Notes e-course Disaster Management (PGS-506)

Unit-I

Natural disasters: An event that causes a huge loss of lives and property is called a Disaster. Disasters
are of two types:

i) Natural Disasters
ii) Man Made Disasters

1. Flooding:

A flood is a condition in which vast areas of normally dry land are covered by water. Floods caused
by the overflowing of rivers are called riverine floods. The word "flood" comes from the Old English
flod, a word common to Germanic languages (compare German Flut, Dutch vloed from the same root
as is seen in flow, float; also compare with Latin fluctus, flumen). Deluge myths are mythical stories
of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution, and are
featured in the mythology of many cultures.

2.Tropical storms called cyclones usually originate over the oceans. Cyclone has a region of low
pressure with high- speed swirling around it. These winds can destroy homes and other structures, and
uproot trees and poles. Cyclones bring heavy rainfall that can cause floods.

3. Earthquakes:

The earth’s lithosphere is made up of a number of interlocking plates .These plates tend to move or
slip against each other. This sudden shaking of the earth is called an EARTHQUAKE. Globally,
earthquakes result in a loss of about 50,000 lives every year. Earthquakes over 5.5 magnitude on the
Richter scale are progressively damaging to property and human life. However, there are many other
factors that influences the damage pattern. Massive earthquakes generally occur near the junction of
two tectonic plates, e.g., along the Himalayan range, where the Indian plate goes below Eurasian
plate. The Indian sub- continent situated on the boundaries of two continental plates is very prone to
earthquakes. According to latest seismic zoning map brought out by the Bureau of Indian Standard
(BIS), over 65 percent of the country is prone to earthquake of intensity Modified Mercalli Intensity
Scale (MSK) VII or more.

Different kinds of tremors in Earthquake:

A large earthquake is generally preceded and followed by many smaller shocks. The largest
earthquake is called the main shock. The smaller ones that precede the main shock are called
foreshocks and the subsequent shocks are called aftershocks.

Sensitivity zoning of the Earthquakes:

Zone 5: It covers the areas with the highest risk zone that suffers earthquakes of intensity MSK IX or
greater. The state of Kashmir, Punjab, the western and central Himalayas, the North-East Indian
region and the Rann of Kutch fall in this zone.

Zone 4: This zone is called the High Damage Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII. The
Indo-Gangetic basin and the capital of the country (Delhi, Jammu)and Bihar fall in Zone 4.
Delhi prone areas - The areas which are near to Yamuna bank are very much prone to the earthquake.
East delhi is the most earthquake prone area. Some areas are- Shahdara, Mayur Vihar - I, II, III,
Laxmi Nagar and nearby areas, Gurgaon, Rewari, NOIDA.

Zone 3: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Kashmir, Western Himalayas fall under this
zone. This zone is classified as Moderate Damage Risk Zone which is liable to MSK VII.

Zone 2: This region is liable to MSK VI or less and is classified as the Low Damage Risk Zone.

Earthquake report:

3. Cyclome: Tropical storms called cyclones usually originate over the oceans. Cyclone has a region
of low pressure with high- speed swirling around it. These winds can destroy homes and other
structures, and uproot trees and poles. Cyclones bring heavy rainfall that can cause floods

The damage caused by incidents of fires in buildings every year is more than that caused by other
disasters. The loss of life is high if the fire is in a crowded building. On 13 June 1997, 59 people died
in a fire at a cinema in Delhi.

4. Landslide

Landslide is defined as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope flowing under the
influence of gravity remove earth material. They often take place in combination with earthquakes,
floods and volcanoes. At times, prolonged rainfall causing heavy blockade of the flow or river for
quite some time. The formation of river blocks can cause havoc to the settlements downstream on it's
bursting. In the hilly terrain of India including the Himalayas, landslides have been a major and
widely spread natural disaster the often strike life and property and occupy a position of major
concern. One of the worst tragedies took place at Malpa Uttarkhand on 11th and 17th August 1998
when nearly 380 people were killed when massive landslides washed away the entire village. This
included 60 pilgrims going to Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. The two regions most vulnerable to
landslides are the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The Himalayas mountain belt comprise of
tectonically unstable younger geological formations subjected to severe seismic activity. The Western
Ghats and nilgiris are geologically stable but have uplifted plateau margins influenced by neo-
tectonic activity. On 30 July 2014, a landslide occurred in the village of Malin in the Ambegaon
taluka of the Pune district in Maharashtra. The landslide, which hit early in the morning while
residents were asleep was believed to have been caused by a burst of heavy rainfall, and killed at least
134 people

Causes of landslides: Landslides can be caused by poor ground conditions, geomorphic phenomena,
and natural physical forces and quite often due to heavy spells of rainfall coupled with impeded
drainage.

5. Mudslide:

A mudslide is the most rapid (up to 80 km/h, or 50 mph) and fluid type of downhill mass wasting. It is
a rapid movement of a large mass of mud formed from loose soil and water. Similar terms are
mudflow, mud stream, debris flow. Heavy rainfall, snowmelt, or high levels of ground water flowing
through cracked bedrock may trigger a movement of soil or sediments. Floods, debris and mud flows
may also occur when strong rains on hill or mountain slopes cause extensive erosion.
6.Avalanche:

An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity.
Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending
snow. Powerful avalanches have the capability to entrain ice, rocks, trees, and other material on the
slope. Avalanches are primarily composed of flowing snow, and are distinct from mudslides, rock
slides etc and collapses on an icefall. In mountainous terrain avalanches are among the most serious
objective hazards to life and property, with their destructive capability resulting from their potential to
carry an enormous mass of snow rapidly over large distances.

7.Heatwave:

A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by low
humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in
the area. Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be termed a heat wave
in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. The definition
recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is when the daily maximum
temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 50C,
the normal period being 1961–1990.

Criterion for Heatwave:

Heat wave need not be considered till maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40º C for
Plains and at least 30º C for Hilly regions.
a) When normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40º C
Heat Wave - Departure from normal is 5º C to 6º C
Severe Heat Wave - Departure from normal is 7º C or more
b) When normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40º C
Heat Wave - Departure from normal is 4º C to 5º C
Severe Heat Wave - Departure from normal is 6º C or more
c) When actual maximum temperature remains 45ºC or more irrespective of normal maximum
temperature, heat wave should be declared.

Some prominent Examples of heatwave:

In India, a scorching heat wave swept most parts of North India around 20th June 2010 with high
humidity posing problems for citizens as Phalodi in Rajasthan baked at 46.5 °C.In the desert State of
Rajasthan, the temperature crossed the 45°C mark at many places. Phalodi was the hottest place at
46.5°C followed by Kota at 46.3°C. Sriganganagar, Barmer and Churu recorded a maximum of 46.2,
46 and 45.9°C, respectively while the high in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur settled at 45°C each. The heat
wave also gripped Haryana, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh as Hisar was hottest in the
region at 45.8°C, 5°C above normal. Climate change promises to bring with it longer, hotter summers
to many places on the planet. The June, 2010 turned out to be the fourth-hottest month ever recorded
globally. With more heat waves on the horizon, the risk of heat-related health problems increased
many fold. These heat waves may cause exhaustion, a relatively common reaction to severe heat and
can include symptoms such as dizziness, headache and fainting. Heat stroke is more severe and
requires medical attention—it is often accompanied by dry skin, a body temperature above 103°F,
confusion and sometimes unconsciousness and may prove fatal. The 2003 European heat wave was
the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat
wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a shortfall
agricultural production in parts of Southern Europe. Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death
toll at 70,000.

8.Cold Wave:

A cold wave is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. A cold wave is a
rapid fall in temperature within a 24 hour period requiring substantially increased protection to
agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. There are separate limits for defining coldness
for different regions based on departures of temperature over the normal.
(a)Regions with normal minimum temperature of 10°C and above:
Cold wave conditions are said to prevail when departure of minimum temperature is 5°C to 6°C lower
than normal in the region.
Severe cold wave conditions are identified when the minimum temperature departure is 7°C lower
than the normal in the region.
(b) Regions with normal minimum temperature less than 10°C:

Cold wave conditions prevail when departure of minimum temperature is 3°C to 4°C lower than
normal in the region. Severe cold wave conditions prevail when the minimum temperature departure
is 5°C lower than the normal in the region.

Effects of cold wave:

A cold wave can cause death and injury to livestock and wildlife. Exposure to cold mandates greater
caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and
persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or
starvation. They often necessitate the purchase of foodstuffs at considerable cost to farmers to feed
livestock. Extreme winter cold often causes poorly insulated water pipelines and mains to freeze.
Even some poorly-protected indoor plumbing ruptures as water expands within them, causing much
damage to property and costly insurance claims. Demand for electrical power and fuels rises
dramatically during such times, even though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the
freezing of water necessary for the generation of hydroelectricity. Some metals may become fragile at
low temperatures. Motor vehicles may fail as antifreeze fails and motor oil gels, resulting even in the
failure of the transportation system.

Low temperatures cause two types of injuries to plants.

 The first is chilling injury that occurs between 2 and 0°C. Chilling injury is defined as injury
at temperatures low enough to cause damage but not cause freezing of water. This causes a
variety of physiological disruptions in germination, growth, flowering, fruit development,
yield and storage life.

 The second type of injury is freezing injury, which occurs when the external temperature
drops below the freezing point of water. It results from untimely frost or from extremely low
temperatures in mid-winter. Plant protoplasm can survive the lowest temperatures (0°C) if no
ice is formed in the tissue. No plant can survive after the formation of ice crystals within the
cells
 9. Sea Level rise

Sea level rise has occurred at a mean rate of 1.8 mm per year for the past century, and more recently,
during the satellite era of sea level measurement, at rates estimated near 2.8 ± 0.4 to 3.1 ± 0.7 mm per
year (1993–2003). Current sea level rise is due significantly to global warming which will increase
sea level over the coming century and longer periods. Increasing temperatures result in sea level rise
by the thermal expansion of water and through the addition of water to the oceans from the melting of
mountain glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets. At the end of the 20th century, thermal expansion and
melting of land ice contributed roughly equally to sea level rise, while thermal expansion is expected
to contribute more than half of the rise in the upcoming century. Values for predicted sea level rise
over the course of this century typically range from 90 to 880 mm, with a central value of 480 mm.

10.Tsunami:

A tsunami (Japanese word) tidal wave is a series of water waves (called a tsunami wave train caused
by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water usually an ocean, but can occur in large
lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan. Due to the immense volumes of water and energy
involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other
underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), and other disturbances
above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami (Ref. : Indian National Centre for
Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad)

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on 26 December with

an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.

11.Ozone Depletion

Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4%
per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer) since the late 1970s,
and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the
same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to this
well-known stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also tropospheric ozone depletion events, which
occur near the surface in polar regions during spring.
The main source of these halogen atoms in the stratosphere is photo dissociation of
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds, commonly called freons, and of bromofluorocarbon
compounds known as halons. These compounds are transported into the stratosphere after being
emitted at the surface. Both ozone depletion mechanisms strengthened as emissions of CFCs and
halons increased. CFCs and other contributory substances are commonly referred as ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths (270–315 nm) of
ultraviolet light (UV light) from passing through the Earth's atmosphere, observed and projected
decreases in ozone have generated worldwide concern leading to adoption of the Montreal Protocol
that bans the production of CFCs & halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals such as
carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such
as increases in skin cancer, cataracts, damage to plants, and reduction of plankton populations in the
ocean's photic zone may result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion.

