MCQ

 
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Points to remember:
 
1. Kinds of disaster includes
i. Natural Disaster ii. Man-made Disaster
 
2. Avalanches and Landslides are Geological disasters.
 
3. Carelessness and human errors are the most common causes of man-made disaster such as:-
i. Gas leaks           ii. Nuclear Meltdown
iii. Oil Spills         iv. Other Man-made disaster
 
4. Weather disasters includes
a. Tornadoes     b. Hailstorms
c. Heat waves     d. Cyclones
 
5. Scientists who study earthquakes are called seismologists.
 
6. The Richter scale is used to measure the intensity of earthquakes.
 
7. Floods occur due to heavy rainfall within a short duration of time in a particular region which causes the rivers and streams to overflow.
 
8. Drought is
i. A condition of abnormally dry weather within a geographic region.
ii. Referred to the lack or insufficiency of rain for an extended period of time in a specific region.
 
9. 2008 Mumbai attacks was a terrorist incident.
 
10. Hazard- It is a perceived natural event which threatens both life and property. It is also a natural event which makes the population of an area vulnerable to the surroundings.
 
11. Disaster
 A disaster is the realization of this hazard
 It is defined as the geological process and it is an event concentrated in time and space in which a society or subdivision of a society undergoes severe danger and causes loss of its members and physical property.
 
12. Types:-
A. Natural disasters – refers to those disasters that are generated by natural phenomena.
B. Man made disasters – refers to the disasters resulting from man made hazards.
 
13. FLOODS- Whenever the magnitude of water flow exceeds the carrying capacity of
the channel within its banks the excess of water overflows on the surroundings causes floods.
 
14. Causes of floods
 Heavy rain, rainfall during cyclone causes floods
 Sudden snow melt also raises the quantity of water in streams and causes flood
 Sudden and excess release of impounded water behind dams
 
15. Flood Management
 Encroachment of flood ways should be banned.
 Building walls prevent spilling out the flood water over flood plains.
 Diverting excess water through channels or canals to areas like lake, rivers where water is not sufficient.
 Optical and microwave data from IRS is also used for flood management.
 Flood forecasts and flood warning are also given by the central water commission.
 
16. CYCLONES- It is a meteorological process, intense depressions forming over the
open oceans and moving towards the land.
 
17. Effect of cyclone
 The damage depends on the intensity of cyclone the damage to human life, crops,
roads, transport, could be heavy.
 Cyclone occurrence slows down the developmental activities of the area.
 
18. Cyclone management
 Satellite images are used by meteorological departments for forecasting the weather
conditions which reveal the strength and intensity of the storm.
 Radar system is used to detect the cyclone and is being used for cyclone warning.
 
19. Cyclone in Orissa – 1999
 Two cyclones in Orissa occurred on 18th and 29th October 1999. In the coastal area of Orissa, a powerful cyclone storm hit with a wind velocity of about 260 km/hr. Nearly 14-30 districts of Orissa were in severe damage.
 It has been reported that nearly 15 millions of people were affected and 90-95% of
the crop yield was affected. About 11,500 local schools have been damaged.
 
20. LAND SLIDES
The movement of earthy materials like coherent rock, mud, soil and debris from higher to
lower region to gravitational pull is called land slides.
 
21. Causes of landslides
 Movement of heavy vehicles on the unstable sloppy regions.
 Earthquake, shocks, vibrations and cyclone.
 
22. Effects of landslides
1. Block roads and diverts the passage.
2. Soil erosion increases.
2. Causes damages to houses, crops and live stock.
 
EARTH QUAKES
An earthquake is a sudden vibration caused on earth surface with the sudden release of
tremendous energy stored in rocks under the earth’s crust.
 
24. Causes of earthquake
1. Disequilibrium in any part of the earth crust
2. Underground nuclear testing
3. Decrease of underground water level.
 
25. Effect of earthquake
 Damage the settlements and transport systems
 Collapses houses and their structures
 Deformation of ground surface
 Tsunami
 
25. Earthquake Management
 Constructing earthquake resistant building
 Wooden houses are preferred
 Seismic hazard map should give the information about the magnitude of intensity of
anticipated earthquakes.
 
26. Tsunami can occur any time in day or night.
 
27. A tsunami is a large wave that is generated in a water body when the seafloor is deformed by seismic activity. This activity displaces the overlying water in the ocean. It is also said that tsunami is a series of huge waves.
 
28. Causes of tsunami
 Seismic activities like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions, can generate tsunami.
 Deformation of the sea floor due to the movement of plates.
 
28. Concept of Tsunami
A tsunami is not a single wave but a series of waves like the ordinary waves which we see on seas.
 
30. Effects on Tsunami
 Tsunami attacks mostly the coastlines, causing devastating property, damage and loss of life.
 Tsunami can kill lot of human beings, livestock’s.
 Tsunami may also spread lot of water borne diseases.
 
31. Tsunami Management
 Earthquakes under the water are monitored by sensors on the floor of the sea.
 The sensors send the information of floating buoys on the surface, whenever they detect any changes in pressure of the sea.
 The information is then relayed to satellites, which passes it on to the earth stations.
 Finally the country make the people alert through the media to take all necessary precautions.
 
32. Tsunami- Japan 2011(A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Tōhoku region of Japan's Honshu island on March 11, 2011.
 
The Great East Japan Earthquake — the name given to the event by the Japanese government — triggered a massive tsunami that flooded more than 200 square miles of coastal land.), India 2004 (December 26th, 2004- The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred at 07:58:53 in local time on 26 December, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was an undersea megathrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw, reaching a Mercalli
intensity up to IX in certain areas.)
 
33. The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered among the world's worst industrial disasters. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas.
 
34. Under Ministry of Home Affairs the National Disaster Management Authority come.
 
35. Narendra Modi released the first Disaster Management Plan of India.
 
36. International Tsunami Center is located in Honolulu, US.
 
37. A flash flood is a flood which is caused by heavy rain rather than flooding of a river.
 
38. A geophysicist who studies earthquakes and the mechanical characteristics of the earth is called Seismologist.
 
39. Landslides occur due to intensity of rainfall, steep slopes, deforestation, etc.
 
40. Pedology is the study of soil.
 
41. Nuclear explosion is not a natural disaster
 
42. The crucial steps to be taken during a disaster:
i. Stay calm.                 ii. Use nearest exit points.
iii. Do not use lifts.      iv. Do not panic.
 
43. An explosion when a star dies is called Astronomical explosion (supernovae)
 
44. Floodplain- An area submerged by flood.
 
45. Rescue, Confine are the first two steps after a hazardous material spill has occurred.
 
46. Disasters which give rise to another form of disaster is Complex Disaster
 
47. NDRF means National Disaster Response Force.
 
48. Mt. Stromboli, Italy. is an active volcano
 
49. The full form of DRR is Disaster Risk Reduction.
 
50. The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) established at Indian national Centre for Ocean Information Sciences is located at Hyderabad.
 
51. Sea surge is not part of a natural disaster.
 
52. The National Disaster Response Force is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster Management" in India is the National Disaster Management Authority.
 
53. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the apex body for Disaster Management in India.
 
54. State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), headed by the Chief Minister of state.
 
55. Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
 
56. Geophysical disaster (e.g. Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis and Volcanic Activity)
 
57. Hydrological disaster (e.g. Avalanches and Floods)
 
58. Climatological disaster (e.g. Extreme Temperatures, Drought and Wildfires)
 
59. Meteorological disaster (e.g. Cyclones and Storms/Wave Surges)
 
60. Biological disaster (e.g. Disease Epidemics and Insect/Animal Plagues)
 
61. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the apex body for Disaster Management in India. Setting up of NDMA and the creation of an enabling environment for institutional mechanisms at the State and District levels is mandated by the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
NDMA is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster Management. India envisions the development of an ethos of Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness and Response.
 
62. The Indian government strives to promote a national resolve to mitigate the damage and destruction caused by natural and man-made disasters, through sustained and collective efforts of all Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and People’s participation. This is planned to be accomplished by adopting a Technology-Driven, Pro-Active, Multi-Hazard and Multi-Sectoral strategy for building a Safer, Disaster Resilient and Dynamic India.
 
63. Visit https://ndma.gov.in/
 
64. Also study https://ndma.gov.in/sites/default/files/PDF/DM_act2005.pdf
 
65. NDMA has 5 major divisions viz. Policy & Plans, Mitigation , Operations &
Communications & Information & Technology , Administration and Finance.
 
 
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        Points to remember:
 
1 Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis are examples of Natural disaster
 
2. Identify the correct types of earthquake from the following options:
a. Tectonic earthquakes and Volcanic earthquake
b. Collapse earthquakes and Explosion earthquakes
 
3. “Fani”, one of the worst cyclones that hit India’s eastern coastline in the year 2019.
 
4. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall on Florida and Louisiana in August 2005
 
5. The exact spot under the earth surface at which an earthquake originates is called the Focus or hypo-center.
 
6. Tsunami is a Japanese term meaning ‘harbour waves’.
 
7. Floods not only damage property and endanger if lives of humans and animals, but have other effects as well, such as:
a. Floods cause the spread of many epidemic diseases.
b. Floods cause widespread damage to the standing crops and degrade the agricultural land.
c. Flood affected areas are faced with acute shortage of food and drinking water.
 
8. Drought causes serious environmental imbalances. Such as -
a. Water-supply reservoirs become empty, wells dry up and there is acute water shortage.
b. Groundwater level is also depleted because of less recharge.
c. People become impoverished and there are diseases due to malnutrition.
 
