A slide presentation for Disaster Management
Delhi is one of the maga-cities of the world with population of 10 million and has been projected to become the second largest city in India by the year 2025. Both politically and economically, Delhi is one of the most important cities in our country and its ability to with stand disasters is of critical importance to the entire country.
Delhi faces severe earthquake hazard due to its vicinity to the tectionically active Himalayan region. In addition, several small faults exist very close to the city and their activity may lead to strong ground motions in Delhi. It is essential that a comprehensive earthquake disaster management plan is prepared and implemented in Delhi. Experience of other major cities that have implemented effective disaster management plan shows that the plan should include the following elements : (1) hazard (2) vulnerability, (3) exposure of people, and (4) economic impact Inclusion of all these elements enable cost-benefit evaluation of different short-term and long-term options for risk reduction and disaster management.
In the past, all these elements were not considered in the disaster management plans of developing countries due to paucity of data.
Case study of Mumbai
Recent experience in Mumbai shows that the existing information from the city authorities and census data can be combined with vulnerability estimates and morbidity statistics to estimate the extent of damage and human loss due to earthquakes of a particular intensity. The results of such studies are in terms of numbers of houses damaged/collapsed and the number of people killed and injured.
This information can be used to develop disaster management plan to tackle post-earthquake scenario and to plan steps to decrease the consequences through suitable structural and non-structural measures. The loss estimates for Mumbai are presented as an example to demonstrate their use in disaster management.-
Urban India
India has experienced explosive urbanization over the last few decades.
- 23 cities have over 1 million population (1991)
- 276 cities have over 0.1 million population (1991)
Urban growth is largely unplanned
- Unauthorised densely populated colonies
- Lack basic amenities
- Relatively low standard of living
Urban society may lack resilience to with stand disruptive force.
Delhi profile
- City population exceeds 14 million.
- Around 60% population lives in informal housing and slums.
- Building codes/standards have been poorly implemented
- Many building and other structure are very old and weak.