Effect of uv radiation on human beings:

One of the most common effects of UV exposure is "erythema", also known as sunburn. Sunburn
occurs when skin cells are damaged by the absorption of energy from UV rays. To compensate for
this injury, the skin sends extra blood to the damaged skin in an attempt to repair it—thus accounting
for the redness that is associated with sunburn. Another effect of ultraviolet rays on the skin is photo
aging. Recent studies have shown that many of the symptoms commonly associated with mere aging
(i.e. wrinkles, loosening of the skin) may instead be related to UV exposure.

12.Volcanic eruptions

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and
gases to escape from below the surface. Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are
diverging or converging. An eruption begins when pressure on a magma chamber forces magma up
through the conduit and out the volcano's vents. When the magma chamber has been completely
filled, the type of eruption partly depends on the amount of gases and silica in the magma. The
amount of silica determines how sticky (level of viscosity) the magma is and water provides the
explosive potential of steam. The way volcanoes erupt usually takes a long time. First a volcano
makes magma from melted rock. The magma goes through a circulation. It has to form at the bottom
of the volcano and then start its way up the main vent.

The main vent is a hole that is in the volcano and when the volcano is ready to erupt the lava is at the
top of the main vent. The magma goes up the main vent slowly while it is still getting hotter. When
the magma is about half way up the main vent it turns into lava. Lava is a very hot liquid which burns
the remaining rocks from the magma. The lava slowly continues up the main vent. While going up the
lava continues to get hotter and hotter. Ash and rocks are collected and the lava is getting hotter and
hotter while the lava is continuing its way up the main vent. When the lava is at the top of the main
vent the volcano erupts. The lava blasts out of the volcano along with ash, rocks, and a cloud of dust
that is very thick. The ash and rock crumble to the ground, but the lava is either moving down the
volcano side very slowly or at a high speed. The lava burns down almost everything in its way, and it
sometimes leaves bits of things burning. The lava from the volcano can cool fast, or sometimes the
lava will slowly cool down from its intense heat. Lava that cools slowly forms igneous rocks.
 There are active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in India viz., Barren Island (erupted in
2009), Baratang (erupted in 2005) and Narcondam in Andaman Islands.

13.Global warming and climatic change:

Climate change is a long-term shift in the statistics of the weather (including its averages). For
example, it could show up as a change in climate normals (expected average values for temperature
and precipitation) for a given place and time of year, from one decade to the next. We know that the
global climate is currently changing. The last decade of the 20th Century and the beginning of the
21st have been the warmest period in the entire global instrumental temperature record, starting in the
mid-19th century.

Climate change is the change in climate over a time period from 10 to 100s of years. Climate change
involves both natural changes and changes caused by people. Climate variability” refers to changes in
climate from one year to another. It can be caused by changes in ocean conditions far away, which
can affect climate all over the world(for ex: El Niño). Climate variability is natural and occurs on a
regular basis. Over the history of the Planet, the climate has changed naturally. It happened during the
ice ages, and maybe also when the dinosaurs disappeared. In addition, human activities have warmed
the climate. Over the history of the Planet, the climate has changed naturally. It happened during the
ice ages, and maybe also when the dinosaurs disappeared. In addition, human activities have warmed
the climate.
Global mean temperatures are rising faster with time
 Inter-annual variability of Indian monsoon rainfall 1871-2010

Bars denote percentage departure from normal (blue), with excess (green) and deficient (red)
years.

The long term trend is denoted by the black line. The violet curve denotes decadal variability of
Indian monsoon rainfall

Spatially coherent increasing and decreasing trends in annual rainfall are found in many states
of India, though not statistically significant. However, annual rainfall is significantly increasing
in West Bengal (+3.63 mm/year) and significantly decreasing in Uttar Pradesh (-4.42 mm/year)
and Andaman and Nicobar (-7.77 mm/year) during 1951-2010.

Trends of south-west monsoon ( mm) in 100 year

Trends of south-west monsoon ( mm) in 100 year and 60 years (1951-2010)

Climate during the recent past

Year All India SWM RF Extreme Events
Departure (%) • 2002 drought
2000 -8 • 20 day heat wave during May 2003 in Andhra
Pradesh
2001 -15
• Extreme cold winter in the year 2002-03
2002 -19
• Drought like situation in India in July 2004
2003 +2 • Abnormal temperatures during March 2004 and Jan
2004 -13 2005
• Floods in 2005
2005 -1
• Cold wave 2005 - 06
2006 -1 • Floods in arid Rajasthan & AP and drought in NE
2007 +5 regions in 2006
• Abnormal temperatures during 3rd week of Jan to 1st
2008 -2
week of Feb 2007
2009 -23 • All India Severe drought 2009
2010 +2 • 2010 – One of the warmest years
• 2011 – Failure of September rains in AP
2011 +1
• 2012 - Failure of monsoon rains in TN, Karnataka
2012 -8 states but good RF in CG
2013 • 2014 -
2014

Signals of climatic change:

 Global mean temperatures have increased by 0.74oC during last 100 years
 GHG (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide) increase, caused by fossil fuel use and land use
changes, main reasons.
 Temperatures increase by 1.8-6.4 C by 2100 AD. Greater increase in rabi
  Precipitation likely to increase in kharif
 Snow cover is projected to contract
 More frequent hot extremes, heavy precipitations
 Sea level to rise to be 0.18 - 0.59 m.
 Production of c3 crops will be increased as compare to c4 crops.

Global warming potential values

Gas GWP Gas GWP

CO2 1 CF4
CH4 21 C2F6
N2O 310 SF6
HFC-23 11700

Note: The CH4 GWP includes the direct effects along with the indirect effects due the production of
tropospheric ozone and stratospheric water vapour. The indirect effect due to the production of CO2
is not included.
CO2: Carbon dioxide, CH4: Methane, N2O –Nitrous oxide, HFC- Hydrofluorocarbon
CF4: Tetrafluormethenace , C2F6: Hexafluoroethane, SF6: Sulphur Hexafluoride
Source: IPCC, 1996

Projected impacts of climate change on Indian agriculture:

Productivity of most cereals would decrease due to increase in temperature and decrease in water
availability (especially in Indo-Gangetic plains). Reports indicate a loss of 10-40% in crop production
by 2100. Greater loss expected in rabi. Every 1oC increase in temperature reduces wheat production
by 4-5 million tons. This can be reduced to 1-2 million tons only if farmers change to timely planting.

Impact of ISMR anomalies on Crop Production

15.0
y = -0.0067x2 + 0.4884x
R2 = 0.5236
10.0
Crop Production Anomaly (%)

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0

-15.0

-20.0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
ISMR anomaly (%)
Rainfall Deviation Change in food grain Rainfall Change in food
(ISMR Anomaly) production deviation grain production
(ISMR anomaly)
-20 -12.44 2.28 +5
-15 -8.83 4.22 +10
-10 -5.55 5.83 +15
-05 -2.61 7.10 +20
0 0.00
It can be very well seen that deficient rainfall years have more impact as compared to above
normal rainfall years.

Loss in wheat production due to rising temperature and CO 2 concentration can be seen from
Fig. below.

30
370 ppm
Loss in wheat production,

25
20 450 ppm
million tons

15
10
5

0
0 1 3 5
-5
-10
Increase in temperature, o C

Effects of aerosol concentration on crops

Direct effect is that it reduces total solar radiation required for photosynthesis. Indirect effects are
many like suppression of rain, settling of aerosols on the leaves reduce photosynthesis and there is
acid rain.

Declining apple yields in Himachal due to inadequate chilling:

Over the years, there is decreasing yield of apple due to inadequate chilling.

8
7
6
Yield (Tons)

5
4
3
2
1
0

Years
Different terminologies used in climatic change.

IPCC : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

UNFCCC ; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
CoP : Conference of Parties
AR : Assessment Report
SRES : Special Report of Emission Scenarios

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the
assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a
clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential
environmental and socio-economic impacts. In the same year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the
action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. Currently 195 countries are members of
the IPCC.

Projection: The term “projection” is used in two senses in the climate change literature. In the general
usage, a projection can be regarded as any description of the future and the pathway leading to it.
However, a more specific interpretation has been attached to the term “climate projection” by the
IPCC when referring to the model-derived estimates of future climate.

Baseline/Reference: The baseline (or reference) is any datum against which change is measured. It
might be a “current baseline”, in which case it represents observable, present-day conditions. It can be
a “future baseline”, which is a projected future set of conditions, excluding the driving factor of
interest. Alternative interpretations of the reference conditions can give rise to multiple baselines.

Forecast/Prediction: When a projection is branded “most likely” it becomes a forecast or prediction. A

forecast is often obtained using deterministic models, possibly a set of these, outputs of which can
enable some level of confidence to be attached to projections.

Scenario: A scenario is a coherent, internally consistent and plausible description of a possible future
state of the world. It is not a forecast; rather, each scenario is one alternative image of how the future
can unfold. A projection may serve as the raw material for a scenario, but scenarios often require
additional information (e.g., about baseline conditions). A set of scenarios is often adopted to reflect,
as well as possible, the range of uncertainty in projections. Other terms that have been used as
synonyms for scenario are “characterization”, “storyline” and “construction”.

Climate change impact on insect development: Increased development rates and therefore there
are more generations per season. Insect species diversity and feeding intensity tends to increase.

Effects on pest management practices :

There are more Insecticide applications due to additional pest species, additional generations of pests
and earlier arrival of migratory pests. There is more frequent loss of effectiveness of insecticides due
to rapid development of resistance.
Future projections for policy making

Station DOS Crop Water requirement Area (ha of the Total Water requirements
crop in the (Million cu. Meters)
state) 2005-06
1990 2020 2050 1990 2020 2050
Hardoi 15 Nov 447.2 459.6 473.4 9163900 40981 42117 43382
(UP)
Sangrur 15 Nov 468.3 485.3 497.1 3468000 16240 16830 17239
(Punjab)
Sirsa 15 Nov 348.3 361.4 3707.7 2304000 8025 8327 8541
(Haryana)

Adaptation/ Mitigation Strategies

Adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or

expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts. It refers to changes in processes, practices, and
structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate
change.

Mitigation refer to Technological change and substitution that reduce resource inputs and emissions
per unit of output. Although several social, economic and technological policies would produce an
emission reduction, with respect to climate change, mitigation means implementing policies to reduce
GHG emissions and enhance sinks

(i) Reduction in Methane Emission

Alteration in water management, particularly promoting mid-season aeration by short-term drainage
in rice cultivation will reduce CH4 emission. Improving organic matter management by promoting
aerobic degradation through composting or incorporating it into soil during off-season drained period
will also reduce emission. Use of rice cultivars with few unproductive tillers, high root oxidative
activity and high harvest index will also serve the purpose. Application of fermented manures like
biogas slurry in place of unfermented farmyard manure should be adoped. Methane emission from
ruminants can be reduced by altering the feed composition, either to reduce the percentage which is
converted into methane.