9. Landslides, tsunamis and avalanches can all be caused by Earthquakes.
 
10. A ground depression caused by collapse into an underground cavern – Sinkhole
 
11. Tornadoes are common in U.S.A.
 
12. A/an Ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain.
 
13. The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the seismic focus.
 
14. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill is one of the biggest man made disaster
 
15. Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions took place in China.
 
16. In 1986 year one of the most famous nuclear meltdowns occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
 
17. Cabinet Secretary heads the National Crisis Management Committee.
 
18. In New Delhi the National Institute of Disaster Management is located.
 
19. Tremors which occur on the earth’s crust are known as Earthquakes.
 
20. Tsunamis are caused by:
a. Earthquakes         b. Volcanic eruptions
c. Underwater landslides.
 
21. Tsunami mean Harbour waves in Japanese.
 
22. The size of a flood is measured by:
a. The rate of flow of water in a waterway/river
b. Level of water
c. A river gauging station.
 
23. Powerful Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes.
 
24. Himalayan Range regions in India is more prone to earthquakes.
 
25. Seismograph is an instrument used for: Recording the earthquake shocks.
 
26. Campus shootings are relevant in USA due to:
a. Lenient gun laws     b. Psychological Imbalance
c. Drug/alcohol abuse in youngsters.
 
27. Earthquake prediction can be done by detecting the presence of radon gas.
 
28. Traditional methods of Flood Risk Management consists of:
a. Terrace farming           b. Dams
 
29. Causes of flood:
a. Prolonged heavy rainfall.             b. Highly accelerated snowfall.
c. Serene winds over water.
 
30. Example of a natural explosion is Volcano.
 
31. Earthquakes can be predicted by:
a. Animal behaviour                 b. Risk in temperature in the atmosphere.
c. Long-range Prediction         d. Medium-range Prediction
 
32. Fire Drills are extremely crucial to:
a. Raise Awareness                 b. Ability to locate nearest fire extinguishers and exit points.
c. Prompt reaction preparation.     d. Spread awareness.
 
33. Effect of disaster:
a. Death                                         b. Loss of income.
c. Breakdown of infrastructure.     d. Loss of life.
 
34. One of the worst earthquakes in India is Gujarat Earthquake.
 
35. The following is/are flood prevention and mitigation strategy:
a. Construction of flood protection embankments.
b. Depopulating the flood plains.
c. Afforestation.
 
36. A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth.
 
37. Droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides are natural disasters.
 
38. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space
program that occurred on 01.02.2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated
as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.
 
39. Aftershocks are a sequence of earthquakes that happen after a larger main shock on a fault.
 
40. Covid 19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered corona virus.
 
41. Plague is an epidemic disease that caused many human deaths in different parts of the world.
 
42. Disease becomes a disaster when it spreads in an epidemic as a massive outbreak of an infectious agent.
 
43. Attack on ‘World Trade Centre’ on September 11, 2001, is an example of terrorist incident.
 
44. The effect of an earthquake is diverse. Secondary effects of earthquakes includes fires, landslides, etc.
 
45. A large number of causalities occur in case of earthquake due to poor engineering design of the buildings.

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Module IV: Disaster Management Act
along with Fire disasters
1
Syllabus:
Module-IV: Disaster Management Act along with Fire disasters Contact Hours: 8
Disaster Management Act 2005, Measures by Government for Disaster Management,
Natural disaster including fire disaster and other all types of accidental disasters,
LPG Fire Emergency handling.
.
23
 
Disaster Management Act 2005
An Act to provide for the effective management
of disasters and for matters connected
therewith.
It was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper
house of the Parliament of India on 28th
November, and the Lok Sabha, the lower
house of the Parliament, on 12th December,
2005
Received assent of the President of India on
23rd December 2005
Applicable to the whole of India
4
Salient Features
The act comprises 79 sections and 11 chapters
Defines disaster and disaster management in
its new concept
It provides institutional mechanism for
monitoring and implementation of plans.
Ensures measures by the various wings of the
government for the prevention and mitigation
of disaster.
56
 
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Prime
Minister with nine more members for laying down the policies, plans
and guidelines for disaster management
The authority will be assisted by National Executive Committee (NEC)
State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to be chaired by Chief
Minister
One of the member may be designated as the authority.
The state authority will be assisted by State Executive Committee
The state authority shall recommend for guidelines for providing
minimum standards of relief.7
 
District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)
The state government should establish District Disaster Management Authority
(DDMA) in each district
The chairperson of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be the
Collector, District Magistrate or deputy commissioner of the district
The authority shall act as the district planning, coordinating and implementing
body for disaster management
Local Authority
The local authority shall ensure training of its officer and employee and
maintenance of resources so as to be readily available for use in the event of a disaster It shall carry out relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation activities in the affected area8
 
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) is a team for the purpose of
specialist response to a threatening
disaster under a director general to
be appointed by central
government.
It consists of 12 battalions as of
now and each of that consists of
1149 personnel. These battalions
are based in various states of India.
In response to tragic circumstances,
the NDRF staff are trained and
prepared.
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(a) “affected area” means an area or part of the
country affected by a disaster;
(b) “capacity-building” includes—
(i) identification of existing resources and resources
to be acquired or created;
(ii) acquiring or creating resources identified under
sub-clause (i);
(iii) organisation and training of personnel and
coordination of such training for effective
management of disasters;
(c) “Central Government” means the Ministry or
Department of the Government of India having
administrative control of disaster management;
9
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(d) “disaster” means a calamity or grave occurrence
in any area, arising from natural or man made
causes, or by accident or negligence which results in
substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage
and destruction of property, or damage or
degradation of environment, and is of such a nature
or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of
the community of the affected area;
(e) “disaster management” means a continuous and
integrated process of planning, organising,
coordinating and implementing measures which are
necessary for—
1011
(i)
prevention of danger or threat of any
disaster;
(ii)
reduction of risk of any disaster or its
severity or consequences
(iii)
capacity-building;
(iv)
preparedness to deal with any disaster;
(v)
prompt response to any threatening
disaster situation or disaster;
(vi)
assessing the severity or magnitude of
effects of any disaster;
(vii)
evacuation, rescue and relief;
(viii) rehabilitation and reconstruction;
 
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(f) “District Authority” means the District Disaster Management Authority
constituted under subsection (1) of section 25;
(g) “District Plan” means the plan for disaster management for the district
prepared under section 31;
(h) “local authority” includes panchayati raj institutions, municipalities, a district
board, cantonment board, town planning authority or Zila Parishad or any other
body or authority, by whatever name called, for the time being invested by law,
for rendering essential services or, with the control and management of civic
services, within a specified local area;
22-10-2021
1213
(i) “mitigation” means measures aimed at
reducing the risk, impact or effects of a disaster
or threatening disaster situation;
(j) “National Authority” means the National
Disaster Management Authority established
under sub-section (1) of section 3;
(k) “National Executive Committee” means the
Executive Committee of the National Authority
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 8;
(l) “National Plan” means the plan for disaster
management for the whole of the country
prepared under section 11;
 
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(m) “preparedness” means the state of readiness to
deal with a threatening disaster situation or disaster
and the effects thereof;
(n) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made
under this Act;
(o) “reconstruction” means construction or
restoration of any property after a disaster;
(p) “resources” includes manpower, services and
materials.
14
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(q) “State Authority” means the State Disaster Management Authority
established under subsection (1) of section 14 and includes the Disaster
Management Authority for the Union territory constituted under that
section;
(r) “State Executive Committee” means the Executive Committee of a
State Authority constituted under sub-section (1) of section 20;
15
Provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005
(s) “State Government” means the Department of Government of
the State having administrative control of disaster management
and includes Administrator of the Union territory appointed by the
President under article 239 of the Constitution;
(t) “State Plan” means the plan for disaster management for the
whole of the State prepared under section 23.
16
Role of Government in Disaster Management
The responsibility of Disaster Management
lies with both central and state government.
India is disaster prone country where floods
are annual occur in NE stated, West Bengal
and central India. While our entire Northern
and NE border is prone to avalanche,
landslide and earthquakes.
17Following are the role and responsibilities of the govt to reduce the
effectiveness of any disaster.
18
Pre-Disaster measures:
Keep a check and
monitoring any impending
disaster
Early warning by different
media
Planning and liaison with
different DM agencies.
Educating people about DM
Stocking relief material
 19
 
During Disaster:
Launch search and rescue operations as quick as
possible
Provide relief material
Transport people to safe places
Provide temporary shelter
Immediately medical and health facilities
Provide clean water and food
Shift critically injured people to hospital
All resources and DM agencies should be engaged.
(Including Army, Navy and Airforce if required)20
 
Post Disaster:
▪
Analyze the damage
▪
Cleanup of rubble and rebuilding
activities to begin
▪
Preference to rebuild and restart
basic amenities
▪
Analyze causes of disaster and
future planning to tackle such
disaster in future21
 
Natural disaster including fire disaster
Drought
Normally a dry weather in that area where rainfall is normally
present.
Types:
Meteorological drought
Hydrological drought
Agricultural drought
Causes:
Abnormally low rainfall
High population
Winds carrying continental rather than oceanic air mass22
 
Effect of drought:
Drought causes hunger, malnutrition and
scarcity of drinking water and also changes
the quality of water.
Drought causes widespread crop failure
leading to acute shortage of food and
adversely affects human and live stock
population.
Worst situation of drought causes
desertification.
Drought increases the degradation of
natural resources.
Drought causes large migration of people.23
Drought management:
Rain water harvesting system.
Construction of reservoirs to improve
ground water level.
Modern irrigation technology (drip
irrigation) is very useful to conserve
water.
Afforestation activities also improve the
potential of water in the drought area.
Drought planning: Record of earlier
drought has been kept and areas can be
subdivided according to this.
 24
 
