Mba Disaster management distance education
Disasters are unstoppable natural and anthropogenic impacts which can be mitigated by suitable management options. India is seventh largest country in the world and is highly prone to natural and anthropogenic disasters. India share 135.79 million sq. km (2.4%) of world surface while its population is 16.7% of the world population. The geological and geographical setup of the country makes it highly susceptible to disasters. In the north and north eastern part-one of the youngest mountain chain – The Himalaya is highly prone to earthquakes, landslides and avalanches. Indo-Gangetic plain is prone to floods as well as drought. North-western part is prone to drought and desertification while coastal regions are prone to tsunamis and cyclones. In other words, the country is susceptible to all types of disasters i.e. earthquakes, droughts, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, landslides, avalanches, desertification, forest fires and industrial, vehicle accidents, (road, rail, air). In the world, 90% disasters occur in developing countries. In India, 70% area is drought prone, 60% earthquake prone, 12% flood prone and 8% cyclone prone. These percentage figures show that there is need of trained manpower that can assist at the time of disaster as well as in planning of schemes, monitoring and management of disasters. In the present context of changing technological scenario, there is urgent need of trained manpower for the industry as well as government/private organizations.
Types of Disasters
There are basically two types of disasters natural and anthropogenic. Natural disasters are due to nature like earthquake, landslides, drought, floods, tsunami and cyclone while anthropogenic disasters are due to human activities like road, rail, air and industrial accidents. Earthquake results due to internal forces of the earth and their adjustments. India is divided into five seismological zones based on the proneness to earthquakes. Zone five represents the highest proneness to the earthquakes. The areas vulnerable to earthquake are generally located in Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, Kutch and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In addition to major earthquakes like Uttarkashi (1991), Latur (1993) and Jabalpur (1997), large number of moderate and minor earthquakes has occurred in different parts of the country. Landslides come due to the movement of rock masses due to gravity, friction, earthquakes, rainfall and man made jerking motion. The hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, North Bengal, Sikkim and the North-Eastern States are prone to landslides.
Drought results due to low rainfall. Drought is mainly of three types-meteorological, hydrological and agricultural. In the country 16 per cent area is drought prone. The major droughts in the twentieth century were-1941, 1951, 1979, 1982 and 1987. The northwestern part of...