(ii) Reduction in NO2 and CO2 Emission

Site-specific application, efficient nutrient management, Nitrification inhibitors such as nitrapyrin
and dicyandiamide will reduce No2 emission. There are some plant-derived organics such as neem
oil, neem cake and karanja seed extract which can also act as nitrification inhibitors. Increasing
carbon sequestration in soil through manipulation of soil moisture and Temperature is required for
inhibiting Co2 emission. Reduced tillage, manuring, residue incorporation, improving soil
biodiversity, micro aggregation, and mulching can play important roles in sequestering carbon.

(iii) Developing Climate-ready Crops

 Development of new crop varieties with higher yield potential and resistance to multiple
stresses (drought, flood, salinity).
 Research efforts on conversion of rice from C3 to C4 crop.
 improvement in radiation-use efficiency of crops.
 Improvement in water-use and nitrogen-use efficiencies.
 (iv) Crop Diversification:
 Diversification from rice-wheat towards high-value commodities will increase income and
result in reduced water and fertilizer use.

(v) Changes in Land management practices:

 Shifting production away from marginal areas

 Adjusting the cropping sequence, including changing the timing of sowing, planting.

(vi) Efficient use of resources:

 Enhance resource- or input-use efficiency such as reduction in production costs; savings in
water, fuel and labour requirements; and timely establishment of crops.
 Resource conserving practices like zero-tillage (ZT) can allow farmers to sow wheat sooner
after rice harvest.
 Increasing water infiltration with improvement in soil aggregation, decreasing runoff with use
of contours, ridges, vegetative hedges, etc. and reducing soil evaporation with use of crop
residues mulch

(vii) Adjusting Cropping Season

Adjustment of planting dates to minimize the effect of temperature increase, reduced spikelet
sterility can be used to reduce yield instability, by avoiding having the flowering period to
coincide with the hottest period.
(viii) Relocation of the crops in alternate areas:

 Identify the crops and regions that are more sensitive to climate changes / variability and
relocate them in more suitable areas.

(ix) Improved pest management:

 Developing cultivars resistance to pests and diseases.

 Adoption of integrated pest management with more emphasis on biological control and
changes in cultural practices.
 pest forecasting using recent tools such as simulation modelling.

(x) Agricultural Insurance :

MAHABOBNAGAR, AP 2003: BIRTH OF MODERN WEATHER INSURANCE

Launched in 2003 with support from world bank. Pilot project was launched for castor and groundnut
crops against deficit rainfall with the help of microfinance company called BASIX . About 1500
farmers brought the cover.

In nutshell, following are the adaptation and mitigation strategies in brief:

Sector Adaptation option/ strategy

Water Exapnded rainwater harvesting, water storage/ conservation techniques, water re-
use, de-salination, water use and irrigation efficiency
Agriculture Adjustment of planting dates and crop variety , crop re-location, improved land
management e.g. erosion control and soil protection through tree planting
Human Health Heat –health action plans, emergency medical services, improved climate sensitive
disease surveillance and control, safe water and improved sanitation
Transport Realignment/ relocation, design standards and planning for roads, rail and other
infrastructure to cope with warming and drainage
Energy Strengthening of overhead transmission nad infrastructure underground cabling for
utilities, energy efficiency, use of renewable surces, reduced dependence on single
sources of energy
National Action Plans:

There are eight National Missions.

(i) National solar mission
(ii) National mission for enhanced energy efficiency
(iii) National mission on sustainable habitat
(iv) National water mission
(v) National mission for sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem
(vi) National mission for a “Green India”
(vii) National Mission for Sustainable agriculture
(viii) National mission on strategic knowledge for climate change
Goal
 To devise strategies for making Indian agriculture more resilient for climate change.
Purpose
 To develop crop based and resource management technologies that help Indian agriculture
adapt to climate change.
 To converge traditional knowledge, information technology, geospatial and biotechnolgy for
developing effective technologies to meet the challenges of climate change.
 To devise new insurance and credit mechanisms that facilitate greater adoption of
recommended practices for climate change particularly in dryland agriculture.

Ozone Depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4%
per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer) since the late 1970s,
and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the
same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to this
well-known stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also tropospheric ozone depletion events, which
occur near the surface in polar regions during spring. The main source of these halogen atoms in the
stratosphere is photo dissociation of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds, commonly called freons,
and of bromofluorocarbon compounds known as halons. These compounds are transported into the
stratosphere after being emitted at the surface. Both ozone depletion mechanisms strengthened as
emissions of CFCs and halons increased. CFCs and other contributory substances are commonly
referred as ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths (270–315 nm) of ultraviolet light (UV
light) from passing through the Earth's atmosphere, observed and projected decreases in ozone have
generated worldwide concern leading to adoption of the Montreal Protocol that bans the production of
CFCs & halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and
trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such as increases in skin
cancer, cataracts, damage to plants, and reduction of plankton populations in the ocean's photic zone
may result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion.

Table: Summary of the effects of solar ultraviolet radiation on plants (Teramura 1983)

Plant Characteristics Enhanced UVR

Photosynthesis Decreases in may plants
Leaf conductance No effect in many plants
Water Use Efficiency Decreases in may plants
Dry matter production and yield Decreases in many plants
Leaf Area Decreases in many plants
 Specific Leaf Weight Increases in many plants
Crop maturity No effect
Flowering May inhibit or stimulate flowering in many plants
Interspecific differences Species may vary in degree of response
Intraspecific differences Response varies among cultivars
Drought stress Plants become less sensitive to UV but not
tolerant to drought

One of the most common effects of UV exposure is "erythema", also known as sunburn. Sunburn
occurs when skin cells are damaged by the absorption of energy from UV rays. To compensate for
this injury, the skin sends extra blood to the damaged skin in an attempt to repair it—thus accounting
for the redness that is associated with sunburn. Another effect of ultraviolet rays on the skin is photo
aging. Recent studies have shown that many of the symptoms commonly associated with mere aging
(i.e. wrinkles, loosening of the skin) may instead be related to UV exposure

Response of different rainfed crops to elevated CO 2 :

It can be very well seen that with increasing CO2 level, there will be increase in leaf weight, stem
weight, root eight and total dry weight in all categories of crops.

% increase with elevated CO2 Pulses

100
Oil seeds
90
80
Cereals
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Total dry wt. Stem wt. Root wt. Leaf wt.
 Unit-II

Risk is an important aspect of the farming business. The uncertainties inherent in weather, yields,
prices, Government policies, global markets, and other factors that impact farming can cause wide
swings in farm income. ... Production risk derives from the uncertain natural growth processes of
crops and livestock.

The farmers generally react to this type of input price uncertainty by postponing the purchase of such
inputs. ... These are Trice uncertainty, production uncertainty, Production technology uncertainty,
Political uncertainty, Personal uncertainty and people's uncertainty. Risk can be said to be
an uncertain event which chances of occurrence can be predicted and measured
whereas, uncertainty can also be said to be an uncertain event which chances of occurrence cannot
be predicted and measured

The Big Five Risks Faced by Farmers

As you think about managing risk to stabilize farm income, there are five basic sources of agricultural
risk that you should address: Production, marketing, financial, legal, and human resource risks.
Various tools and strategies can be used to manage each of these risks.

1) Production Risks

Production risks relate to the possibility that your yield or output levels will be lower than projected.
Major sources of production risks arise from adverse weather conditions such as drought, freezes, or
excessive rainfall at harvest or planting. Production risks may also result from damage due to insect
pests and disease despite control measures employed, and from failure of equipment and machinery
such as an irrigation pump.

Strategies to manage production risks include:

 Follow recommended production practices.

 Diversify enterprises by growing different crop varieties and completely new crops.
 Expand production through more intensive growing practices or by planting more acreage.
 Purchase federal crop insurance coverage to stabilize income during times of loss and purchase
NAP coverage for noninsured crops.
 Adopt risk mitigating practices such as drip irrigation, tile drainage, trap crops or resistant varieties.
 Consider site selection - use fields less susceptible to frost or pests and rotate crops.
 Maintain equipment and keep facilities in good working condition.

2) Marketing Risks

Marketing risks relate to the possibility that you will lose the market for your products or that the
price received will be less than expected. Lower sales and prices due to increased numbers of
competing growers or changing consumer preferences are common sources of marketing risk.
Marketing risks can also arise from loss of market access due to a wholesale buyer or processor
relocating or closing, or if a product fails to meet market standards or packaging requirements.

Strategies to manage marketing risks include:

 Develop a marketing plan with realistic sales forecasts and target prices.
 Form or join a marketing cooperative to enhance prices and guarantee a market.
 Increase direct marketing efforts to capture a higher price.
 Market through multiple channels or outlets to reduce reliance on a single market.
 Enter into sales or price contracts with buyers.
 Spread harvest and sales over the season by scheduling planting and considering storage.
 Conduct essential market research - understand your customers’ needs and preferences.
 Purchase Whole-Farm Revenue Protection to cover unexpected decline of market prices during the
growing year.
3) Financial Risks

Financial risks relate to not having sufficient cash to meet expected obligations, generating lower than
expected profits, and losing equity in the farm. Sources of financial risk commonly result from
production and marketing risks described earlier. In addition, financial risks may also be caused by
increased input costs, higher interest rates, excessive borrowing, higher cash demand for family needs,
lack of adequate cash or credit reserves, and unfavorable changes in exchange rates.

Strategies to manage financial risks include:

 Develop a strategic business plan.

 Monitor financial ratios and enterprise benchmarks.
 Control key farm expenses - consider other suppliers and alternative inputs.
 Conduct a trend analysis to assess change in farm profits and owner’s equity over time.
 Consider purchasing Whole-Farm Revenue Protection to provide a safety net in poor earning years.
 Communicate and renegotiate agreements with suppliers and loan terms with lenders.
 Consider leasing and rental options rather than purchasing machinery, equipment or land.
 Evaluate the possibility of expanding or contracting different enterprises.
 Control or defer unnecessary family and household expenditures.
 Find off-farm employment for a family member, preferably a job with benefits such health
insurance, group life insurance, and a retirement program.
 Use non-farm investments such as IRAs or mutual funds to diversify your asset portfolio.

4) Legal and Environmental Risks

In part, legal risks relate to fulfilling business agreements and contracts. Failure to meet these
agreements often carry a high cost. Another major source of legal risk is tort liability - causing injury
to another person or property due to negligence. Lastly, legal risk is closely related to environmental
liability and concerns about water quality, erosion and pesticide use.

Strategies to manage legal risks include:

 Review business insurance policies and carry sufficient liability coverage.

 Choose a different business legal structure – as an example, a sole proprietorship is not always best.
 Understand business contracts and agreements - ask questions if you are unsure.
 Develop good relationships with neighbors and address their concerns.
 Use good agricultural practices to limit environmental risk.
 Know and follow state and federal regulations related to your farming operation.

5) Human Resource Management Risks

Human resource risks pertain to risks associated with individuals and their relationships to each
other. These relationships include those with family members, as well as farm employees and
customers. Key sources of human resource risk arise from one of the “three D’s” — divorce, death,
or disability. The impact of any of these events can be devastating to a farm. Human resource risks
also include the negative impacts arising from a lack of people management skills and poor
communications.
 Strategies to manage human resource risks:

 Develop and practice good “people skills” with family members, as well as employees.
 Evaluate alternative sources of labor.
 Provide adequate training for employees - formalized programs may help your safety record and
improve performance.
 Communicate with employees and family members.
 Recognize and reward good performance.
 Review wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
 Initiate estate transfer and business succession planning.
 Consider health and life insurance needs.