Cyclone
Atmospheric system characterised by rapid inward circulation of airmasses accompanied
by stormy destructive weather
Cause:
The water vapourizes and it absorbs heat from
the surroundings
Water vapour rises into the atmosphere where it
cools down. When it changes back into liquid the
heat is released into the air
The warm air tends to rise and causes a drop in
pressure.
The air moves from surrounding high pressure to
low pressure area.
The cycle is repeated and this leads to the
formation of low pressure surrounded by high
speed winds.25
Effects:
Trees, building collapse killing many people.
Cause prolonged rainfall and may cause flood.
Block railways and roads and telephone
communication system.
Management:
Government warns about the cyclone when it is
known to attack.
Special warnings are given to ports, frisherman,
farmers.
General people can get warning from cyclone
warning centres.
 26
Landslide
 
Downward movement of soil under gravity
Cause:
Excess rainfall
Earthquake can cause landslides
Volcanic eruption can trigger landslides
Deforestation
Construction of buildings and mining
Effects:
Brings damage to property and causes loss to the
economy of a country
Cause damages to buildings , roads , places of leisure
Loss of life
Causes significant change in the landscape of Earth
surface27
 
Management:
Planting vegetation
Closely packed nails are drilled and routed into the soil
Retaining walls are the structures made of wood, stones , concrete block .
Prevent erosion and movement of slope
Avalanche
A massive quantity of snow, ice etc. that become loose and comes
down with huge speed from a mountain is known as avalanche
Cause:
Heavy snowfall
Heavy wind
High temperature
Earthquakes
Movements or vibrations
produced by machines and
explosives
Deforestation
2829
 
Effect:
Can completely destroy buildings and other constructions
Can completely disconnect mountain areas from the rest of the
world.
The railways and roads have become closed due to the damage
caused by the avalanche
Can completely destroy the crop causing a heavy economic
losses for the farm
Cause great damage to property and life
Can disrupt the flow of a river or displace water from a lake30
Management:
Plant groupings of trees on hillsides, scattered
enough to slow down and break up any snow flow
from above.
Erect a large fence high on a mountaintop to help
balancing the snow
Use large stones. Place large wedges of stone below
the mountaintop and above the basin into which the
avalanche would fall. The stone wedges help keep
snow in place
Forecasting
 31
 
Volcanic Eruption
A volcanic eruption occurs when hot materials from the Earth's interior are
thrown out of a volcano. Lava, rocks, dust, and gas compounds are some of
these ejections that occur from volcano.
Causes:
Volcanic eruption fundamentally come down to a
pressure change within the volcano which forces the
magma to overflow the chamber it is held in
The most common type of eruption is caused by the
movement of tectonic plates
When one plate is pushed under the other the magma,
sediment and seawater is forced into the chamber
which eventually overflows and the volcano erupts
spreading lava into the sky.
Effects:
The volcanic ashes spreads and affects the respiratory
system, eyes and skin
Produce death and injuries
Produces transport and communication problems
Leads to collapse of buildings
Deterioration of water quality
Damages crop , and vegetation is destroyed
32
Management:
Use goggles and wear eyeglasses instead of contact lenses
Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help with
breathing
Stay away from areas downwind from the volcano to avoid
volcanic ash
Stay indoors until the ash has settled unless there is a danger of
the roof collapsing
Listen to alerts
Follow evacuation orders from local authorities
3334
 
Forest Fire
Can be described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or
burning of plants in a natural environment such as a forest, grassland etc.
Natural Causes:
Lightning
Spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as
sawdust and leaves
Man made causes:
Agricultural activities like burning grass
Lighting of fires in restricted areas
Hunting activities
Burning of wastes.
Short-circuit of power lines passing through forests35
 
Effects:
Causes hazard to life and property
Loss of nitrogen capturing bacteria reduce the fertility of soil
If fire removes active vegetation then it causes increase of soil erosion
due to heavy rainfall
Burn and damage vegetation communities, such as rainforest that take
hundreds of years to recover.
Spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away36
 
Management:
Communication network of wireless
system/ satellite network
Can be controlled by spraying water by
using aero planes
Effective transportation
Improved fire resistant clothing
Fire fighting equipment
Watch towers and other fire detecting
systems etc should be installed 37
What is LPG?
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a colourless odourless liquid which readily
evaporates into a gas. Normally an odourant has been added to it to help
detect leaks.
LPG (either Butane or Propane), is generally stored and distributed as a
liquid and it is widely used for process and space heating, cooking and
automotive propulsion.
LPG is non-corrosive but can dissolve lubricants, certain plastics or
synthetic rubbers.
LPG fire emergency handling
 
What happens when LPG burns?
In the presence of sufficient oxygen, LPG burns to form water vapour and
carbon dioxide, as well as heat. If not enough oxygen is present for complete
combustion of LPG, incomplete propane combustion occurs with water,
carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide being produced
3839
 
In which condition LPG cylinder can blast?
LPG cylinder can blast if it is continuously kept
exposed to immense heat or fire. In houses, LPG
cylinder will not just get blasted on its own, first there
will be a LPG leak from the faulty regulator or leaky
cylinder.
What you should do in case of gas leak.
When a gas leak is suspected, extinguish all flames
Close the LPG regulator and put the safety cap on
the cylinder.
Don’t light matches (or a lighter).
Do not switch on/off any electrical switches or
appliances40
 
What are the dangers of LPG?
Inhaling LPG vapour at high concentration
even for a short time can cause fainting
and/or death
Inhaling of LPG vapour can cause irritation in
nose and throat, headache and nausea,
vomiting, dizziness and loss of consciousness
LPG may leak as a gas or a liquid. If the liquid
leaks it will quickly evaporate and form a
relatively large cloud of gas which will drop
to the ground, as it is heavier than air. LPG
vapours can run for long distances along the
ground and can collect in drains or
basements. When the gas meets a source of
ignition it can burn or explode41
 
How LPG leakage can be
detected?
In this very simple test, you just
coat all of the gas transmission
gear (pipes, hoses, valves, etc.)
with soapy water and then
pressurize the system. If you see
bubbles, you know you have a leak
Ethyl Mercaptan is mixed with LPG
to detect LPG leakage
By using gas sensor or gas detector42
 
How to stop a LPG fire:
A small fire from a bottle may be smothered with a wet cloth or fire
extinguisher, ONLY if it is possible to stop the leak
Cool with water
Always approach any fire or leak from upwind and using all protection
available
What precautions should be taken to avoid accident due to LPG leakage:
Disconnect LPG regulator and affix safety cap on the cylinder when your gas
stove is not in use for prolonged period.
Always store the LPG cylinder in an upright position and away from other
combustible and flammable materials.
Check for gas leaks regularly by applying soap solution on cylinder joints43
 
Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE)
A vapor cloud explosion occurs when a large quantity of flammable
vapor or gas is released, mixes with air.
Liquefied gases and volatile liquids (ex: naphtha, petrol) can very
easily change phase from liquid to vapor if exposed to ambient
conditions, the vapors of these products are heavier than air
(vapor density =1), which implies that they can tend to settle down
close to the ground. When the quantity of vapor generated is large
and it accumulates, such accumulations are known as “vapor
clouds”.44
Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
An explosion occurs in an open air which results from the
ignition of flammable gas. UVCE results from the accidental
release of flammable gas or liquid.
Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
A confined vapor explosion occurs in a confined place
(vessels, pipe, building, pit etc.). The peak pressures of
CVCE are much higher than that of UVCE.
Types of Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE)
 45
The phenomena of BLEVE is very different from VCE. BLEVE
involves sudden, violent rupture of a container that holds
superheated liquid.
The cause of a rupture of a pressurised container may be either
due to thermal stresses or due to mechanical stresses, or due to
structural fault in the material of construction.
However, a majority of BLEVE cases have occurred due to
overheating of pressurised containers
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVE)
 Thank
You
46


 
 
Class Notes
Disaster:
A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning
of a community or society and causes human, material, economic and
environmental losses.
Types of disaster:
Disaster can be divided into two types:
➢ Natural disaster
➢ Man-made disasters
Classification of natural disaster:
1
 
Classification of man-made disaster:
Problems associated with disaster:
The common problems associated with disasters are:
➢ Death and disabilities
➢ Spread of communicable disease
➢ Population displacements
➢ Climate change
➢ Problem in water supply and sanitization
➢ Damage to health infrastructure
➢ Psychological reaction
➢ Environmental degradation
➢ Economic loss
2
 
Disaster risk /threats:
The potential disaster losses, in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and
services, which could occur to a particular community or a society over some
specified future time period.
➢ Traditional disaster threats: Most of the old disaster threats still exist like
earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, wildfires, floods,
landslides, and drought. The man-made ones like fire, explosions and
other major accidents which cause heavy human casualties, economic
and social losses. These same traditional threats have increased as
increase in population has force people to settle in disaster prone areas
which increase the impact of disaster.
➢ Modern disaster threats: These consist of manmade events like
hijacking, terrorism, civil war, and conflict with conventional arms as well
as chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological weapons. Increased social
violence has drastically affected many nations and communities.
General effects of disaster:
Disasters affect communities in multiple ways-
➢ Can cause an unexpected number of deaths and wounded or sick people
that exceed the local resources capacity to respond and require external
aid.
➢ Can destroy health infrastructure not only affecting the immediate
response, but also disrupting preventive activities, leading to long-term
consequences with increased morbidity and mortality.
➢ Can have adverse effects on the environment that will increase the risk
for infectious transmissible diseases and environmental hazards. This will
impact morbidity, premature death, and future quality of life.
➢ Can affect the psychological and social behavior of the community.
➢ Can cause shortages of food, with severe nutritional consequences.
➢ Can cause large movements of the population, to areas where health
services might not be able to handle the excessive requirement.
3
 
