Disaster Management

Approaches

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

 Every disaster management policy adopts

certain kinds of approaches towards disaster management. These approaches reflect the priorities, policy options, perspectives and methods of disaster management. It also reflects the policys perception, nature and extent of understanding to the phenomenon of disaster.

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

 Our approach to disaster reflects our understanding

about the disaster and determines the disaster management practices we adopt. Can there be more than one approach/understanding to disaster management or the disaster itself? Can there be multiple methods and practices of disaster management?
YES To make appropriate choices and priorities, is one of the important objectives of disaster management policy.

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

Some of the important / well known Disaster Management Approaches

Reactive approach

Proactive approach / Comprehensive

Approach ( PPRR) Top-down management approach Bottom-up /Community Based /Community Resilience approach All hazards approach, all agency approach Livelihood Approach
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 4

Reactive and proactive approaches

Reactive and proactive approaches are

contradistinction to each other. Each of them take two different approach to

disaster ( what is understood by disaster?) and the disaster management ( How and at what stage human intervention is to be done?)

Each of them have their own suitability &

acceptability in the community depending upon various socio-economic factors of the community.
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 5

Reactive approach
Traditional approach to disaster management. Now it

has almost become obsolete approach. Professes disaster management initiatives to be taken after the disaster/hazard has actually occurred Based on the assumption that disasters are rare, unforeseen and extreme events, which do not happen regularly. So hardly anything can be done to mitigate the impacts of such rare, unforeseen and extreme events, except for the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction after disaster.

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

Reactive approach
This approach is generally symptomatic of relatively

poor community where scarce resources of the community are diverted towards ameliorating more obvious consequences (postdisaster impacts) of disasters than mitigating the disasters in making which are far less obvious. The resources of the community/society should be better diverted to provide the needful relief and rehabilitation in the post disaster situation than for doing something in the pre-disaster situation which may not be so beneficial. Pre- disaster expenses are considered surplusage.
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 7

Proactive approach / Comprehensive Approach ( PPRR)

Modern approach and possibly most popular

approach. Disaster management is proactive intervention to minimize the impacts of disasters in all possible manners whether pre-disaster or post disaster. Rejects the idea that disasters are rare, unforeseen and extreme events, for which nothing can be done except to act when it has actually struck. Sees disaster as a function of hazard, vulnerability and manageability and assumes that by appropriate human interventions the impacts of disasters can in most cases be hugely minimized and mitigated. Advocates, strike the disaster before it strikes
Indraprastha University 8

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Proactive approach / Comprehensive Approach ( PPRR)

Besides the losses to the life and property,

disasters are seen as serious disruption of various socio-economic processes which may have the potential to cause irreparable losses to the community. Advocates all kinds of pre-disaster innovative measures to mitigate the impacts of disasters, like risk and vulnerability assessment, risk transfer capacity building, resilience, prevention and preparedness apart from the traditional postdisaster measures like response, rehabilitation and recovery.
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 9

Proactive approach / Comprehensive Approach ( PPRR)

Appreciates that the investments made on

prevention, preparedness, minimizing the vulnerability, risk transfer and capacity building would in long term cut the costs of response, recovery and rehabilitation besides minimizing the losses to life ,property and other resources. It lays equal and in some cases more emphasis on pre-disaster, disaster management processes than the postdisaster, disaster management processes.
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 10

Proactive approach / Comprehensive Approach ( PPRR)

This approach is generally symptomatic

of relatively rich, modern and scientifically advanced community which may have the resources, knowledge, expertise and technology to adopt and sustain a comprehensive disaster management programme.

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

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Top-down & bottom up approaches

Top-down and Bottom-up management

approaches are contradistinction to each other. They differ on two questions,

who should have the lead role in disaster management? What is the nature of the disaster?

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

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Top-down approach
Relatively traditional approach

Disaster management plans and programmes

are decided at some higher level and passed down to the community to face the implementation. Community does not have much say in the disaster management processes, and it may not be involved in the decision making process of disaster management.
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Top-down approach
Local factors, local sentiments may get ignored.

Capacity building of the community may not be a

priority. Approach is based on the assumption that disasters are rare and extreme events which necessarily cripple the ability of the affected community to recover. So disaster management processes necessarily require external resources, expertise, plans and programmes even to the extent of completely ignoring the relevant local factors.
Anuj Kumar Vaksha Indraprastha University 14

Bottom up approach
More popular approach now a days Advocates enhanced participation of the community

in all phases of disaster management and its decision making. It rejects the restrictive notion of disaster that it is always a rare and extreme event which cripple the ability of the community to recover. Adopts more inclusive approach to disasters to cover even relatively less impact events as disasters, on the realization that in long term, cumulative losses because of minor disasters far exceeds the major losses. Whether minor or major, community can always play significant role in mitigating the impacts of disasters.
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Bottom up approach
Puts strong reliance on the capacity of the community

to withstand disasters. Rather capacity building of the community is itself an important component of the disaster management programme. Strongly takes note of local factors, local sentiments, local expertise and local resources The approach aspires to build resilient communities. The community which have the ability to manage the disasters comprehensively of its own and recover from it as early as possible.

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

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 Which one of them singularly or combination

there of is th best approach to disaster management and why?

Anuj Kumar Vaksha

Indraprastha University

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