Managing risk starts with identifying the most crucial risks you face; understanding the potential
impacts and likelihood of undesirable outcomes; and, identifying and taking possible steps to mitigate
or lessen the impacts. It’s unlikely any one person understands all the areas of risk faced by a family
farm. If you don’t know the answer or find it difficult to initiate risk management planning on your
own, get assistance from Cooperative Extension, USDA, attorneys, bankers, insurance agents, and
other service providers.

Written by Michael Sciabarrasi, Extension Professor (Retired), Agricultural Business Management,

UNH Cooperative Extension.

Risk characterization is the fourth step of the risk assessment process, integrating information from
the hazard characterization and the exposure assessment to produce scientific advice for risk managers
(Renwick et al., 2003). The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has defined risk characterization
as “The qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability
of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on
hazard identification, hazard characterization and exposure assessment” (FAO/WHO, 2008). Risk
Characterization has been described as the bridge between risk assessment because it provides a basis
for the calculations, an understanding of the uncertainties inherent in the evaluation and an
understanding of the results of the risk assessment.

The four steps are hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk
characterization (Commission 1997a). The risk characterization integrates information from the
toxicity assessment. Risk assessment is a term used to describe the overall process or method
where you: Identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm
(hazard identification). ... Determine appropriate ways to eliminate the hazard, or control
the risk when the hazard cannot be eliminated (risk control).

Strategies to manage production risks include:

Purchase federal crop insurance coverage to stabilize income during times of loss and purchase NAP
coverage for non-insured crops. Adopt risk mitigating practices such as drip irrigation, tile drainage,
trap crops or resistant varieties.

Crop Insurance:

Measure # 1. Diversification: Measure # 2. Flexibility:Measure # 3. Liquidity

Measure # 4. Capital Rationing Measure # 5. Contract Farming:
Measure # 6. Choice of Reliable Enterprise Measure # 7. Discounting for Risk:
Measure # 8. Maintaining Reserves:
 Drought:

Drought is an insidious natural hazard that results from a departure of precipitation from expected or
normal that, when extended over a season or longer period of time, is insufficient to meet the demands
of human, plant and animal activities.

Drought proofing

 Conceptually, drought proofing means the capacity to meet the basic material and physical needs of
the local population - human and animal - in a drought period so that there is minimal Distress.
 Drought proofing an area then implies that the local natural and human production resource base can
provide a certain desirable amount of food, fuel, fodder, drinking water and livelihood resources
during a drought.
 Drought proofing cannot totally protect the normal years’ water supply patterns during the lean
periods. In a drought year the production system operates at a lower level, irrespective of the drought-
proofing efforts.
 Drought proofing must, therefore, aim at enhancing water availability during a drought so that the fall
in production can be minimized.
 As a process, drought proofing is a continuing one that spans lean and normal years.
 The nature of drought-proofing works and activities during the two periods can be quite different.
 Water-use patterns in normal years can increase or decrease an area’s vulnerability to droughts.
 High water consumption patterns are more vulnerable to rainfall deficits, than lower ones.
 Excessive withdrawal or inadequate recharge in normal rainfall periods also increases the
vulnerability during dry spells.
 Thus, the normal year’s water-use patterns form an integral part of drought proofing strategies.
 In normal years, land and water management must focus on enhancing the biomass on lands of
marginal farmers and on landless people
 During droughts, they must be targets of employment generation programmes. During a drought year,
drought-proofing activities include supply-side measures like conserving water use or bringing water,
food or fodder from outside.
 On the demand side, it involves ensuring entitlements, i.e., protecting the purchasing power of the
local population through employment generation works, which, in turn, can be used to provide
drought-proofing infrastructure.
 In sum, water availability, water use and entitlements are the three basic elements for comprehensive
drought proofing.
 Water availability has to be assessed and developed, water use has to be monitored and conserved,
and entitlements have to be ensured for the vulnerable sections of the population, at the appropriate
time.
Drought proofing management

 Water use efficiency:- 1.drip irrigation 2. sprinkler irrigation.

 Reorientation of cropping pattern
 Use of suitable crop cultivars
 Moderate fertilizer use
 Adoption of intercropping
 Water harvesting structure
 Mulches
 Countering across the slope
 Scooping of the land
 Opening ridges and furrows
 Compartmental bunding
  Deep summer ploughing followed by surface tilling during rest of year
 Characterise by short growth duration, effective and extensive root system, drought tolerance,
high yield potentiality having altered morphology of plants which are suited to dry conditions.
 Anti transpirants
 Growth retardants
 Radiation reflectants
 Plant hardening compounds

12.Drought mitigation:

(i)Engineering approaches :

It aimed at soil and moisture conservation through regulated run off , collection of surplus rain water,
checking evaporation and seepage loss of water and re-cycling of collected water for life saving
irrigation. Countering across the slope. Focussed on Scooping of the land, Opening ridges and
furrows, Compartmental bunding, deep summer ploughing followed by surface tilling during rest of
year and water harvesting

(ii) Physiological approaches :

It aimed at reducing transpiration, encouraging root growth, protecting cytoplasmic proteins with the
use of suitable chemical compounds. Anti transpirants, growth retardants, radiation reflectants and
plant hardening compounds

(iii)Genetic approaches :

Mainly aimed at developing new plant types which posses wider adaptability, shorter growth duration,
drought resistance and high genetic yield potentiality. Mainly efforts resulted into growing of ideo-
types, Characterise by short growth duration, effective and extensive root system, drought tolerance,
high yield potentiality having altered morphology of plants which are suited to dry conditions.

Contingent planning

A contingency is anything that occurs outside the range of normal operations that may adversely
affect an organization’s ability to operate. Simply stated, contingency planning is about being
prepared and is an integral part of regular operations planning. A contingency plan is a blueprint for
how to deal with unusual events. Regardless of size, all organizations need contingency plans.
Contingency planning is a systematic approach to identifying what can go wrong in a situation. Rather
than hoping that everything will turn out OK or that "fate will be on your side", a planner should try to
identify contingency events and be prepared with plans, strategies and approaches for avoiding,
coping or even exploiting them. Some salient and common contingent plans for the state of
Chhattisgarh are given as below which can work well as preparedness for the inevitable and also
strategies of dealing with risks. These are the adaptation and mitigating practices before occurrence:

1. Deep ploughing:

Deep summer ploughing should be done so as to facilitate the conservation of moisture and sun-
exposure of the fields for control of pests and diseases and also for better conservation of soil
moisture in all types of farming situations.
2. Renovation and maintenace of the borewells:

a. Maximum of the borewells should be renovated as per planning.

b. Desilting of the canals and ponds should be done in the month of May itself.
c. The ill maintained pumps should be replaced by the functioning and new waterpumps.

3. Linkages:

Linkage with state agril. Engineering dept. for supply of tractor and animal drawn seed drill for line
sowing, Supply of Inter cultural Implements through RKVY, Farm pond through IWSM programme
and seed supply through seed corporation

4. Seed arrangement:

The farmers who had gone for last year's certified seed purchasing and grown early maturing
varieties of field crops like rice, Soybean are advised that they should save their seed upto one month
age of the crop for re-sowing purposes. In case of drought contingencies, these farmers should use
these seeds for re-sowing purpose etc. It must be ensured by the farmers that germination purchase is
completed and no further damage has taken place to seedlings for one month. In case of the need,
exchange of seeds can be made possible with other farmers. In case of drought situation, those crops
should be selected which are having less water requirement as crop contingent plan. In case of
uplands, arhar, urad, moong, sesamum crops should be taken and seed arrangement should be made in
advance.

4. Watershed structure:

In all the places, stress should be laid on pucca construction like check dam/ culvert construction,
perennial nalas bandhan for water harvesting. In case of contingent planning, sand bags should be
used for obstruction and conservation of water. By conserving the water, groundwater recharge
increases. This kind of conserved water can be utilized for the field crops by electric and diesel
pumps.

5. Agronomic measures for soil moisture conservation:

(i) Intercultural weeding operation should be done or recommended dose of pesticides should be
applied.
(ii) In case of continuous and prolonged dry spell situation, earth surface should be covered with
locally available material like leaves, grass and polythene etc.
(iii) The pits available outside the fields should be used for water conservation.
(iv) All the places where water storage is there, life saving irrigation or need based irrigation should
be provided to field crops through irrigation pumps.
(v) In case there are continuous rains, Swarna Sub-1 variety of rice crop should be grown. There is no
adverse effect on this variety in case of continuous rains.
(vi) Soybean crop should be grown by broad bed-furrow method. Under this situation in case of
excess rainfall, water is drained out. In case of less quantity of rainfall, furrow head should be plugged
and water conservation made by the farmers.
(vii) In case of drought 20-45 days of after sowing period is very crucial. Therefore in case of weeds
infestation, post-emergence recommended weedicides should be applied.

6. Water and nutrients management in :

a. excess rainfall conditions:

(i) Safe drainage of the rainwater should be made.

(ii) As per weather forecast available, nitrogen application shouldn't be made on the rain forecasted
days and in case of heavy rainfall forecast.
(iii) Immediately after the rains, rainwater should be bound in the field and drainage channel should
be tightly plugged to maintain the impounding water condition as per requirement.

b. In case of less rainfall and drought condition:

(i) Nitrogenous application should be made less than the recommended level depending upon
quantity of rainfall.

(ii) In case of less soil moisture or unavailability of the moisture, granular application of nitrogenous
fertilizers shouldn't be done. Under this situation, 1 percent of urea application should be made as
foliar application so that whole of the plant gets drenched. This action will help in the coloring
improvement of yellowish leaves and this will also facilitate in better crop productivity.

(iii) In case of drought condition, vegetative mulching should be done for maintaining soil moisture in
the fields. If possible, weeds should be removed by interculture method.
 Unit III
Man Made Disasters:

Disastrous event caused directly and principally by one or more identifiable deliberate or negligent
human actions called as human-made disaster. Man made disasters cover a wide range of events
created largely due to accidents, negligence or sometimes even by human design, which result in huge
loss of lives and property every year in South Asia. These include road, rail, river, marine and aviation
accidents, oil spill, building and bridge collapse, bomb blast, industrial and chemical accidents etc.
These also include the threats of nuclear, biological and chemical disasters

1. Fire:

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat,
light and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are
not included by this definition.

Fire safety: Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood
of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the
presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive,
or to reduce the damage caused by a fire. Fire safety measures include those that are planned
during the construction of a building or implemented in structures that are already standing,
and those that are taught to occupants of the building.

Threats to fire safety are referred to as fire hazards. A fire hazard may include a situation that
increases likelihood a fire may start or may impede escape in the event a fire occurs. The
damage caused by incidents of fires in buildings every year is more than that caused by other
disasters. The loss of life is high if the fire is in a crowded building. On 13 June 1997, 59
people died in a fire at a cinema in Delhi.

Key Elements of a fire safety policy:

Building a facility in accordance with the version of the local building code. Maintaining a
facility and conducting yourself in accordance with the provisions of the fire code. This is
based on the occupants and operators of the building being aware of the applicable
regulations and advice.