Earthquake:
It is the sudden shaking of the earth crust. The impact of an earthquake is
sudden and there is hardly any warning, making it impossible to predict.
Cause of Earthquake:
The earth’s crust is a rocky layer of varying
thickness ranging from a depth of about 10 km
under the sea to 65 km under the continents. The
crust is not one piece but consists of portions
called ‘plates’ which vary in size from a few
hundred to thousands of kilometers. The ‘theory
of plate tectonics’ holds that the plates ride up on
the more mobile mantle, and are driven by some
yet unconfirmed mechanisms, perhaps thermal
convection currents. When these plates contact
each other, stress arises in the crust.
Fig. 1: Crust, mantle and core of earth.
4
 
Fig. 2: Different plates of earth.
Stresses can be classified according to the type of movement along the plate’s
boundaries:
a) Pulling away from each other,
b) Pushing against one another and
c) Sliding sideways relative to each other.
All these movements are associated with earthquakes.
Fig. 3: Different plate movement
5
 
Different types of plate movement:
Divergent: Where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each
other.
Example: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which splits nearly the entire Atlantic Ocean
north to south, is probably the best known and most-studied example of a
divergent-plate boundary. The rate of spreading along the Mid Atlantic Ridge
averages about 2.5 centimeters per year (cm/yr), or 25 km in a million years.
Convergent: Where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.
Example: Ring of Fire and The Himalayan Mountain range dramatically
demonstrates one of the most visible and spectacular consequences of plate
tectonics.
Transformational: Where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates
slide horizontally past each other.
Example: The San Andreas fault slicing through the Carrizo Plain in the Temblor
Range east of the city of San Luis Obispo.
Epicenter:
The areas of stress at plate boundaries which release accumulated energy by
slipping or rupturing are known as ‘faults’.The point of rupture is called the
‘focus’ and may be located near the surface or deep below it. The point on the
surface directly above the focus is termed as the ‘epicenter’ of the earthquake.
Fig. 4: Pictorial presentation Focus, fault and epicentre.
6
 
General characteristics of earthquake:
Earthquake vibrations occur in a variety of frequencies and velocities. The actual
rupture process may last for a few seconds to as long as one minute for a major
earthquake. The ground shaking is caused by ‘body waves’ and ‘surface wave’.
➢ Body waves (P and S waves) penetrate the body of the earth, vibrating
fast. ‘P’ waves travel about 6 kilometers per hour and ‘S’ waves travel with
a speed of 4 kilometers per hour.
➢ Surface waves: Vibrate the ground horizontally and vertically. These long
period waves cause swaying of tall buildings and slight waves motion in
bodies of water even at great distances from the epicenter.
Fig. 5: Different types of body and surface waves.
Earthquake can be classified into three types based on focal depth:
➢ Deep: 300 to 700 kms from the earth surface
➢ Medium: 60 to 300 kms
➢ Shallow: less than 60 kms
The deep focus earthquakes are rarely destructive because by the time the
waves reach the surface the impact reduces. Shallow focus earthquakes are
more common and are extremely damaging because of their proximity to the
surface.
7
 
Measuring earthquake:
Earthquake magnitude or amount of energy released is determined by the use
of a ‘seismograph’ which is an instrument that continuously records ground
vibration. The scale was developed by a seismologist named Charles Richter. An
earthquake with a magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale releases 30 times the
energy than one with 6.5 magnitudes. An earthquake of magnitude 3 is the
smallest normally felt by humans. The largest earthquake that has been
recorded with this system is 9.25 (Alaska, 1969 and Chile, 1960).
Fig. 6: Picture of seismograph.
Adverse effect of earthquake:
➢ Loss of life and property: Damage occurs to human settlement,
buildings, structures and infrastructure, especially bridges, elevated
roads, railways, water towers, pipelines, electrical generating facilities.
➢ Landslides and avalanche: Earthquakes can produce slope instability
leading to landslides and avalanche.
➢ Tsunamis: When earthquakes occur under sea it causes tsunami. Most
destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or
more.
➢ Floods: These are secondary effects of earthquakes, as they may occur if
dams are damaged.
8
 
➢ Fires: Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas
lines.
➢ Destabilization: It destabilizes ecological and social structure of nation.
Essential services also got disrupted.
Distribution pattern of Earthquake in India:
India falls quite prominently on the 'Alpine -Himalayan Belt'. This belt is the line
along which the Indian plate meets the Eurasian plate. This being a convergent
plate, the Indian plate is thrusting underneath the Eurasian plate at a speed of
5 cm per year. The movement gives rise to tremendous stress which keeps
accumulating in the rocks and is released from time to time in the form of
earthquakes.
Fig. 7: Seismic zone map of India.
9
 
List of significant earthquakes in India:
Management and mitigation methods:
Earthquakes cannot be stopped or predicted accurately but certain
management techniques could be followed to minimize its effect:
1) Construction of buildings which can tolerate earthquakes.
This can be done by:
a) To keep pads or floats beneath buildings.
b) Wooden house to be preferred in earthquake prone area.
2) Soil testing should be done so that stability of building is assured.
3) Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them
more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to
earthquakes.
4) Preparedness and safe building construction can reduce extent of damage
and loss.
5) Establishment of GPS station in the earthquake prone region to assess future crustal movements.  
Fig. 8: Effect of soil type during earthquake and essential requirement in a Massonry building.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11


 
 
Class Notes
Natural disaster including fire disaster:
Drought:
Normally a dry weather in that area where rainfall is normally present.
Types:
➢ Meteorological drought
➢ Hydrological drought
➢ Agricultural drought
Causes:
➢ Abnormally low rainfall
➢ High population
➢ Winds carrying continental rather than oceanic air mass
Effect of drought:
➢ Drought causes hunger, malnutrition and scarcity of drinking water and
also changes the quality of water.
➢ Drought causes widespread crop failure leading to acute shortage of food
and adversely affects human and live-stock population.
➢ Worst situation of drought causes desertification.
➢ Drought increases the degradation of natural resources.
➢ Drought causes large migration of people.
Drought management:
➢ Rain water harvesting system.
➢ Construction of reservoirs to improve ground water level.
➢ Modern irrigation technology (drip irrigation) is very useful to conserve
water.
➢ Afforestation activities also improve the potential of water in the drought
area.
1
 
➢ Drought planning: Record of earlier drought has been kept and areas can
be subdivided according to this.
Cyclone:
Atmospheric system characterised by rapid inward circulation of airmasses
accompanied by stormy destructive weather.
Cause:
➢ The water vaporizes and it absorbs heat from the surroundings
➢ Water vapor rises into the atmosphere where it cools down. When it
changes back into liquid the heat is released into the air
➢ The warm air tends to rise and causes a drop in pressure.
➢ The air moves from surrounding high pressure to low pressure area.
➢ The cycle is repeated and this leads to the formation of low pressure
surrounded by high-speed winds.
Effects:
➢ Trees, building collapse killing many people.
➢ Cause prolonged rainfall and may cause flood.
➢ Block railways and roads and telephone communication system.
Management:
➢ Government warns about the cyclone when it is known to attack.
➢ Special warnings are given to ports, frisherman, farmers.
➢ General people can get warning from cyclone warning centres.
Landslide:
Downward movement of soil under gravity is called landslide.
Cause:
➢ Excess rainfall
➢ Earthquake can cause landslides
2
 
➢ Volcanic eruption can trigger landslides
➢ Deforestation
➢ Construction of buildings and mining
Effects:
➢ Brings damage to property and causes loss to the economy of a country
➢ Cause damages to buildings, roads, places of leisure
➢ Loss of life
➢ Causes significant change in the landscape of Earth surface
Management:
➢ Planting vegetation
➢ Closely packed nails are drilled and routed into the soil
➢ Retaining walls are the structures made of wood, stones, concrete block,
Prevent erosion and movement of slope
Avalanche:
A massive quantity of snow, ice etc. that become loose and comes down with
huge speed from a mountain is known as avalanche.
Cause:
➢ Heavy snowfall
➢ Heavy wind
➢ High temperature
➢ Earthquakes
➢ Movements or vibrations produced by
machines and explosives
➢ Deforestation
Effect:
➢ Can completely destroy buildings and other constructions
➢ Can completely disconnect mountain areas from the rest of the world.
3
 
➢ The railways and roads have become closed due to the damage caused
by the avalanche
➢ Can completely destroy the crop causing a heavy economic loss for the
farm
➢ Cause great damage to property and life
➢ Can disrupt the flow of a river or displace water from a lake
Management:
➢ Plant groupings of trees on hillsides, scattered enough to slow down and
break up any snow flow from above
➢ Build a large fence high on a mountaintop to help balancing the snow
➢ Use large stones. Place large wedges of stone below the mountaintop and
above the basin into which the avalanche would fall. The stone wedges
help keep snow in place
➢ Forecasting
Volcanic Eruption:
A volcanic eruption occurs when hot materials from the Earth's interior are
thrown out of a volcano. Lava, rocks, dust, and gas compounds are some of these
ejections that occur from volcano.
Causes:
➢ Volcanic eruption fundamentally come down to a pressure change within
the volcano which forces the magma to overflow the chamber it is held in
➢ The most common type of eruption is caused by the movement of
tectonic plates
➢ When one plate is pushed under the other the magma, sediment and
seawater is forced into the chamber which eventually overflows and the
volcano erupts spreading lava into the sky.
Effects:
➢ The volcanic ashes spreads and affects the respiratory system, eyes and
skin
➢ Produce death and injuries
4
 
