Natural calamities & disaster management
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 01 2015 -
The recent earthquake that rocked Nepal killed over 5000 people.
The earthquake brought humongous tragedy to the Himalayan nation.
However, the exact extent of the destruction and loss of life was yet to be assessed as serious rescue and relief measures are afoot till now.
It has been reported that despite the efforts of the Nepalese Government, many of the affected areas in the rural regions are still waiting for relief measures.
The Government has established camps in Kathmandu city and many of the residents are spending the nights either on the street or in open spaces.
Though the physical destruction is all too palpable, there are also reports of growing unrest caused due to incompetence and neglect.
With aids arriving from the international communities, the Nepalese authorities are reported working overtime to tide over the post-quake cascading effect primarily determined by capabilities on disaster management.
With a tragedy of such magnitude in this developing Himalayan nation which also had witnessed series of political unrests in the recent past, what Nepal expects now is a sustained strategy to cope with not only the physical destruction but also its psychological impact.
Amidst the flurry of rescue and relief measures undertaken by the international communities, neighbouring countries have too played their parts.
The Government of India on April 29 had claimed that it has emerged as a leading nation in disaster response after swiftly directing its rescue and relief efforts in quake-struck Nepal.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that technology was extensively used by the country to respond to natural calamities.
He said 10,000- strong National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was ready to meet any situation round the clock in India where 58.6% of the land is prone to earthquake, 8.5% vulnerable to cyclone and 5% to floods.
The optimism of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs can only be well appreciated if the NDRF is truly geared up for any kind of response to calamities like the one witnessed in Nepal and parts of India.
However, as far as the assessment of damage was concerned, the Minister was quick on putting the responsibility to the State Governments as losses due to natural disasters are assessed by them.
Such kind of answers at least serves as an indirect warning that all States in India should be well prepared to face any eventualities.
Manipur is no exception as it falls within the Seismic Hazard Zone V, considered as Very High Damage Risk Zone in India.
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