Examples of these include:

 Not exceeding the maximum occupancy within any part of the building.
 Maintaining proper fire exits and proper exit signage (e.g., exit signs pointing to them that can
function in a power failure)
 Placing and maintaining fire extinguishers in easily accessible places.
 Properly storing/using, hazardous materials that may be needed inside the building for storage
or operational requirements (such as solvents in spray booths).
 Prohibiting flammable materials in certain areas of the facility.
 Periodically inspecting buildings for violations
 Maintaining fire alarm systems for detection and warning of fire.
 Maintaining a high level of training and awareness of occupants and users of the building to
avoid obvious mistakes, such as the propping open of fire doors.
 Conduct fire drills at regular intervals throughout the year.
 Some common fire hazards are:
 Blocked cooling vent
• Overloaded electrical system
• Fuel store areas with high oxygen concentration or insufficient protection
• Materials that produce toxic fumes when heated
• Objects that block fire exits
• Incorrectly installed wiring
• Misuse of electrical appliances
• Lit candles left unattended
• Improperly-extinguished tobacco
• Flammables left near a hot water heater
• Fireplace chimneys not properly or regularly cleaned
• Misuse of wood burning stoves
Fire code

 The Fire code (also Fire prevention code or Fire safety code) is a model code adopted by the
state or local jurisdiction and enforced by fire prevention officers within municipal fire
departments.
 It is a set of rules prescribing minimum requirements to prevent fire and explosion hazards
arising from storage, handling, or use of dangerous materials, or from other specific
hazardous conditions.
 The fire code also addresses inspection and maintenance requirements of various fire
protection equipment in order to maintain optimal active fire protection and passive fire
protection measures.
 A typical fire safety code includes administrative sections about the rule-making and
enforcement process, and substantive sections dealing with fire suppression equipment,
particular hazards such as containers and transportation for combustible materials, and
specific rules for hazardous occupancies, industrial processes, and exhibitions.
 For example, a fireworks exhibition may require an application to be filed by a licensed
pyrotechnician, providing the information necessary for the issuing authority to determine
whether safety requirements can be met.
 Once a permit is issued, the same authority (or another delegated authority) may inspect the
site and monitor safety during the exhibition, with the power to halt operations, when
unapproved practices are seen or when unforeseen hazards arise.

Public Fire Safety Education:

 Fire prevention programs may include distribution of smoke detectors, visiting schools to
review key topics with the students and implementing nationally recognized programs such as
NFPAs "Risk Watch" & "Learn not to burn”.
 Other programs or props can be purchased by fire departments or community organizations.
These are usually entertaining and designed to capture children's attention and relay important
messages

Building Fire Protection

Modern buildings built under the strict design and buildings codes of today have many fire
protection systems installed by default. These systems assist with detection and response to fire
related emergencies. Buildings fitted with a "Fire - Break Glass Alarm" allow occupants to activate
the fire alarm and alert the fire brigade easily. The red panel on the wall houses a small button that
when depressed will contact the Fire Brigade. The Fire Brigade will respond instantly to the building.
The glass or perspex material is easy to break with your fist, elbow or a pen. Smashing the glass will
sometimes activate the button automatically. The damage caused by incidents of fires in buildings
every year is more than that caused by other disasters. The loss of life is high if the fire is in a
crowded building. On 13 June 1997, 59 people died in a fire at a cinema in Delhi.

Fire Break Glass Alarm (B.G.A.)

Fire control System:

 Some buildings or sections of buildings are fitted with automatically activated

sprinkler heads.
 On activation, the sprinklers discharge a fine mist of water to extinguish/contain a
fire.
 In other special risk locations such as flammable liquids storerooms, computer rooms
(main frames), flood systems are used to extinguish fire.
 Where gaseous flooding systems are installed in normally occupied areas (e.g.
computer rooms), a warning alarm is sounded prior to the discharge of gas into the
room.
 A warning notice instructing personnel what to do should also be displayed.

.
 Fire Indicator Panel:

 The F.I.P. is the hub of the fire alarm system in a building.

 It is usually located on the ground floor near an entrance close to the nearest road.
 The panel may be located in a cabinet or on a wall. On the panel is a number of lights
and buttons.
 These lights "indicate" which fire sensor has activated in the building.
 The FIP will automatically notify the fire brigade of an alarm when one of its sensors
locates a fire. The FIP will usually talk to the E.W.I.S. (where installed) and notify the
building occupants that they need to evacuate.

Fire Hose Reels & Fire Hydrants

Canvas fire hoses attached to or adjacent to fire hydrant points are installed only for use by the
Fire Brigade. They must not be used by untrained personnel as injury or excess property damage
may result.
Fire Doors:

Fire doors are installed to minimise the spread of fire, including the passage of smoke through a building.
Fire doors may be automatically operated by heat activated mechanisms or smoke detectors.

 Smoke and Thermal Fire Detectors

The detection system in buildings may sense either heat or smoke or a combination of
these. Smoke detectors are increasingly being used because of their earlier warning of an
emergency situation. Smoke detectors may also be used to activate fire doors to isolate
zones in the building.

Portable Fire Extinguishers

Portable fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers are designed to provide the user
with an appliance to attend a small fire during its initial stage.
How to Prevent a House Fire

 Inspect your home : You may need to recruit, or even hire, someone experienced in home
electrical wiring, plumbing (gas), heating, and air conditioning
 Stay in the kitchen when using the range for cooking : If you are leaving for just a minute,
turn off all the burners on the range. Going to the basement for a can of tomatoes, or running
out to check the mail, going to the bathroom, answering the phone in another part of the
house? Simply turn off all the burners. After all, you are just leaving for a minute. You can
immediately turn the pot or frying pan back on when you return. Doing this simple step will
prevent one of the most common situations that cause house fires: unattended cooking. When
cooking with oil, keep a lid or flat cookie sheet close by. If flames appear, simply suffocate
the fire with the lid and immediately turn off stove or fryer to let it cool down. Do not try to
move the pan. Do not use water. The super-heated water will explode into steam, and can
cause severe burns, and oil can splash and spread fire
 Don't cook when drinking alcohol, using drugs, or are very tired. Eat something prepared,
make a cold sandwich, and go to sleep. Cook your meal later, when you are fully conscious.
 Don't sit down or lie down when smoking. Standing up will usually prevent you from falling
asleep while smoking. Getting too tired? Put out the cigarette thoroughly in an ash tray or
water-damp sink and go to bed. Cleaning out the ash tray? Place the ashes in the sink and
dampen them, then scoop them up and place them in the trash can away from the house.
 Check the condition of your electrical system
 Consider having a home sprinkler system installed, to extinguish fires when you are away and
at home.
 Check the natural gas/LP gas system in your home. Check the air conditioning and heating
unit in your home
 Be very careful with space heaters. Keep flammable materials (curtains) a safe distance
(usually 3 feet) from portable heaters. Set heaters where they are not in the traffic flow of the
room. As a rule, extension cords are not recommended with space heaters. Small, low wattage
heaters may be an exception, but check the manufacturer‘s recommendations prior to using an
extension cord with one. Use space heaters only on solid, firm surfaces. They should never be
placed on tables, chairs or other places where they may tip over. Replace old space heaters
with ones that will automatically turn off if tipped over.
 Maintain your fireplace correctly. Use glass fire doors or a wire mesh spark screen to prevent
embers from popping out of the fireplace. Burn dry, seasoned wood to prevent creosote build
up in the chimney. Note that some woods, like cedar, pop excessively when burned, and
should not be used in an open fireplace. Remove ash and unburned wood only when there are
no embers or sparks in the fire box. Place ash in a metal (NOT plastic bucket) and place
outside away from any buildings. Have your chimney inspected and cleaned at least once a
year. Never store flammable liquids near ignition sources and never use extension cords for
air conditioners. Be careful with candles, oil lamps, and other open flame illumination or
decorations.
 Teach the children not to play with lighters or matches. Crate train dogs to prevent new dogs
or puppies from chewing on electrical cords, or pets from urinating on electrical objects and
starting a fire. Confine new cats to a safe room, a small room with no places for the cat to
crawl into to hide (such as into the refrigerator motor), and no electrical cords. Use the safe
room until the cat is calm and no longer hiding. Provide cats with edible oat or wheat grass, to
prevent them from chewing on electrical cords. Confine pets when not supervising them, to
prevent them from chewing on electrical cords, causing burns or electrical fires. After using
matches quickly place in or run under water to extinguish any invisible flame or heat source
that could cause a fire in the trash can
 2. Wildfire:

The most common hazard in forests is forests fire. Forests fires are as old as the forests themselves.
They pose a threat not only to the forest wealth but also to the entire regime to fauna and flora
seriously disturbing the bio-diversity and the ecology and environment of a region. During summer,
when there is no rain for months, the forests become littered with dry senescent leaves and twinges,
which could burst into flames ignited by the slightest spark.

Forest fire refers to the uncontrolled fire that erupts in the wilderness. It can be caused by many
factors like lightning, volcanic eruptions and also human actions. Traditional suppression methods
include water dousing and spraying fire retardants to extinguish existing fires. Clearing vegetation to
create firebreaks starves a fire of fuel and can help slow or contain it. Firefighters also fight wildfires
by deliberately starting fires in a process called controlled burning. These prescribed fires remove
undergrowth, brush and ground litter from a forest, depriving a wildfire of fuel. Grazing is another
technique and various livestock are used to accomplish reduction of vegetation viz grass, bushes,
weeds, etc. which act as fuel to the wildfires. Herbicides and other chemicals can be used to reduce
growth of invasive plants which aid in the spread of wildfires. Mulching can be done for regular
addition of green manure over a large area to slow the spread. Wildfire suppression depends on the
technologies available in the area in which the wildfire occurs. In less developed nations such as
Thailand, the techniques used can be as simple as throwing sand or beating the fire with sticks or palm
fronds. In more advanced nations, the suppression methods vary due to increased technological
capacity. Silver iodide can be used to encourage snow fall, while fire retardants and water can be
dropped onto fires by unmanned aerial vehicles, planes, and helicopters. Complete fire suppression is
no longer an expectation, but the majority of wildfires are often extinguished before they grow out of
control.

While more than 99% of the 10,000 new wildfires each year are contained, escaped wildfires can
cause extensive damage. Worldwide damage from wildfires is in the billions of euros annually.
Wildfires in Canada and the US burn an average of 54,500 square kilometers (13,000,000 acres) per
year. The Himalayan forests, particularly, Garhwal Himalayas have been burning regularly during the
last few summers, with colossal loss of vegetation cover of that region.

3. Nuclear radiation and Nuclear Disaster:

An accident in a nuclear power plant can release radioactive material and nuclear radiation, affecting
the population in a large area around the plant. Nuclear emergency / Disaster is caused due to an
extraordinary release of radioactive material or radiation either in the operation of nuclear reactors or
other nuclear events like explosion of a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) or Improvised Nuclear
Device (IND) or explosion of a nuclear weapon. It is accompanied with sudden release of harmful
radiations or radioactive materials or both together in to the environment.