➢ Produces transport and communication problems
➢ Leads to collapse of buildings
➢ Deterioration of water quality
➢ Damages crop, and vegetation is destroyed
Management:
➢ Use goggles and wear eyeglasses instead of contact lenses
➢ Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help with
breathing
➢ Stay away from areas downwind from the volcano to avoid volcanic ash
➢ Stay indoors until the ash has settled unless there is a danger of the roof
collapsing
➢ Listen to alerts
➢ Follow evacuation orders from local authorities
Forest Fire:
Can be described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or
burning of plants in a natural environment such as a forest, grassland etc.
Natural Causes:
➢ Lightning
➢ Spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves
Man-made causes:
➢ Agricultural activities like burning grass
➢ Lighting of fires in restricted areas
➢ Hunting activities
➢ Burning of wastes.
➢ Short-circuit of power lines passing through forests
5
 
Effects:
➢ Causes hazard to life and property
➢ Loss of nitrogen capturing bacteria reduce the fertility of soil
➢ If fire removes active vegetation then it causes increase of soil erosion due
to heavy rainfall
➢ Burn and damage vegetation communities, such as rainforest that take
hundreds of years to recover.
➢ Spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away
Management:
➢ Communication network of wireless system/ satellite network
➢ Can be controlled by spraying water by using aero planes
➢ Effective transportation
➢ Improved fire-resistant clothing
➢ Fire fighting equipment
➢ Watch towers and other fire detecting systems etc should be installed
LPG fire emergency handling:
What is LPG?
➢ Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a colourless odourless liquid which
readily evaporates into a gas. Normally an odourant has been added to it
to help detect leaks.
➢ LPG (either Butane or Propane), is generally stored and distributed as a
liquid and it is widely used for process and space heating, cooking and
automotive propulsion.
➢ LPG is non-corrosive but can dissolve lubricants, certain plastics or
synthetic rubbers.
6
 
What happens when LPG burns?
In the presence of sufficient oxygen, LPG burns to form water vapour and
carbon dioxide, as well as heat. If not enough oxygen is present for
complete combustion of LPG, incomplete propane combustion occurs
with water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide being produced
In which condition LPG cylinder can blast?
LPG cylinder can blast if it is continuously kept exposed to immense heat
or fire. In houses, LPG cylinder will not just get blasted on its own, first
there will be a LPG leak from the faulty regulator or leaky cylinder.
What you should do in case of gas leak.
➢ When a gas leak is suspected, extinguish all flames
➢ Close the LPG regulator and put the safety cap on the cylinder.
➢ Don’t light matches (or a lighter).
➢ Do not switch on/off any electrical switches or appliances.
What are the dangers of LPG?
➢ Inhaling LPG vapor at high concentration even for a short time can cause
fainting and/or death.
➢ Inhaling of LPG vapor can cause irritation in nose and throat, headache
and nausea, vomiting, dizziness and loss of consciousness.
➢ LPG may leak as a gas or a liquid. If the liquid leaks it will quickly evaporate
and form a relatively large cloud of gas which will drop to the ground, as
it is heavier than air. LPG vapors can run for long distances along the
ground and can collect in drains or basements. When the gas meets a
source of ignition it can burn or explode.
How LPG leakage can be detected?
➢ In this very simple test, you just coat all of the gas transmission gear
(pipes, hoses, valves, etc.) with soapy water and then pressurize the
system. If you see bubbles, you know you have a leak
➢ Ethyl Mercaptan is mixed with LPG to detect LPG leakage
➢ By using gas sensor or gas detector
7
 
How to stop a LPG fire:
➢ A small fire from a bottle may be smothered with a wet cloth or fire
extinguisher, only if it is possible to stop the leak
➢ Cool with water
➢ Always approach any fire or leak from upwind and using all protection
available
What precautions should be taken to avoid accident due to LPG leakage:
➢ Disconnect LPG regulator and affix safety cap on the cylinder when your
gas stove is not in use for prolonged period.
➢ Always store the LPG cylinder in an upright position and away from other
combustible and flammable materials.
➢ Check for gas leaks regularly by applying soap solution on cylinder joints
Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ A vapor cloud explosion occurs when a large quantity of flammable vapor
or gas is released, mixes with air.
➢ Liquefied gases and volatile liquids (ex: naphtha, petrol) can very easily
change phase from liquid to vapor if exposed to ambient conditions, the
vapors of these products are heavier than air (vapor density =1), which
implies that they can tend to settle down close to the ground. When the
quantity of vapor generated is large and it accumulates, such
accumulations are known as “vapor clouds”.
Types of Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
➢ Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
An explosion occurs in an open air which results from the ignition of
flammable gas. UVCE results from the accidental release of flammable gas
or liquid.
Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
 
A confined vapor explosion occurs in a confined place (vessels, pipe,
building, pit etc.). The peak pressures of CVCE are much higher than that of
UVCE.
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVE) :
➢ The phenomena of BLEVE is very different from VCE. BLEVE involves
sudden, violent rupture of a container that holds superheated liquid.
➢ The cause of a rupture of a pressurised container may be either due to
thermal stresses or due to mechanical stresses, or due to structural fault
in the material of construction.
➢ However, a majority of BLEVE cases have occurred due to overheating
of pressurised containers.


 
 
Class Notes
Natural disaster including fire disaster:
Drought:
Normally a dry weather in that area where rainfall is normally present.
Types:
➢ Meteorological drought
➢ Hydrological drought
➢ Agricultural drought
Causes:
➢ Abnormally low rainfall
➢ High population
➢ Winds carrying continental rather than oceanic air mass
Effect of drought:
➢ Drought causes hunger, malnutrition and scarcity of drinking water and
also changes the quality of water.
➢ Drought causes widespread crop failure leading to acute shortage of food
and adversely affects human and live-stock population.
➢ Worst situation of drought causes desertification.
➢ Drought increases the degradation of natural resources.
➢ Drought causes large migration of people.
Drought management:
➢ Rain water harvesting system.
➢ Construction of reservoirs to improve ground water level.
➢ Modern irrigation technology (drip irrigation) is very useful to conserve
water.
➢ Afforestation activities also improve the potential of water in the drought
area.
1
 
➢ Drought planning: Record of earlier drought has been kept and areas can
be subdivided according to this.
Cyclone:
Atmospheric system characterised by rapid inward circulation of airmasses
accompanied by stormy destructive weather.
Cause:
➢ The water vaporizes and it absorbs heat from the surroundings
➢ Water vapor rises into the atmosphere where it cools down. When it
changes back into liquid the heat is released into the air
➢ The warm air tends to rise and causes a drop in pressure.
➢ The air moves from surrounding high pressure to low pressure area.
➢ The cycle is repeated and this leads to the formation of low pressure
surrounded by high-speed winds.
Effects:
➢ Trees, building collapse killing many people.
➢ Cause prolonged rainfall and may cause flood.
➢ Block railways and roads and telephone communication system.
Management:
➢ Government warns about the cyclone when it is known to attack.
➢ Special warnings are given to ports, frisherman, farmers.
➢ General people can get warning from cyclone warning centres.
Landslide:
Downward movement of soil under gravity is called landslide.
Cause:
➢ Excess rainfall
➢ Earthquake can cause landslides
2
 
➢ Volcanic eruption can trigger landslides
➢ Deforestation
➢ Construction of buildings and mining
Effects:
➢ Brings damage to property and causes loss to the economy of a country
➢ Cause damages to buildings, roads, places of leisure
➢ Loss of life
➢ Causes significant change in the landscape of Earth surface
Management:
➢ Planting vegetation
➢ Closely packed nails are drilled and routed into the soil
➢ Retaining walls are the structures made of wood, stones, concrete block,
Prevent erosion and movement of slope
Avalanche:
A massive quantity of snow, ice etc. that become loose and comes down with
huge speed from a mountain is known as avalanche.
Cause:
➢ Heavy snowfall
➢ Heavy wind
➢ High temperature
➢ Earthquakes
➢ Movements or vibrations produced by
machines and explosives
➢ Deforestation
Effect:
➢ Can completely destroy buildings and other constructions
➢ Can completely disconnect mountain areas from the rest of the world.
3
 
➢ The railways and roads have become closed due to the damage caused
by the avalanche
➢ Can completely destroy the crop causing a heavy economic loss for the
farm
➢ Cause great damage to property and life
➢ Can disrupt the flow of a river or displace water from a lake
Management:
➢ Plant groupings of trees on hillsides, scattered enough to slow down and
break up any snow flow from above
➢ Build a large fence high on a mountaintop to help balancing the snow
➢ Use large stones. Place large wedges of stone below the mountaintop and
above the basin into which the avalanche would fall. The stone wedges
help keep snow in place
➢ Forecasting
Volcanic Eruption:
A volcanic eruption occurs when hot materials from the Earth's interior are
thrown out of a volcano. Lava, rocks, dust, and gas compounds are some of these
ejections that occur from volcano.
Causes:
➢ Volcanic eruption fundamentally come down to a pressure change within
the volcano which forces the magma to overflow the chamber it is held in
➢ The most common type of eruption is caused by the movement of
tectonic plates
➢ When one plate is pushed under the other the magma, sediment and
seawater is forced into the chamber which eventually overflows and the
volcano erupts spreading lava into the sky.
Effects:
➢ The volcanic ashes spreads and affects the respiratory system, eyes and
skin
➢ Produce death and injuries
4
 
