NEED FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Natural Disasters are very frequent this days and it brings immense loss to lives and property. Not only that, it brings along with it unforgottable trauma, which ever remains memorable in the minds of the people. So, we should have pre-disaster managment policies to tackle this types of situations before, so that precious lives of our brothers and sisters of our planet can be saved in advance. I have tried to create a website only on Disaster management, where contributions from readers in the form of articles, letters are requested, so that we can put it on the website. In case, you have experienced a disaster, please do forward your experience in our e-mail address. Your experience can save the lives of some one else, facing similar situations in some other part of the world. Below is given an article on disasters and at the last, our website address. Please do have a look into it.

COSTS OF DISASTERS

From a rampage of broken houses, a child came out crying, with blood in her face. As the drops of blood poured down, drop by drop from that innocent soul, she suddenly discovered that she has become an orphan. With her tiny hands, she removed the bricks, to search her mom and dad. But Alas! they have become dearer to God. She has lost everything. From a distance, a soldier came and hold her tiny hands and took her to a shelter; meant for earthquake victims. Thanks to a local non-governmental Organisation. Alone she stood, looking at the horrendous picture of her worst nightmare, that became a reality. Everywhere, one looks, one can see the cries, the pain and the sufferings. She is one among them. A soul vitimized by a deadly richter of 7.2. She is not alone, but hundreds like her lost theirs identity. The question that will always bother her, is : Who is She ? A Child, with just a name. Rest lost in the rubbles of that broken city.

In another part of the world, people are busy, with statistics with pictorial diagrams of the number of deaths and living. News started showing the economic losses the nation had undergone… may be it amounted to 25$ billion, making the costliest disasters ever happened. Aids started to flow from all across of the world, as the news of the catastrophe spreads. But can any count the real value of these disasters? This are the qusetions which will ever remain evergreen. Does anyone has the cost for his/her mother? Does a bereaved mother have a cost for her own son or daughter ? Do a husband or wife have a cost value in terms of money about his/her soulmate. The answer will be obviously negative. Love and its bondings are not costs which can be counted. It’s very true that natural disasters are a potentially serious shock to economy but nevertheless, it is more shocking to lose their loved ones infront of them, in the journey of life. Helpless, they see the horrendous picture of their near and dear ones getting closer to death. The surviours with serious health conditions can see the thin red line existing between them and death, only to succumb to their injuries.

Can the child ever forget the trauma, that she had undergone, at such an early age? Can she ever live a normal life? Well this are the questions, which time can only answer. Time passes by and everyone forgets about the tragedy, only to be written in the pages of history. People forgets it, Media forgets it, Nation forgets it. It still remains fresh in the minds of the victims, who are still fighting to cope with the wildest trauma, they have ever faced in their lives………….

But the story doesnot stop here, History repeats itself,…. again a natural disaster strikes an area —- only to make our brothers and sisters in some other part of the world feel their worst nightmares.

This has made me to launch an website NATURAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT  (http://www.naturaldisastermanagement.com) which will stress the need for pre-disaster management plans and to save the lives much in advance. Experiences of persons, who have seen the disaster and have faced it, will be put on the net, so that, our brothers and sisters in some unknown place can get equipped by those experiences to face the natural disaster, without getting panicked. Policies are made, but i feel that it rarely reaches the masses. When a natural disaster strikes, people get panicked, not knowing what to do to save themselves from that natural disaster, they are prone to and causes secondary disasters. Respected Sir/mam/miss, this is just a honest effort to make our dream of a disaster free world; a success. It’s not just a planet, it’s a home and it’s our duty to save the lives of our brothers and sisters from natural disasters. Then a day will come, when we will together make a beautiful world for all of us, where we all live in peace.

Please do also suggest me about what to include or what modification has to be done, to make the website more intereactive. It’s not my website, but it’s the people’s website. I hope that you will give your valuable suggestions . Thanks a lot for taking your time and reading the letter.

Lets join hands to make a Safer, Stronger , Greener and a Disaster Free World.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Mainak Majumdar

Assistant Director (Disaster Management) in India’s Industry and Business organization at New Delhi

Environmentalist and Specialist in Disaster Management

(Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing)

Disaster Management Consultant