Nuclear Threat: Nuclear threats are differentiated between military (caused by belligerent actions or
civil war) and non- military causes. Non-military causes of nuclear threat: accidents due to negligent
handling or transportation of radioactive material, accidents due to technical failure in industrial,
scientific or medical facilities, accidents in nuclear power stations, nuclear reconditioning plants and
reconditioning points for nuclear fuel assembly of radioactive substances due to terrorism, nuclear
power station accidents due to natural hazards (earthquake) or aeroplane crash and improper storage
of nuclear waste material are the causes of nuclear accidents.
Military causes

• nuclear power station disasters caused by military operations

• liberation of radioactive material after accidents with nuclear weapon-systems
• detonation of nuclear strategic and tactical weapons

Possible effects:

• contamination/death of large parts of the population and long term effects due to incorporation of
radioactive material (fall-out)
• contamination of land, especially densely populated and agricultural regions
• contamination of food and drinking water
• necessary evacuations or population movements
• devastation and contamination of infrastructure
• area conflagration

Effects of nuclear weapons:

The effects of nuclear weapons are classified as either initial or residual. Initial effects occur in the
immediate area of the explosion and are hazardous in the first minute after the explosion. Residual
effects can last for days or years and cause death. The principal initial effects are blast and radiation.

a. Blast

Defined as the brief and rapid movement of air away from the explosion's center and the pressure
accompanying this movement. Strong winds accompany the blast. Blast hurls debris and personnel,
collapses lungs, ruptures eardrums, collapses structures and positions, and causes immediate death or
injury with its crushing effect.

b. Thermal Radiation

The heat and light radiation a nuclear explosion's fireball emits. Light radiation consists of both
visible light and ultraviolet and infrared light. Thermal radiation produces extensive fires, skin burns,
and flash blindness

Nuclear radiation breaks down into two categories-initial radiation and residual radiation.

 Initial nuclear radiation consists of intense gamma rays and neutrons produced during the first
minute after the explosion. This radiation causes extensive damage to cells throughout the
body. Radiation damage may cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even death,
depending on the radiation dose received. The major problem in protecting yourself against
the initial radiation's effects is that you may have received a lethal dose before taking any
protective action. Personnel exposed to lethal amounts of initial radiation may well have been
killed or fatally injured by blast or thermal radiation.
 Residual radiation consists of all radiation produced after one minute from the explosion. It
has more effect on you than initial radiation.

Types of Nuclear Bursts

Airburst, surface burst, and subsurface burst.

  An airburst occurs in the air above its intended target. The airburst provides the maximum
radiation effect on the target and is, therefore, most dangerous in terms of immediate nuclear
effects.
 Surface burst occurs on the ground or water surface. Large amounts of fallout result, with
serious long-term effects. This type of burst is your greatest nuclear hazard. Subsurface burst
occurs completely underground or underwater. Its effects remain beneath the surface or in the
immediate area where the surface collapses into a crater over the burst's location.
 Subsurface bursts cause you little or no radioactive hazard unless you enter the immediate
area of the crater.

Countermeasures against Penetrating External Radiation:

It is also critical to know how to protect yourself from the most dangerous form of residual
radiation—penetrating external radiation. The means you can use to protect yourself from penetrating
external radiation are time, distance, and shielding. You can reduce the level of radiation and help
increase your chance of survival by controlling the duration of exposure. You can also get as far away
from the radiation source as possible. Finally you can place some radiation-absorbing or shielding
material between you and the radiation.

Time is important to you, as the survivor, in two ways. First, radiation dosages are cumulative. The
longer you are exposed to a radioactive source, the greater the dose you will receive. Second,
radioactivity decreases or decays over time. This concept is known as radioactive half life. Thus, a
radioactive element decays or loses half of its radioactivity within a certain time.The rule of thumb for
radioactivity decay is that it decreases in intensity by a factor of ten for every sevenfold increase in
time following the peak radiation level. For example, if a nuclear fallout area had a maximum
radiation rate of 200 cgys per hour. After 7 hours - 20 cgys per hour; After 49 hours - 2 cgys per
hour.

Distance:

Distance provides very effective protection against penetrating gamma radiation because radiation
intensity decreases by the square of the distance from the source. For example, if exposed to 1,000
cgys of radiation standing 30 centimeters from the source, at 60 centimeters, you would only receive
250 cgys. While this formula is valid for concentrated sources of radiation in small areas, it becomes
more complicated for large areas of radiation such as fallout areas.

Shielding is the most important method of protection from penetrating radiation. Of the three
countermeasures against penetrating radiation, shielding provides the greatest protection and is the
easiest to use under survival conditions. Shielding actually works by absorbing or weakening the
penetrating radiation, thereby reducing the amount of radiation reaching your body. The denser the
material, the better the shielding effect. Lead, iron, concrete, and water are good examples of
shielding materials.
Fig. : Thickness of various materials needed to reduce residual gamma radiation transmission
by 50 percent.

Natural Shelters: Terrain that provides natural shielding and easy shelter construction is the ideal
location for an emergency shelter. Good examples are ditches, ravines, rocky outcropping, hills, and
river banks. In level areas without natural protection, dig a fighting position or slit trench.

4. Industrial and Chemical Disaster:

The terms “chemical accident” or “chemical incident” refer to an event resulting in the release of a
substance or substances hazardous to human health and/or the environment in the short or long term.
Such events include fires, explosions, leakages or releases of toxic or hazardous materials that can
cause people illness, injury, disability or death
Industries often produce or use hazardous substances, whose leakage can be disastrous for us and the
environment.

Sources of Chemical Disasters: Chemical accidents may originate in:

1. Manufacturing and formulation installations including during commissioning and process

operations; maintenance and disposal.
2. Material handling and storage in manufacturing facilities, and isolated storages; warehouses and
godowns including tank farms in ports and docks and fuel depots.
3. Transportation (road, rail, air, water, and pipelines).

Causative Factors Leading to Chemical Disasters

Chemical disasters, in general, may result from:
i) Fire ii) Explosion iii) Toxic release iv) Poisoning (v) Combinations of the above
Initiators of Chemical Accidents

A number of factors including human errors could spark off chemical accidentswith the potential to
become chemical disasters. These are:
a. Process and Safety System Failures
b. Natural Calamities
c.
The Indian subcontinent is highly prone to natural disasters, which can also trigger chemical disasters.
Damage to phosphoric acid sludge containment during the Orissa super cyclone in 1999 and the
release of acrylonitrile at Kandla Port, during an earthquake in 2001.

The Major Chemical Accidents in India are

Bhopal Gas Disaster in 1984

Major incidences of chemical disasters
Fire in an oil well in Andhra Pradesh (2003), a vapour cloud explosion in the Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Limited Refinery (HPCL), Vishakhapatnam (1997), An explosion in the Indian
Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL) Gas Cracker Complex, Nagothane, Maharashtra (1990).
Non-military causes:

• accidents due to negligent handling or transportation of dangerous chemical substances

• accidents due to technical failure in industrial, scientific or medical facilities
• liberation of hazardous chemical agents due to terrorism
• liberation of hazardous chemical agents due to natural hazards (earthquakes,floods, volcanoes)
• accidents related to disposal measures of chemical waste

Examples of possible effects include

• contamination/death of large parts of the population, long time effects due to incorporation of
poisonous substances
• contamination of land, especially densely populated regions and agricultural acreage
• contamination of food and drinking water
• necessary evacuations or refugee movements
• over-strainment of medical personnel and supply systems
• contamination of basic infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges,...)

Example of chemical disaster:

Bhopal gas tragedy: On December 3, 1984, methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the facility during the
early hours of the morning while local residents slept. Around 2,000 people died immediately, with
another 8,000 dying later. The initial investigation suggested that large volumes of water had entered
the chemical tank, which caused a chemical reaction and led to the leak. The incident highlighted the
problem of urbanization and having a plant located near a densely populated area.

Schweizerhalle, Switzerland - November 1, 1986

Water used to extinguish a major fire at the Sandoz chemical factory in 1986 washed chemicals into
the river Rhine, one of Europe's busiest waterways. The spill caused severe pollution, which took
years to eradicate, and killed an estimated 500,000 fish.The incident highlighted the need for
antipollution legislation in Europe. Soil was excavated from the area and decontaminated to ensure
there was no risk to the groundwater.
5. Biological Disaster:

 Biological agents are living organisms or their toxic products that can kill or incapacitate
people, livestock, and plants.
 Bio-terrorism can be defined as the use of biological agents to cause death, disability or
damage mainly to human beings.
 Thus, bio-terrorism is a method of terrorist activity to prevail mass panic and slow mass
casualties.
 The three basic groups of biological agents, which could be used as weapons, are bacteria,
viruses, and toxins.
 Most biological agents are difficult to grow and maintain. Many break down quickly when
exposed to sunlight and other environmental factors, while others, such as anthrax spores, are
very long lived.
 Biological agents can be dispersed by spraying them into the air, by infecting animals that
carry the disease to humans, and by contaminating food and water.
 Potentially, hundreds of human pathogens could be used as weapons; however, public health
authorities have identified only a few as having the potential to cause mass casualties leading
to civil disruptions.

Biological agents can be disseminated with readily available technology.

 Common agricultural spray devices can be adopted to disseminate biological pathogens of the
proper particle size to cause infection in human population over great distances.
 The perpetrators can use natural weather conditions, such as wind and temperature inversions
as well as existing building infrastructures (e.g. ventilation system) or air movement related to
transportation to disseminate these agents.
 The expense of producing biological weapons is far less than that of other weapon systems.
The methods of bio-logical agent dissemination and delivery techniques include

 Aerosols
 Animals – fleas, mice, flies, mosquitoes, and livestock.
 Food and water contamination –
 Person-to-person –smallpox, plague, and the Lassa viruses.

Anthrax

 The disease anthrax is caused by the gram-positive, non-motile Bacillus anthracis.

 Anthrax has been a scourge of cattle and other herbivores for centuries.
 During the industrial revolution, the inhalation form was first recognized as an occupational
pulmonary disease in workers in the wool industries of Europe.
 Anthrax makes an ideal biological weapon. The inhalation form of disease is highly lethal.
 The spores can maintain virulence for decades and they can be milled to the ideal particle size
for optimum infection of the human respiratory tract.
 Different clinical forms of the disease are observed, depending on the route of exposure.
Smallpox

 Rate of 30% or more among unvaccinated persons and the absence of specific therapy.
 Smallpox has long been considered as the most devastating of all infectious diseases and
today its potential for devastation is far greater than at any previous time.
 Smallpox virus is a member of genus Orthopoxvirus, and it is closely related to the viruses
causing cowpox, vaccinia and monkey pox.
 It is one of the largest DNA viruses known, and it has a bricklike appearance on electron
microscopy.
  Transmission of this virus can occur in several different ways: generally by droplets,
occasionally by aerosol, by direct contact with secretions or lesions from a patient.
 Typically, the virus enters the respiratory mucosa and then travels to regional lymph nodes
where it replicates. The incubation period from infection to onset of rash ranges from 7 to 17
days, averaging 12 to 14 days
Plague:

 It has already demonstrated a historical potential to kill millions of people across the globe.
 It is a disease that results from infection by non-motile, gram-negative coccobacillus Yersinia
pestis.
 When stained, its bipolar appearance is often described as resembling a safety pin.
 Pestis has two important properties that differentiate it from B. anthracis - person-to-person
transmissibility and a lack of spore production.
 Following the bite of an infected flea, plague bacilli are carried via the lymphatic to the
regional lymph nodes where they multiply exponentially.

