Spreading awareness on ‘Disaster Kit’

Three earthquakes shook Assam and other states in the northeast region over the past six days when the region was gripped by a cyclonic storm and its aftermath. As earthquakes cannot be predicted, these earthquakes give no indication of when the next earthquake might occur or what the magnitude might be. They, however, sounded the alarm bell for the region to remain prepared to deal with twin or multiple disasters occurring simultaneously. Ravaging annual floods battered Assam, forcing flood-hit people to take shelter in educational institutions and other public buildings converted into makeshift relief camps. Rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are rushed to affected areas to rescue marooned people. An earthquake of high intensity occurring in the middle of these rescue operations and affecting the buildings used as relief camps cannot be ruled out. The disaster management authorities as well as affected people remain prepared for such twin disasters during flood season, which is crucial to preventing the loss of lives or injuries. This requires incorporating a special drill on safety during an earthquake strike in flood-hit or landslide-affected areas. Unprecedented floods in 2022 left Silchar town submerged for 11 consecutive days, and floodwater rose to 8 to 12 feet, which virtually left the entire town marooned for these days. What should be the special response mechanism if an earthquake of high intensity strikes in such a situation. A parallel can be drawn for waterlogged areas in Guwahati city or different towns in the state and find out if the authorities and residents are fully prepared for what to do in such a situation. What could be the extent of damage and what additional rescue resources should be available to handle a twin disaster need to be discussed both at the policy level and the execution level. If the entire town or large areas of a city remain submerged under high floodwaters, where will the residents of buildings that were damaged in the earthquake be taken for shelter? District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) finding out if they are equipped to handle such an unprecedented disaster situation is critical to making disaster response systems much more effective. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority cautions that Assam is located in seismic zone V, which makes it prone to earthquakes of moderate to high intensity. Unpredictability and susceptibility to earthquakes of high intensity call for scaling up preparedness and taking special precautions during the monsoon period. The city and town authorities conducting periodic safety audits of private and public buildings and structures will help create an inventory of structures in different categories according to safety standards. Retrofitting solutions can be explored with the help of experts to make buildings and other structures safer and stronger. The authorities need to undertake the demolition of those buildings and structures that can potentially collapse with moderate shaking. These issues attract public attention only for a few days after an earthquake of moderate intensity strikes or a series of earthquakes of low magnitude strikes over a short period of time. The fact that the level of disaster awareness is quite low in the state can be gauged from the fact that even though floods recur in multiple waves every year, most people in flood-hit areas leave homes to take shelter on embankments or higher grounds without even a bag with some rice, pulses, or other essential items. The ASDMA advises people to keep a ‘Disaster Kit’ with non-perishable food and fresh water, medication, water purification tablets, a torchlight, a radio, extra batteries, and sanitary supplies ready for earthquakes and floods so that they can take care of themselves till the arrival of external help. It also explains that people in disaster-prone areas should prepare for self-care without any help for at least 72 hours. The ASDMA and DDMAs can use the social media network to ask people to prepare the Disaster Kit at home and upload photos or videos of preparation on a dedicated social media page or handle. Such a move will help the authorities get an idea of whether people in disaster-prone areas are equipped to take care of themselves for at least 72 hours and accordingly plan rescue and relief distribution. Such basic self-care will provide enough room for the authorities to ensure the distribution of relief materials in adequate quantities to all affected areas within 72 hours. Another key piece of advice from the ASDMA in its Handbook on Disaster Preparedness is to make digital copies of important documents like birth certificates, passports, land and property documents, etc. so that they have at least the digital copies if they lose the original copies during a disaster. April can be observed as the disaster preparedness month for the making of Disaster Kits by adult members of every household, and the platforms of cultural functions during Bohag Bihu and other festivals can be leveraged to spread the campaign.