➢ Produces transport and communication problems
➢ Leads to collapse of buildings
➢ Deterioration of water quality
➢ Damages crop, and vegetation is destroyed
Management:
➢ Use goggles and wear eyeglasses instead of contact lenses
➢ Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help with
breathing
➢ Stay away from areas downwind from the volcano to avoid volcanic ash
➢ Stay indoors until the ash has settled unless there is a danger of the roof
collapsing
➢ Listen to alerts
➢ Follow evacuation orders from local authorities
Forest Fire:
Can be described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or
burning of plants in a natural environment such as a forest, grassland etc.
Natural Causes:
➢ Lightning
➢ Spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves
Man-made causes:
➢ Agricultural activities like burning grass
➢ Lighting of fires in restricted areas
➢ Hunting activities
➢ Burning of wastes.
➢ Short-circuit of power lines passing through forests
5
 
Effects:
➢ Causes hazard to life and property
➢ Loss of nitrogen capturing bacteria reduce the fertility of soil
➢ If fire removes active vegetation then it causes increase of soil erosion due
to heavy rainfall
➢ Burn and damage vegetation communities, such as rainforest that take
hundreds of years to recover.
➢ Spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away
Management:
➢ Communication network of wireless system/ satellite network
➢ Can be controlled by spraying water by using aero planes
➢ Effective transportation
➢ Improved fire-resistant clothing
➢ Fire fighting equipment
➢ Watch towers and other fire detecting systems etc should be installed
LPG fire emergency handling:
What is LPG?
➢ Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a colourless odourless liquid which
readily evaporates into a gas. Normally an odourant has been added to it
to help detect leaks.
➢ LPG (either Butane or Propane), is generally stored and distributed as a
liquid and it is widely used for process and space heating, cooking and
automotive propulsion.
➢ LPG is non-corrosive but can dissolve lubricants, certain plastics or
synthetic rubbers.
6
 
What happens when LPG burns?
In the presence of sufficient oxygen, LPG burns to form water vapour and
carbon dioxide, as well as heat. If not enough oxygen is present for
complete combustion of LPG, incomplete propane combustion occurs
with water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide being produced
In which condition LPG cylinder can blast?
LPG cylinder can blast if it is continuously kept exposed to immense heat
or fire. In houses, LPG cylinder will not just get blasted on its own, first
there will be a LPG leak from the faulty regulator or leaky cylinder.
What you should do in case of gas leak.
➢ When a gas leak is suspected, extinguish all flames
➢ Close the LPG regulator and put the safety cap on the cylinder.
➢ Don’t light matches (or a lighter).
➢ Do not switch on/off any electrical switches or appliances.
What are the dangers of LPG?
➢ Inhaling LPG vapor at high concentration even for a short time can cause
fainting and/or death.
➢ Inhaling of LPG vapor can cause irritation in nose and throat, headache
and nausea, vomiting, dizziness and loss of consciousness.
➢ LPG may leak as a gas or a liquid. If the liquid leaks it will quickly evaporate
and form a relatively large cloud of gas which will drop to the ground, as
it is heavier than air. LPG vapors can run for long distances along the
ground and can collect in drains or basements. When the gas meets a
source of ignition it can burn or explode.
How LPG leakage can be detected?
➢ In this very simple test, you just coat all of the gas transmission gear
(pipes, hoses, valves, etc.) with soapy water and then pressurize the
system. If you see bubbles, you know you have a leak
➢ Ethyl Mercaptan is mixed with LPG to detect LPG leakage
➢ By using gas sensor or gas detector
7
 
How to stop a LPG fire:
➢ A small fire from a bottle may be smothered with a wet cloth or fire
extinguisher, only if it is possible to stop the leak
➢ Cool with water
➢ Always approach any fire or leak from upwind and using all protection
available
What precautions should be taken to avoid accident due to LPG leakage:
➢ Disconnect LPG regulator and affix safety cap on the cylinder when your
gas stove is not in use for prolonged period.
➢ Always store the LPG cylinder in an upright position and away from other
combustible and flammable materials.
➢ Check for gas leaks regularly by applying soap solution on cylinder joints
Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ A vapor cloud explosion occurs when a large quantity of flammable vapor
or gas is released, mixes with air.
➢ Liquefied gases and volatile liquids (ex: naphtha, petrol) can very easily
change phase from liquid to vapor if exposed to ambient conditions, the
vapors of these products are heavier than air (vapor density =1), which
implies that they can tend to settle down close to the ground. When the
quantity of vapor generated is large and it accumulates, such
accumulations are known as “vapor clouds”.
Types of Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
➢ Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
An explosion occurs in an open air which results from the ignition of
flammable gas. UVCE results from the accidental release of flammable gas
or liquid.
Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
 
A confined vapor explosion occurs in a confined place (vessels, pipe,
building, pit etc.). The peak pressures of CVCE are much higher than that of
UVCE.
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVE) :
➢ The phenomena of BLEVE is very different from VCE. BLEVE involves
sudden, violent rupture of a container that holds superheated liquid.
➢ The cause of a rupture of a pressurised container may be either due to
thermal stresses or due to mechanical stresses, or due to structural fault
in the material of construction.
➢ However, a majority of BLEVE cases have occurred due to overheating
of pressurised containers.


 
 
Class Notes
Natural disaster including fire disaster:
Drought:
Normally a dry weather in that area where rainfall is normally present.
Types:
➢ Meteorological drought
➢ Hydrological drought
➢ Agricultural drought
Causes:
➢ Abnormally low rainfall
➢ High population
➢ Winds carrying continental rather than oceanic air mass
Effect of drought:
➢ Drought causes hunger, malnutrition and scarcity of drinking water and
also changes the quality of water.
➢ Drought causes widespread crop failure leading to acute shortage of food
and adversely affects human and live-stock population.
➢ Worst situation of drought causes desertification.
➢ Drought increases the degradation of natural resources.
➢ Drought causes large migration of people.
Drought management:
➢ Rain water harvesting system.
➢ Construction of reservoirs to improve ground water level.
➢ Modern irrigation technology (drip irrigation) is very useful to conserve
water.
➢ Afforestation activities also improve the potential of water in the drought
area.  
 
➢ Drought planning: Record of earlier drought has been kept and areas can
be subdivided according to this.
Cyclone:
Atmospheric system characterised by rapid inward circulation of airmasses
accompanied by stormy destructive weather.
Cause:
➢ The water vaporizes and it absorbs heat from the surroundings
➢ Water vapor rises into the atmosphere where it cools down. When it
changes back into liquid the heat is released into the air
➢ The warm air tends to rise and causes a drop in pressure.
➢ The air moves from surrounding high pressure to low pressure area.
➢ The cycle is repeated and this leads to the formation of low pressure
surrounded by high-speed winds.
Effects:
➢ Trees, building collapse killing many people.
➢ Cause prolonged rainfall and may cause flood.
➢ Block railways and roads and telephone communication system.
Management:
➢ Government warns about the cyclone when it is known to attack.
➢ Special warnings are given to ports, frisherman, farmers.
➢ General people can get warning from cyclone warning centres.
Landslide:
Downward movement of soil under gravity is called landslide.
Cause:
➢ Excess rainfall
➢ Earthquake can cause landslides  
 
➢ Volcanic eruption can trigger landslides
➢ Deforestation
➢ Construction of buildings and mining
Effects:
➢ Brings damage to property and causes loss to the economy of a country
➢ Cause damages to buildings, roads, places of leisure
➢ Loss of life
➢ Causes significant change in the landscape of Earth surface
Management:
➢ Planting vegetation
➢ Closely packed nails are drilled and routed into the soil
➢ Retaining walls are the structures made of wood, stones, concrete block,
Prevent erosion and movement of slope
Avalanche:
A massive quantity of snow, ice etc. that become loose and comes down with
huge speed from a mountain is known as avalanche.
Cause:
➢ Heavy snowfall
➢ Heavy wind
➢ High temperature
➢ Earthquakes
➢ Movements or vibrations produced by
machines and explosives
➢ Deforestation
Effect:
➢ Can completely destroy buildings and other constructions
➢ Can completely disconnect mountain areas from the rest of the world. 3
 
➢ The railways and roads have become closed due to the damage caused
by the avalanche
➢ Can completely destroy the crop causing a heavy economic loss for the
farm
➢ Cause great damage to property and life
➢ Can disrupt the flow of a river or displace water from a lake
Management:
➢ Plant groupings of trees on hillsides, scattered enough to slow down and
break up any snow flow from above
➢ Build a large fence high on a mountaintop to help balancing the snow
➢ Use large stones. Place large wedges of stone below the mountaintop and
above the basin into which the avalanche would fall. The stone wedges
help keep snow in place
➢ Forecasting
Volcanic Eruption:
A volcanic eruption occurs when hot materials from the Earth's interior are
thrown out of a volcano. Lava, rocks, dust, and gas compounds are some of these
ejections that occur from volcano.
Causes:
➢ Volcanic eruption fundamentally come down to a pressure change within
the volcano which forces the magma to overflow the chamber it is held in
➢ The most common type of eruption is caused by the movement of
tectonic plates
➢ When one plate is pushed under the other the magma, sediment and
seawater is forced into the chamber which eventually overflows and the
volcano erupts spreading lava into the sky.
Effects:
➢ The volcanic ashes spreads and affects the respiratory system, eyes and
skin
➢ Produce death and injuries  
➢ Produces transport and communication problems
➢ Leads to collapse of buildings
➢ Deterioration of water quality
➢ Damages crop, and vegetation is destroyed
Management:
➢ Use goggles and wear eyeglasses instead of contact lenses
➢ Use a dust mask or hold a damp cloth over your face to help with
breathing
➢ Stay away from areas downwind from the volcano to avoid volcanic ash
➢ Stay indoors until the ash has settled unless there is a danger of the roof
collapsing
➢ Listen to alerts
➢ Follow evacuation orders from local authorities
Forest Fire:
Can be described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or
burning of plants in a natural environment such as a forest, grassland etc.
Natural Causes:
➢ Lightning
➢ Spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves
Man-made causes:
➢ Agricultural activities like burning grass
➢ Lighting of fires in restricted areas
➢ Hunting activities
➢ Burning of wastes.
➢ Short-circuit of power lines passing through forests
5
 