Botulism or Botulinum toxins are deadly.

Toxins are natural and non-volatile and generally do not penetrate intact skin, which happens in case
of chemical weapons.

Mass casualties can be produced through contamination of food source or by aerosol dissemination.

The incubation period of botulism can range from as short as 24 to 36 hours to several days from the
time of inhalation.

Tularemia is caused by Francisella tularensis, which is a gram-negative, non-motile coccobacillus.

Tularemia is a zoonotic disease acquired in a natural setting by humans through skin or mucous
membrane contact with the body fluids or tissues of infected animals or from being beaten by infected
deerflies, mosquitoes, or ticks.

It can remain viable for weeks in the environment or in animal carcasses and for years if frozen.

Unlike anthrax, which requires thousands of spores to infect someone, tularemia can cause illness
with as few as 10 to 50 organisms.

After an incubation period of 2 to 10 days, pneumonia symptoms develop associated with weight loss
and non-productive cough.

The drug of choice for treatment is streptomycin with other aminoglycosides.

Major Events across the Globe

 Japan used plague bacilli in China during 1932-1945 causing 260,000 deaths
 Dispersal of anthrax spores due to accident in production unit in USSR caused 68
deaths in 1979
 In 1984, Osho followers used Salmonella typhimurium in salad in a restaurant in
Oregaon, USA leading to 751 cases
 Shigella dysenteriae Type 2 employed in Texas, USA in 1996
 Anthrax through postal envelopes in USA in Oct-Nov 2001 leading to 22 cases and 5
deaths.
Prevention & Mitigation Measures: General Measures of Protection

(i)The general population should be educated and the made aware of the threats and risks associated with it.
Only cooked food and boiled/chlorinated/filtered water should be consumed. Insects and rodents control
measures must be initiated immediately. Clinical isolation of suspected and confirmed cases is essential.

(ii) An early accurate diagnosis is the key to manage casualties of biological warfare. Therefore, a network of
specialised laboratories should be established for a confirmatory laboratory diagnosis.

(iii). Existing disease surveillance system as well as vector control measures have be pursued more rigorously.

(iv). Mass immunization programme in suspected area has to be vigorously followed up.

(v). Enhancing the knowledge and skills of clinicians plays a vital role in controlling the adverse impact of the
attack.

6. Road Accidents: Travel- related accidents take many lives everyday. An accident in which many
people are involved can turn into a disaster. The road infrastructure and its management are more
advanced in western countries as compared to the India. The roads are broader so that the chances of
accidents are less.India has a vast road network of 3.32 million km of which the national highways
and State highways together account for 195000 km. The number of vehicles has been growing at a
rapid pace of 12 per cent per annum since the Eighties and consequently traffic on the roads is
growing at 7 to 10 per cent per annum. The mostly road accidents have occurred due to overtaking on
two lane roads. Such accidents could occur at any time and any place, and often involve multiple
injuries or deaths. More than 20 million people are severely injured or killed on the world’s road each
year. The mostly accidents occurs due to rapid increase of vehicles, bad roads, untrained drivers,
slackness of traffic police, lack of obeying the traffic rules etc.

In India, more than 80000 people are killed and around 400000 people injured by the road accident in
every year. The total annual deaths due to road accidents have crossed 1.18 lakh, according to the
latest report of National Crime Records Bureau. The report also defined the period between 3-6pm
and early in the morning hours as the most accident prone phase during the day as drivers felt stressed
out and were often half-asleep while driving. One can avoid tahe accidents by following the safety
rules mentioned below:

a. Drivers should keep to the vehicle in left side, allow the traffic in opposite side to pass
you on the right side.
b. Overtake only on the right side.
c. Don’t raise the speed when being overtaken by another vehicle.
d. Slow down the vehicle when passing the road junctions, railway crossing and
villagers/ town
e. Drive slowly when passing a procession, repairs of the roads, near the schools.
f. Stop the vehicle when passing the zebra crossing near pedestrians
g. Drive the vehicle within the speed limit as per issued by Motor Vehicle Act
h. Always obey the traffic or safety rules.

7. Rail accidents:

Indian Railways, over 63,000 km long, is the world’s fourth largest network behind the US, Russia
and China. Considering the huge number of passengers, the frequency of travel and the vast distances
covered, rail transport are very safe. The rail accidents may be caused by human or system failure,
which may affect normal movement of rail services with loss of human life or property. An analysis
of the accident statistics reveals that derailments constitute a majority of the accidents followed by
unmanned level crossing accidents.

8. Air accidents:

The data for the air accidents that have taken place across the globe clearly project fewer deaths when
compared to any other modes of transport. Of all the means, air travel is considered the safest to
travel. There have been a few major air accidents over the Indian skies. The recent Air India Express
flight from Dubai to Mangalore. On May 22, 2010: AIR INDIA crashes at Mangalore, India, killing
166 passengers.

9. Protection of plants against climatic hazards.

A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment.
Climatic hazards are agents of disaster in terms of what they may do to human settlements or to the
environment. Climate hazard is a physical process or event (hydro-meteorological or oceanographic
variables or phenomena) that can harm human health, livelihoods, or natural resources.
Potentially hazardous atmospheric phenomena includes tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, tornadoes,
drought, rain, hail, snow, lightning, fog, wind, temperature extremes, air pollution, and climatic
change.
The methods given below follows the following principles for frost protection : site selection,
radiation interception, thermal insulation, air mixing, direct convective air heating, radiant heating,
release of heat of fusion and soil manipulation.

Cold injury protection

(i)Cold hardening : It is a process in which a plant undergoes physiological changes to avoid, or mitigate cellular
injuries caused by sub-zero temperatures.

(ii)Soil banking : It consists of placing a mound of soil around the tree’s trunk to protect the bud union and trunk
from cold. It is one of the most efficient cold protection methods for young trees.

(iii)Wrapping : Tree wraps are most useful in protecting young trees during mild to moderate freezes. It protects
only the trunk, and consequently leaf loss can occur during moderate or severe freezes. Wraps work by
delaying, but not preventing, heat loss from the tree trunk.

(iv) Sprinkling : Overhead, high-volume sprinklers have been used successfully in citrus nurseries for years as a
means of cold protection. The higher the rate of water application to a given area, the greater the amount of heat
energy that is applied.

(v)Fogging : It retards the loss of heat from soil and plant surfaces to the atmosphere. Natural fogs create a
barrier to radiant heat loss.

(vi) Supplemental heat supply air movement method : by heaters, or wind machines.
10.Heat injury protection :

Mulches, Early morning watering, Shade cloth and row cover, Plant transplant under cover of strong plants and
Plant seed deeper

11.Strong wind protection :

Windbreaks and shelterbelts: Windbreaks are such structures which break the wind-flow and reduce
wind speed while shelterbelts are rows of trees or shrubs planted for protection of crop against wind.
Reducing the wind speed reduces the evaporation losses and makes available more water to crops.

12.Air pollution

Pollution is any undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, land,
water or soil. Agents that bring about such an undesirable change are called as pollutants. Air
pollution is defined as the excessive concentration of foreign material in the atmosphere, or presence
of certain substances in the air in high enough concentrations and for long duration to cause
undesirable effects.

Type of pollutants :

(i) A primary pollutant is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source.

Eg. Sulphur dioxide emitted from factories.

(ii) A secondary pollutant is not directly emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants
(primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere. Eg. Smog , interaction of several primary
pollutants

Air pollution episodes: London smog, Bhopal gas tragedy and Darkening effect of Taj mahal.
Causes of air pollution are burning of fossil fuels, agricultural activities, exhaust from factories and
industries and mining operations
Criteria of air pollutants are Carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulphur, lead and
Particulate matter

Effect of air pollution : Respiratory and heart problem, global warming, acid rain, eutrophication ,
Effect on wildlife and depletion of ozone layer

Effects on plants: Some gaseous pollutants enter leaf pores and damage the crop plants. Chronic
exposures of leaves to air pollutants damages waxy coating, leads to damage from disease, pests,
drought and frost. Such exposures inter-fare with photosynthesis and plant growth, reduces nutrient
uptake and causes leaves to turn yellow, brown or drop off. At higher concentration of sulphur
dioxide, most of the flower buds become stiff and hard, and fall of. Prolonged exposure to higher
levels of air pollutants from iron smelters, coal burning power plants and industries , vehicles can
damage trees and plants.

Management of air pollution

I. Source correction :

There are several approaches, the most effective is to prevent pollution from occurring in first place.
An important approach is to make fuel substitution or process changes. Making more use of solar,
hydroelectric and geothermal energy would eliminate much of pollution caused by fossil fuel
combustion at generating plants.

II. Treatment

The selection of correct treatment device requires matching of characteristics of pollutants and
features of control device. It is important to realise the air pollutant range, to expect the device for
effective use. Setting chambers are also used which are nothing more than large places in the flues,
similar to settling tanks in water treatment. These chambers remove only the large particulates. They
work on gravity principle. Cyclones are also used widely for removing large particulars. The dirty air
is blasted into a conical cylinder but off the centreline; creating a strong violent swirl that heavy solids
migrates to wall of cylinder where they slowly get down due to friction and exists from the bottom.
They are mainly used as pre cleaners before further treatments. Electrostatic precipitators can remove
over 99 per cent particulate matter present in the exhaust from a thermal power plant. It has electrode
wires that are maintained at several thousand volts, which produce a corona that releases electrons.
These electrons attach to dust particles giving them a net negative charge. The collecting plates are
grounded and attract the charged dust particles. The velocity of air between the plates must be low
enough to allow the dust to fall. Scrubbers can remove gases like sulphur dioxide. In a scrubber, the
exhaust is passed through a spray of water or lime

Air pollution prevention

It has a direct impact on water contamination as 25% of human induced CO2 emissions are absorbed
by oceans. This pollution causes a rapid acidification of our oceans, and threatens marine life and
corals. Preventing air pollution is the best way to prevent this from happening.

• Plastic waste reduction

80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources. In order to reduce the amount of plastic entering
our ocean, we need to both reduce our use of plastic globally, and to improve plastic waste
management.

• Water conservation
Without water conservation, we won’t go very far. It is central in making sure the world has better
access to clean water. It means being aware that water is a scarce resource, taking care of it
accordingly, and managing it responsibly.

13.Water pollution

It can be defined as the contamination of a stream, river, lake, ocean or any other stretch of water bodies,
depleting water quality and making it toxic for the environment and humans.

There are two types of water pollution:

1.Organic pollution due to microorganisms - bacteria and viruses - present in the water, generated by excrement,
animal and vegetable waste

2.Chemical pollution generated by the nitrates and phosphates of pesticides, human and animal drugs, household
products, heavy metals, acids and hydrocarbons used in industries.
Categories of water pollution :

Surface water : Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of
contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow,
they have become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff.

Ground water: It get polluted when contaminants—from pesticides and fertilizers, to waste leached
from landfills and septic systems—make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use.
Once polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years.

Ocean water : Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from farms,
factories, and cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel out to sea.
The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions.

Water pollution causes Sewage and wastewater. There is inadequate sewage collection and treatment
are sources of water pollution. According to the United Nations, more than 80% of the w orldwide
wastewater goes back in the environment without being treated or reused.

