Page 1 of 3 Next National Disaster Management Authority Introduction The world today is living with more risks and uncertainties than ever before. With climatic variability, deteriorating environment, burgeoning population and increased frequency of sudden catastrophes, a large proportion of humanity is constantly at risk. Recent years has witnessed an alarming increase in the frequency of disaster occurrence as well as the magnitudes of their impacts. We have seen that the super cyclone in Orissa, earthquake in Gujarat and tsunami in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the eastern coast of the country have had devastating effects and has also negated years of efforts invested towards development. Mitigating disaster risks and making the nation and the communities within it resilient is the requirement one needs to work towards. Vulnerability needs to be analyzed in the face of hazards. The interaction between vulnerability and exposure to hazards define risk. To identify and know the risk is the first step towards mitigation. Geographic information science as an integrating discipline is very aptly placed to resolve all these. Planning for disaster risk reduction would need to consider the ecology of place specific to its location. GIS is tailored to study various parameters, using complex data, from varied sources, of varied types and it is a tool that can be used to integrate, organize, analyze, and map this data. The common element integrating the parameters is the spatially referenced nature of the data that acts as a hinge linking them through the location. Possible GIS applications in disaster management include prevention, reduction or mitigation of risks, and planning for preparedness, response and recovery for the probable or real-time natural or human caused disasters. The primary objective of GIS in disaster risk management is to know the location and the associated attribute data pertaining to the location and its spatial relationship with numerous other parameters, to carry out effective spatial planning, minimize the possible damage, ensure immediate action when required and prioritize actions for long-term sustainability. The Disaster Cycle Disaster Management in India thus far was focused on relief, rescue, rehabilitation and recovery. There is now a shift to a new disaster management paradigm that stresses on prevention, mitigation and preparedness, while strengthening its emergency response (rescue, relief, rehabilitation and recovery). The new cyclic paradigm has six phases covering the pre-disaster and post-disaster activities. The former includes prevention, preparedness and mitigation, while the latter consists of emergency response (rescue & relief), rehabilitation and recovery (reconstruction) (Fig. 1).  Fig.1: Disaster Management Cycle
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