Effects:
➢ Causes hazard to life and property
➢ Loss of nitrogen capturing bacteria reduce the fertility of soil
➢ If fire removes active vegetation then it causes increase of soil erosion due
to heavy rainfall
➢ Burn and damage vegetation communities, such as rainforest that take
hundreds of years to recover.
➢ Spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away
Management:
➢ Communication network of wireless system/ satellite network
➢ Can be controlled by spraying water by using aero planes
➢ Effective transportation
➢ Improved fire-resistant clothing
➢ Fire fighting equipment
➢ Watch towers and other fire detecting systems etc should be installed
LPG fire emergency handling:
What is LPG?
➢ Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a colourless odourless liquid which
readily evaporates into a gas. Normally an odourant has been added to it
to help detect leaks.
➢ LPG (either Butane or Propane), is generally stored and distributed as a
liquid and it is widely used for process and space heating, cooking and
automotive propulsion.
➢ LPG is non-corrosive but can dissolve lubricants, certain plastics or
synthetic rubbers.
6
 
What happens when LPG burns?
In the presence of sufficient oxygen, LPG burns to form water vapour and
carbon dioxide, as well as heat. If not enough oxygen is present for
complete combustion of LPG, incomplete propane combustion occurs
with water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide being produced
In which condition LPG cylinder can blast?
LPG cylinder can blast if it is continuously kept exposed to immense heat
or fire. In houses, LPG cylinder will not just get blasted on its own, first
there will be a LPG leak from the faulty regulator or leaky cylinder.
What you should do in case of gas leak.
➢ When a gas leak is suspected, extinguish all flames
➢ Close the LPG regulator and put the safety cap on the cylinder.
➢ Don’t light matches (or a lighter).
➢ Do not switch on/off any electrical switches or appliances.
What are the dangers of LPG?
➢ Inhaling LPG vapor at high concentration even for a short time can cause
fainting and/or death.
➢ Inhaling of LPG vapor can cause irritation in nose and throat, headache
and nausea, vomiting, dizziness and loss of consciousness.
➢ LPG may leak as a gas or a liquid. If the liquid leaks it will quickly evaporate
and form a relatively large cloud of gas which will drop to the ground, as
it is heavier than air. LPG vapors can run for long distances along the
ground and can collect in drains or basements. When the gas meets a
source of ignition it can burn or explode.
How LPG leakage can be detected?
➢ In this very simple test, you just coat all of the gas transmission gear
(pipes, hoses, valves, etc.) with soapy water and then pressurize the
system. If you see bubbles, you know you have a leak
➢ Ethyl Mercaptan is mixed with LPG to detect LPG leakage
➢ By using gas sensor or gas detector
7
 
How to stop a LPG fire:
➢ A small fire from a bottle may be smothered with a wet cloth or fire
extinguisher, only if it is possible to stop the leak
➢ Cool with water
➢ Always approach any fire or leak from upwind and using all protection
available
What precautions should be taken to avoid accident due to LPG leakage:
➢ Disconnect LPG regulator and affix safety cap on the cylinder when your
gas stove is not in use for prolonged period.
➢ Always store the LPG cylinder in an upright position and away from other
combustible and flammable materials.
➢ Check for gas leaks regularly by applying soap solution on cylinder joints
Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ A vapor cloud explosion occurs when a large quantity of flammable vapor
or gas is released, mixes with air.
➢ Liquefied gases and volatile liquids (ex: naphtha, petrol) can very easily
change phase from liquid to vapor if exposed to ambient conditions, the
vapors of these products are heavier than air (vapor density =1), which
implies that they can tend to settle down close to the ground. When the
quantity of vapor generated is large and it accumulates, such
accumulations are known as “vapor clouds”.
Types of Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE) :
➢ Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
➢ Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE)
An explosion occurs in an open air which results from the ignition of
flammable gas. UVCE results from the accidental release of flammable gas
or liquid.
Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE)
8
 
A confined vapor explosion occurs in a confined place (vessels, pipe,
building, pit etc.). The peak pressures of CVCE are much higher than that of
UVCE.
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVE) :
➢ The phenomena of BLEVE is very different from VCE. BLEVE involves
sudden, violent rupture of a container that holds superheated liquid.
➢ The cause of a rupture of a pressurised container may be either due to
thermal stresses or due to mechanical stresses, or due to structural fault
in the material of construction.
➢ However, a majority of BLEVE cases have occurred due to overheating
of pressurised containers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
9


 
 
Class Notes
Disaster:
A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning
of a community or society and causes human, material, economic and
environmental losses.
Types of disaster:
Disaster can be divided into two types:
➢ Natural disaster
➢ Man-made disasters
Classification of natural disaster:
1
 
Classification of man-made disaster:
Problems associated with disaster:
The common problems associated with disasters are:
➢ Death and disabilities
➢ Spread of communicable disease
➢ Population displacements
➢ Climate change
➢ Problem in water supply and sanitization
➢ Damage to health infrastructure
➢ Psychological reaction
➢ Environmental degradation
➢ Economic loss
2
 
Disaster risk /threats:
The potential disaster losses, in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and
services, which could occur to a particular community or a society over some
specified future time period.
➢ Traditional disaster threats: Most of the old disaster threats still exist like
earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, wildfires, floods,
landslides, and drought. The man-made ones like fire, explosions and
other major accidents which cause heavy human casualties, economic
and social losses. These same traditional threats have increased as
increase in population has force people to settle in disaster prone areas
which increase the impact of disaster.
➢ Modern disaster threats: These consist of manmade events like
hijacking, terrorism, civil war, and conflict with conventional arms as well
as chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological weapons. Increased social
violence has drastically affected many nations and communities.
General effects of disaster:
Disasters affect communities in multiple ways-
➢ Can cause an unexpected number of deaths and wounded or sick people
that exceed the local resources capacity to respond and require external
aid.
➢ Can destroy health infrastructure not only affecting the immediate
response, but also disrupting preventive activities, leading to long-term
consequences with increased morbidity and mortality.
➢ Can have adverse effects on the environment that will increase the risk
for infectious transmissible diseases and environmental hazards. This will
impact morbidity, premature death, and future quality of life.
➢ Can affect the psychological and social behavior of the community.
➢ Can cause shortages of food, with severe nutritional consequences.
➢ Can cause large movements of the population, to areas where health
services might not be able to handle the excessive requirement.
3
 
Earthquake:
It is the sudden shaking of the earth crust. The impact of an earthquake is
sudden and there is hardly any warning, making it impossible to predict.
Cause of Earthquake:
The earth’s crust is a rocky layer of varying
thickness ranging from a depth of about 10 km
under the sea to 65 km under the continents. The
crust is not one piece but consists of portions
called ‘plates’ which vary in size from a few
hundred to thousands of kilometers. The ‘theory
of plate tectonics’ holds that the plates ride up on
the more mobile mantle, and are driven by some
yet unconfirmed mechanisms, perhaps thermal
convection currents. When these plates contact
each other, stress arises in the crust.
Fig. 1: Crust, mantle and core of earth.
4
 
Fig. 2: Different plates of earth.
Stresses can be classified according to the type of movement along the plate’s
boundaries:
a) Pulling away from each other,
b) Pushing against one another and
c) Sliding sideways relative to each other.
All these movements are associated with earthquakes.
Fig. 3: Different plate movement
5
 
Different types of plate movement:
Divergent: Where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each
other.
Example: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which splits nearly the entire Atlantic Ocean
north to south, is probably the best known and most-studied example of a
divergent-plate boundary. The rate of spreading along the Mid Atlantic Ridge
averages about 2.5 centimeters per year (cm/yr), or 25 km in a million years.
Convergent: Where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.
Example: Ring of Fire and The Himalayan Mountain range dramatically
demonstrates one of the most visible and spectacular consequences of plate
tectonics.
Transformational: Where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates
slide horizontally past each other.
Example: The San Andreas fault slicing through the Carrizo Plain in the Temblor
Range east of the city of San Luis Obispo.
Epicenter:
The areas of stress at plate boundaries which release accumulated energy by
slipping or rupturing are known as ‘faults’.The point of rupture is called the
‘focus’ and may be located near the surface or deep below it. The point on the
surface directly above the focus is termed as the ‘epicenter’ of the earthquake.
Fig. 4: Pictorial presentation Focus, fault and epicentre.
6
 
General characteristics of earthquake:
Earthquake vibrations occur in a variety of frequencies and velocities. The actual
rupture process may last for a few seconds to as long as one minute for a major
earthquake. The ground shaking is caused by ‘body waves’ and ‘surface wave’.
➢ Body waves (P and S waves) penetrate the body of the earth, vibrating
fast. ‘P’ waves travel about 6 kilometers per hour and ‘S’ waves travel with
a speed of 4 kilometers per hour.
➢ Surface waves: Vibrate the ground horizontally and vertically. These long
period waves cause swaying of tall buildings and slight waves motion in
bodies of water even at great distances from the epicenter.
Fig. 5: Different types of body and surface waves.
Earthquake can be classified into three types based on focal depth:
➢ Deep: 300 to 700 kms from the earth surface
➢ Medium: 60 to 300 kms
➢ Shallow: less than 60 kms
The deep focus earthquakes are rarely destructive because by the time the
waves reach the surface the impact reduces. Shallow focus earthquakes are
more common and are extremely damaging because of their proximity to the
surface.
7
 
