Edison Thennavan
Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
Ganapathy Pattukandan Ganapathy
School of Civil Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
Chandrasekaran S.
School of Civil Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
Ajay Rajawat
Space Application Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad 380015, Gujarat, India
Keywords: Landslide, rainfall, threshold, probability, western ghats, the Nilgiris
Abstract
Rainfall is one of the major causes of landslides/landslips across the globe. The fatalities and damage caused by rainfall induced landslides increased in recent days. The Nilgiris district in Western Ghats part of Tamil Nadu state is one of the very high to severe landslide hazard-prone areas of India. The present study is focused on estimation of rainfall thresholds and the temporal probability of landslides in different landslide-prone slopes in part of The Nilgiris district. The landslide prone areas identified in earlier research are used for the present study. The landslide locations data for the years 1824 to 2018 were collected and a spatial database on landslide inventory was created. A detailed inventory carried out on the 2009 landslides were analysed and used for the calculation of rainfall thresholds. Monthly and Yearly Rainfall data for the years 2000 to 2011 were collected for 37 rainguage stations from various government agencies. Based on the quality and quantity of data, the rainfall thresholds for 14 different locations were estimated viz., Aderly, Coonoor, Coonoor Railway, Governor Sola, Ooty (Near Botanical Garden), Runnymedu, Burliar where the probability of landslide occurrences is high. The temporal probability of landslide was calculated for four years viz., 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. The present study can be used as a key to develop an early warning system in The Nilgiris District.
Disasters and exemplified vulnerabilities in a cramped Public Health Infrastructure in India
Baljeet Kaur
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
Keywords: Disasters, vulnerabilities, public health infrastructure, India
Abstract
The varied connotations to the term ‘Development’ are been channeled through perception. The perception of a political stakeholder differs from that of a rich-businessman, and again, from those who are lesser endowed. There is a pressing need for the government, to identify and maintain checks and balances between exploitative and responsive governance. The extension of the healthcare sector is an integral part of this holistic growth, while the customer base has largely financed the industry; the obligation on the hand of government needs to increase. The out of pocket spending by patients covers the finances of the sector by 64.2%. (NSSO, 2014 report). The lesser amount of government spending in the healthcare system is a drawback and has effects on the Industry in a negative frame in a large manner, only 28.6% of Total Health Expenditure is financed by Govt. of India and therefore, calls for the need for better financing mechanisms in the country in the form of insurance schemes and a smoother flow of the already existing policies and frameworks. In the debate of private v/s public hospitals, the paper presents reasons that create a barrier on effective utilization of benefits provided, and further constructs the viewpoint that though expensive, private healthcare services provide more assurance to the population in general. The over-crowding of these public institutions in times of epidemics or otherwise is a self-indication of the dearth of infrastructure and the kind of impacts the interventions has had in terms of alleviating such grievances. The several debates that I have tried to analyze and interpret include those of the intersections the individuals of the country and the lawmakers have crossed in terms of developmental projects and whether these promises hold true in terms of concrete reality. The depth of understanding and entering these discussions is only a gateway to more pertinent questions of whether the present infrastructure has dwindled due to disasters in the past? Are we actually moving to building resiliency or is it just a mock-up present on paper only? The paper reflects qualitatively on several government reports on health and the state of the hospitals presented within various contexts of Disasters in the past. The analysis of the National Rural Health Mission, National Urban Health Mission and various others programs initiated by the Government of India and the scope that it has to remove the present day struggled faced by an over-crowded and pressurized public sector healthcare structure.
Environmental Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction at Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna Nigeria
Abdullahi Hussaini
Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna
Keywords: Environmental Planning, Disaster Risk Reduction, Airport, ICAO, FAAN
Abstract
The compatibility of an airport with its environs can be achieved by proper environmental control and planning of the airport, control of pollution-generating sources, and land use planning of the area surrounding the airport are paramount if disasters are to be averted or reduced to the acceptable standard. This study was carried out to assess the compliance to standards of the activities relating to environmental control and planning at Kaduna International Airport as contained in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other Airport regulations Guidelines. The objectives including assessing the environmental impact associated with aviation activities, assessing environmental consequence and control measures and assessing land use planning at the Airport. The Airport Environmental Management Handbook, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Hand book, ICAO Documents, Maps and other relevant information were consulted. Questionnaires were distributed and percentage distribution was used in analyzing the objectives. Results from this study has shown an acceptable level of compliance in Environmental Planning by the relevant authority of Kaduna International Airport. The results from this study will be useful to FAAN, ICAO and other relevant Agencies in enhancing Environmental Control and Planning at Airports for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Private security preparedness for disasters caused by natural and anthropogenic hazards
Vladimir M. Cvetkovic
The University of Belgrade, Faculty of Security Studies, Gospodara Vučića 50, Belgrade, Serbia
Bojan Janković
University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, Belgrade, Serbia;
Keywords: disaster, preparedness, private security, natural and anthropogenic hazards, Serbia
Abstract
The subject of the research is to examine the private security preparedness for disasters caused by natural and anthropogenic hazards. In addition, the relationship between preparedness levels and various demographic and socio-economic factors is examined. The survey was anonymous with 4-point Likert scale questions (1- I absolutely disagree; 4- I absolutely agree). It was conducted at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade, during the initial course for obtaining a private security license and the course for combating domestic violence were attended by members of the police from all over Serbia. Data for the study were collected from a total of 178 members of private security. The research was conducted from April to June 2019. Within the first part of the questionnaire, there were questions concerning demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents (gender, age, education, marital status, working experience, served military status), while the second part contained questions about the p the private security preparedness for disasters caused by natural and anthropogenic hazards (e.g perception of the degree of responsibility due to the type of work performed in case of natural and anthropogenic disasters, perception of the level of preparedness of a private insurance company, knowledge of safety procedures for disaster response, evaluation of the response efficiency of first responders, etc.). The results of the multivariate regressions of preparedness subscale showed that variables (e.g., gender, age, education, marital status) were not significantly affected by preparedness.
