-prone areas to safety. The Assam Disaster Risk Reduction Roadmap 2030 sets the target of conducting structural safety audits of government offices and social infrastructure (schools, Anganwadi centres, hospitals, community halls, etc.) by 2026 and taking appropriate corrective measures for structural safety by 2030. It also envisages completing structural safety audits of critical infrastructure (power plants, industries, embankments, etc.) and commercial buildings by 2026 and taking appropriate structural safety measures by 2030. The ASDMA must ensure that these targets are not missed, as delay would only mean increasing vulnerability and increasing risk and cost escalation in structural safety measures. A whole-government approach is needed to achieve the goals set in the disaster risk reduction roadmap. The preparation of the roadmap marked a departure from disaster management to disaster risk reduction, and achieving the objectives also requires an innovative approach to disaster response in the state.