Measuring earthquake:
Earthquake magnitude or amount of energy released is determined by the use
of a ‘seismograph’ which is an instrument that continuously records ground
vibration. The scale was developed by a seismologist named Charles Richter. An
earthquake with a magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale releases 30 times the
energy than one with 6.5 magnitudes. An earthquake of magnitude 3 is the
smallest normally felt by humans. The largest earthquake that has been
recorded with this system is 9.25 (Alaska, 1969 and Chile, 1960).
Fig. 6: Picture of seismograph.
Adverse effect of earthquake:
➢ Loss of life and property: Damage occurs to human settlement,
buildings, structures and infrastructure, especially bridges, elevated
roads, railways, water towers, pipelines, electrical generating facilities.
➢ Landslides and avalanche: Earthquakes can produce slope instability
leading to landslides and avalanche.
➢ Tsunamis: When earthquakes occur under sea it causes tsunami. Most
destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or
more.
➢ Floods: These are secondary effects of earthquakes, as they may occur if
dams are damaged.
8
 
➢ Fires: Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas
lines.
➢ Destabilization: It destabilizes ecological and social structure of nation.
Essential services also got disrupted.
Distribution pattern of Earthquake in India:
India falls quite prominently on the 'Alpine -Himalayan Belt'. This belt is the line
along which the Indian plate meets the Eurasian plate. This being a convergent
plate, the Indian plate is thrusting underneath the Eurasian plate at a speed of
5 cm per year. The movement gives rise to tremendous stress which keeps
accumulating in the rocks and is released from time to time in the form of
earthquakes.
Fig. 7: Seismic zone map of India.
9
 
List of significant earthquakes in India:
Management and mitigation methods:
Earthquakes cannot be stopped or predicted accurately but certain
management techniques could be followed to minimize its effect:
1) Construction of buildings which can tolerate earthquakes.
This can be done by:
a) To keep pads or floats beneath buildings.
b) Wooden house to be preferred in earthquake prone area.
2) Soil testing should be done so that stability of building is assured.
3) Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them
more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to
earthquakes.
4) Preparedness and safe building construction can reduce extent of damage
and loss.
5) Establishment of GPS station in the earthquake prone region to assess future  crustal movements.  
Fig. 8: Effect of soil type during earthquake and essential requirement in a Massonry building.


 
 
Class Notes
Pre disaster contingency plan:
A process, in anticipation of potential crises, of developing strategies,
arrangements and procedures to address the humanitarian needs of those
adversely affected by crises.
Identifying and assessing contingencies:
➢ Disaster contingency planning starts with considering the types of
situations that can disrupt the current scenarios in your county.
Identifying and assessing common disasters is essential for planning how
to respond and minimize the effect.
➢ Identify the top five most probable problems that might occur regardless
of whether the event has ever actually occurred. Once these events are
identified, the next step involves developing an action plan specific to
each emergency scenario and establishing procedures to be followed.
Key elements of a contingency plan:
1. Response strategy: Based on the scenarios a response strategy is developed.
The response strategy links the scenarios and the subsequent plans.
2. Implementation plan: While the response strategy defines what is to be
achieved, the implementation plan defines how it is going to be achieved. Thus,
the implementation plan defines how these programmes will be implemented
and the steps required.
3. Operational support plan: The operational support plan sets out the
administrative, logistical and other support requirements of a response.
4. Preparedness plan: Almost inevitably during the planning process, actions to
improve preparedness for both specific and general crises are identified. In
some exercises, these actions become the focus of planning efforts because they
can have the biggest potential impact on actual responses.
5. Budget: Finally, a budget is developed, both for preparedness and for the
actual responses that have been planned.
1
 
Sample contingency plan:
Benefits of contingency plan:
Contingency planning can bring significant benefits:
➢ It helps identify and priorities preparedness activities.
➢ It also helps maintain and improve the coordination mechanisms that are
so important in an emergency.
➢ Contingency plans linked to early warning systems can help translate early
warning into early action.
Capacity development and training:
It is the combination of all the strengths and resources available within a
community, society or organization that can reduce the level of risk or the
effects of a disaster.
These actions can include:
➢ Resource development,
➢ Financial management,
➢ Organizational learning,
➢ Leadership,
➢ Development
2
 
Various elements of capacity building:
➢ Education on disaster prevention and response: It includes educating the
vulnerable communities as well as the population of state to the possible
hazards and their impacts in their area. It also covers the preventive
measures and response strategies in case of a disaster strike to the
surface.
➢ Training to vulnerable communities: It includes imparting the basic
training of disaster management to the volunteers and local people. It
aims to teach the people that how they can survive and help others.
➢ Collaboration with relief agencies: It includes the collaboration between
different government as well as non-government agencies involved in the
relief work through the state for all kind of disasters.
➢ Household preparation: it covers the preparation of keeping all valuable
items in waterproof bags, keeping minimum clothing, and being ready
with a plan for evacuation.
➢ Understanding warning/de-warning messages: Dissemination of early
warning message to the vulnerable communities is the next task which
can be achieved through better training and involvement of all
stakeholders.
➢ First aid preparedness: Along with all necessary things it’s important to
have a well-stocked first aid kit to deal with minor accidents and injuries.
Explosion:
An explosion is a sudden and violent release of energy. The violence of the
explosion depends on the rate at which energy is released.
Effect of explosion:
➢ Blast damage
➢ Thermal effects (Fire Ball)
➢ Missile damage
➢ Ground shock
➢ Crater
➢ Injury
3
 
Explosion protection:
➢ Separation
➢ Flame arresters
➢ Automatic isolation
➢ Automatic explosion suppression
Hazardous materials Spillage/Release:
A natural hazard can trigger a chemical release. When the release is the result of
a technological accident it is called a ‘Natech’ (natural-hazard-triggered
technological) event. Natech events can exacerbate the impact of a natural
disaster on the environment and on human health because of the release of
hazardous materials, fires and explosions.
Examples of vulnerable sites for chemical release caused by natural hazards
and examples of types of chemicals that might be released:
4
 
Bhopal gas tragedy:
The Bhopal gas tragedy (commonly referred to as Bhopal disaster) was a gas leak
incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial accidents.
It occurred on the night of 2nd–3 rd December 1984 at the Union Carbide India
Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals from the plant
resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people.
Plant production process:
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3)
which reacts with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
5
6
 
Factors leading to gas leak:
➢ Storing MIC in large tanks and filling beyond recommended levels,
➢ Poor maintenance,
➢ Failure of several safety systems,
➢ Safety systems being switched off to save money—including the MIC tank
refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity,
➢ Plant location close to a densely populated area.
The devastation:
➢ The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of
Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas
release.
➢ Others estimate 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more
have since died from gas related diseases.
Poisoning effect of heavy metals on human health:
Metal
Source
Effect / disease
Mercury
Mining and refining industry,
pesticides and fungicides etc.
Numbness of limbs, tongue,
and lips, mental disorder,
kidney damage, Minamata
disease.
7
 
Cadmium
Manufacturing of alloy.
Electroplating. Nuclear reactor,
cadmium – nickel batteries etc.
Destruction of red blood
cell, bone marrow disorder,
heart and kidney damage .
Itai- Itai disease.
Lead
Mining and refining, Automobile
emission, electrical storage battery,
Paints, Pigments, Agricultural
industry.
Liver and kidney damage,
mental retardation, Genetic
modification.
Arsenic
Fungicides, pesticides, Agricultural
industry, glass industry, natural rocks
and soils
Skin cancer, Liver cirrhosis,
Lung cancer, bone marrow
damage.
Family disaster plans:
Four steps to Safety
1. Find out what could happen to you
2. Create a Family Disaster Plan
3. Complete your checklists
4. Practice and maintain your plan  
 
❑ Find out what could happen to you:
➢ What type of disasters are most likely to happen in your community?
➢ How should you prepare for each?
➢ Does the community have an public warning system?
➢ What about animals after a disaster?
➢ If you care for elderly or disabled, how would you care for them.
❑ Create a family disaster plan:
➢ Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for
disaster
➢ Develop an emergency communication plan
➢ Ask an out-of-town relative or friend to be your "family contact."
➢ Discuss what to do if authorities ask you to evacuate.
➢ Be familiar with escape routes
➢ Plan how to take care of your pets
❑ Complete your checklists:
➢ Post by phones emergency telephone numbers (fire, police,
ambulance, etc.).
➢ Teach all responsible family members how and when to turn off the
water, gas, and electricity at the main switches or valves.
➢ Check if you have adequate insurance coverage
➢ Get training from the fire department on how to use your fire
extinguisher, and show family members where extinguishers are
kept.
➢ Stock emergency supplies and assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit
➢ Keep a smaller Disaster Supplies Kit in the trunk of your car
➢ Keep a portable, battery-operated radio or television and extra
batteries.
➢ Take a Red Cross first aid box
➢ Plan home escape routes
➢ Find the safe places in your home for each type of disaster
➢ Make two photocopies of vital documents and keep the originals in a
safe deposit box. Keep one copy in a safe place in the house, and
give the second copy to an out-of-town friend or relative.
8
 
❑ Practice and maintain your plan:
➢ Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do,
meeting places, phone numbers, and safety rules.
➢ Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills at least twice a year
➢ Replace stored food every six months.
➢ Look at your fire extinguisher to ensure it is properly working.
❑Disaster supplies kit:
➢ A portable, battery-powered radio or television and extra batteries.
➢ Flashlight and extra batteries.
➢ First aid kit and first aid manual.
➢ Credit card and cash.
➢ An extra set of car keys.
➢ Matches in a waterproof container.
➢ Map of the area and phone numbers of places you could go.
Special needs, for example, prescription medicines and copies of
prescriptions, hearing aid batteries, spare wheelchair battery, spare
eyeglasses, or other physical needs.
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