• Agriculture : Agriculture has an impact on water pollution due to the use of chemicals such as
fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or insecticides running off in the water, as well as
livestock excrement, manure and methane (greenhouse effect).

• Industries : Industries produce a lot of waste containing toxic chemicals and pollutants.
Another source of water pollution is the burning of fossil fuels, causing air pollution like acid
rain which then flows to streams, lakes, and other stretches of water.

• Marine dumping: Everyday, garbage such as plastic, paper, aluminium, food, glass, or
rubber are deposited into the sea. These items take weeks to hundreds of years to decompose,
and thus they are a major cause for water pollution.

• Radioactive waste : Generated - among others - by power plants and uranium mining, radioactive waste
can linger in the environment for thousands of years. When these substances are released accidentally
or disposed improperly, they threaten groundwater, surface water, as well as marine resources.

Water pollution effects

• On human health

Water pollution has very negative effects on public health. A lot of diseases result from drinking or being in
contact with contaminated water, such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery or skin infections. In zones where
there is no available drinking water, the main risk is dehydration obviously.

• On the environment

Water pollution truly harms biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. The toxic chemicals can change the color of
water and increase the amount of minerals - also known as eutrophication - which has a bad impact on life in
water. Thermal pollution, defined by a rise in the temperature of water bodies, contributes to global
warming and causes serious hazard to water organisms.

• When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of
newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in
the water. This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can
 create “dead zones,” where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, these harmful algal
blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.

• Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as
well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic life—most often reducing an organism’s life span and
ability to reproduce—and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. That’s how tuna and
other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.

Prevention :

• Wastewater treatment
It consists of removing pollutants from wastewater through a physical, chemical or biological process.
The more efficient these processes are, the cleaner the water becomes.

 Green agriculture / organic agriculture

Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of water resources, so it is essential to have climate-friendly
crops, efficient irrigation that reduces the need for water and energy-efficient food production. Green
agriculture is also crucial to limit the chemicals that enter the water.

• Stormwater management
“Stormwater management is the effort to reduce runoff of rainwater or melted snow into streets, lawns
and other sites and the improvement of water quality” according to the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). It is important to avoid pollutants from contaminating the water and helps to use water
more efficiently.
 Unit-IV
Disaster Management System

It is the action that deals with reducing human suffering and property loss. Disaster management is a
complex process that requires a system to be in place at the national, state, district and local level,
comprising of different components and participating stakeholders. The disaster management
department should coordinate among different components.

Disaster Management Components: The five important components of disaster management

are:

1. Prevention: It is the action taken to eliminate/avoid natural hazards and their effects.
2. Preparedness: Disaster preparedness encompasses those actions, which are taken to limit the impact
of natural hazard by structuring response and establishing a mechanism for effecting a quick and
orderly reaction.
3. Mitigation: It includes the measures taken to reduce both the effect of the hazard and vulnerable
conditions to it in order to reduce the scale of a future disaster. Therefore, mitigation measures can be
focused on the hazard itself or the elements exposed to the threat.
4. Response: It includes emergency management by various organizations to be taken in responding
disaster. Many services that need to be mobilized at a moment’s notice and functioning for an
indeterminate period in coordinated manner under stressful circumstances.
5. Recovery: It is concerned with providing relief after the disaster has occurred. It deals with
providing food and shelter to the disaster victims, restoring normal conditions and providing financial
and technical assistance to rebuild.

The steps required under different components of disaster management system for effective
results :

Prevention/ Mitigation:

(i) Preventing disaster through construction of flood control dams

(ii) Plantations
(iii) Establishment of seismic stations
(iv) Forewarning systems
(v) Training of disaster management personnels
(vi) Minimizing the effect of disasters
(vii) Meteorological stations installation
(viii) Tsunami Warning station
Preparedness:

 Mock drills need to be conducted

 Safe placed to be identified and made known to local population of area
 Volunteers who would respond to be identified and train them
 Local disaster management teams to be formed
 Train as many people as possible particularly in disaster prone areas
 Communication system including hotlines not affected by breakdown in electric supply and
other disturbances
 Essential equipments should be ready
 Air transport should be ready
Response:
 Temporary shelters in the form of tents or tin sheds, large enough to accommodate one
family.
 Food is provided to people living in relief camps, initially in cooked form and later on as
rations when facilities of cooking become available
 Safe drinking water facilities are provided usually starting with tankers and afterwards
through pipes
 Water is also needed for cooking food, washing and bathing and these facilities have to be
arranged so that the people living in the relief camps bgin to lead near normal lives as early as
possible
 Relief camps are also provided with electric supply with the help of generators
 A medical centre is started in the camp itself to attend o the health problems of the people.
 Livelihood options such as employment in road and building construction help the people in
earning money so that they can start looking after themselves and not continue to depend on
the government and other aid agencies
 Education for children, particularly the young ones who can’t go to far places is arranged in
or near the camp itself

Recovery:

Rehabilitation and reconstruction is a long term activity that starts soon after the beginning of
relief operations. It is advisable to prepare a comprehensive plan to address these issues so
that an integrated effort is put in place. This plan is formulated on the basis of the post-impact
survey and damage assessment that is carried out in the aftermath of the disaster.

Efforts to mitigate natural disasters at international / global level

 The United Nations General Assembly through as resolution launched the International
Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-2000) in 1989.

 The decade, it was envisaged, would enable governments to focus on hazard

vulnerability and risk assessment, disaster prevention, sustainable development,
effective early warning systems, sharing of knowledge and transfer of technology.

 It emphasized on concerted international action, particularly in developing countries to handle

loss of life, property damage, social and economic disruption caused by natural disaster.

 The IDNDR secretariat located in Geneva is a part of the United Nations Department of
Humanitarian Affairs.
  The IDNDR Scientific and Technical committee is an advisory body with experts in different
fields such as economics, social science, engineering, public health, industry, geology,
meteorology etc.

IDNDR publishes a quarterly magazine ‘Stop Disasters’ and conducts a promotional campaign on the
second Wednesday of each October, designated as the ‘International Day for Natural Disaster
Reduction.

Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for safer world

 World conference on Natural Disaster Reduction Guidelines for Natural Disaster prevention,
preparedness and mitigation was held at Yokohama, Japan during 23-27 May, 1994.
 The conference adopted Yokohama strategy and related plan of action for the rest of decade
and beyond.

Organization for Disaster Management:

- IDNDR, 1990 – 2000 and Department of Humanitarians Affairs (DHA)

- Secretariat at Geneva, Switzerland - Scientific and Technical committee

National Organization for Disaster Management

- Advisory Committee-National Disaster Management Authority

- National Executive Committee- Sub-Committees

State Level Organization

- State Executive Committee -State Disaster Management Authority

- Sub-committee-Advisory Committee

District Level Organization

- Local Authority-District Disaster Management Authority-Sub Committee-Advisory
Committee
-

Hyogo Framework for Action:

- The world conference on Disaster Reduction was held at Kobe, Japan during 18-22 January,
2005.
- The conference had adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-15.
- Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to disasters.
- HFA prescribed 5 Priorities for Action (PFA), further divided into a set of 11 Activities and
51 sub-activity and at least 148 action points.
ISDR was set-up at the end of International Decade for National Disaster Reduction.

Efforts for disaster management at national level:

The subject of disaster management does not find mention directly in any of the three lists, i.e. Union
(National), State and Concurrent list in the 7th schedule of constitution. However the governments are
provided financial assistance for meeting expenditure on identified natural calamities on the basis of
the recommendations of the Finance Commission in order to ensure that the assistance is used only
for calamity relief. A calamity Relief Fund has been constituted by each state, where annual assistance
is credited and utilized on the basis of guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Finance. The
environment (Protection) Act 1986 which was passed for the protection and improvement of
environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and
property. The ministry of Environment and forest prepared and published the Rules on ‘Emergency
Planning, Preparedness and Response for chemical accidents in 1996 only. Since the existing
machinery was adhoc in nature and was created by executive order therefore, a need was felt to
provide statutory machinery which can be more effective and efficient. For this purpose disaster
management Act has been passed in 2005 by the parliament which specifies the role of Nation, State,
District administration in planning and management of disasters.

National Disaster Management Authority:

Composition, Tenure and Conditions of Service:

The Prime Minister of India is the Chairperson of the National Authority, Exofficio; other members,
not exceeding nine, to be nominated by the Chairperson of the National Authority; and the
Chairperson of the National Authority may designate one of the members nominated to be the Vice-
Chairperson of the National Authority.

Powers and functions of National Authority

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the National Authority has the responsibility for laying down the
policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring timely and effective response to
disaster.

 lay down policies on disaster management

 approve the National Plan
 approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Governmentof India in
accordance with the National Plan
 lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan;
  lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the
Government of India for the purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or
the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects;
 coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plan for disaster
management;
 recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation;
 provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined by
the Central Government;
 take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and
capacity building for dealing with the threatening disaster
 situation or disaster as it may consider necessary; and
 lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of
Disaster Management.

Appointment of officers and other employees of the National Authority

The Central Government shall provide the National Authority with such officers, consultants
and employees, as it considers necessary for carrying out the functions of the National
Authority.

Meetings of National Authority

The National Authority shall meet as and when necessary and at such time and place as the
Chairperson of the National Authority may think fit.

State Disaster Management Authority

- the Chief Minister of the State, who shall be Chairperson, ex-officio;

- other members, not exceeding eight, to be nominated by the Chairperson of the State
Authority; and
- the Chairperson of the State Executive Committee, ex-officio.

District Disaster Management Authority

(a) the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner, as the case may be, of the district
who shall be Chairperson, ex-officio;
(b) the elected representative of the local authority who shall be the co-Chairperson, ex-officio:

Provided that in the Tribal Areas, as referred in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, the
Chief Executive Member of the district council of autonomous district, shall be the Co-
Chairperson, ex-officio;

(c) the Chief Executive Officer of the District Authority, ex-officio,

(d) the Superintendent of Police, ex-officio;
(e) the Chief Medical Officer of the district, ex-officio;
(f) not exceeding two other district level officers, to be appointed by the StateGovernment.
In any district where Zila Parishad exists, the Chairperson thereof shall be the co-Chairperson of the
District Authority.
Corporate Social Responsibility:

India is the first country in the world to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory,
following an amendment to The Company Act, 2013 in April 2014. Businesses can invest their profits
in areas such as education, poverty, gender equality, and hunger.
Activities permitted under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty.

Promotion of education.
Promoting gender equality and empowering women.
Reducing child mortality.
Improving maternal health.

It is responsible for class of people living in a quality environment to uplift the people living in
unhygienic environment. CSR is required to improve local and global communities. CSR improves
companies image in public and relationship with their customers.

Conclusion:

1. We cannot always completely insure plants being protected from climatic hazards.
2. To prevent large scale catastrophe we must devise appropriate systems to foresee as well as
remedy the respective, weather and climatic hazards.
3. The systems must be upgraded time and again with the help of technological advances.
4. The human society must be sensitised towards the volume and scale of the purported damage
it has been causing and its effects towards the nature, resources and itself, due to unchecked
consumption of resources.
5. Awareness towards these pressing matters can bring about a radical change and minimise the
destruction / casualties in future.
6. Adopting an austere approach towards consumption of natural resources.
7. Working towards a better future by adopting new techniques of securing resources vis-à-vis
the population.