NDMA’s Blue Book: Long Term Preparedness Measures to face cyclones

NDMA’s Blue Book: Long Term Preparedness Measures to face cyclones

Question : Cyclone Hud-Hud caused a lot of devastation when it struck the coast of AP in October 2014. Discuss the recent long term preparedness measures for such cyclones proposed by the Blue Book recently released by NDMA/National Disaster Management Authority

• The Blue Book has postulated best practices in management of cyclones

• Management of cyclones has been demarcated into three phases namely

- Pre Disaster Preparedness
- Response phase
- Post disaster recovery and reconstruction phase

• Blue Book also provides do’s and don’ts when a cyclone strikes



• These are structural measures which include construction of cyclone shelters,policy planning, capacity building and so on which need to be carried 2 to 12 months in advance. These include:

• Disaster management plans/DMPs at state and district level should be available for field personnel. DMPs could cover:

• District DMPs based on actual field requirements

• State DMPs associated with aggregated district requirements

• Both DMPs should include mitigation plan, incident response system etc

• State DMP is a planning tool while District DMP needs to be operational covering vulnerable areas, evacuation routes, shelter maps and alternative routes to shelters

• DDMP can contain:
- Work plan for teams
- Activity segmentation amidst team members
- Contacts of local community dealers
- Inter activity coordination and monitoring via identified official units

• DDMP should also highlight the role of PRIs in urban local bodies in procurement of essential resources

• Preparedness should be tested through mock drills, SHGs, NGOs and local community leaders

• Major towns and cities should also prepare City Disaster Management Plans in conjunction with

District plans

• State Disaster Response must be created and strengthened

• Fire services should be developed into response units which are multi-hazard with modern search and rescue tools and equipment

• Communication backup including satellite phones in the event of disruption of telecom network during the disaster

• Alternative mechanisms of electricity must be in place so that power outages can be dealt with

• Adequate number of cyclone shelters should be created in areas prone to them

• PWD should take inspection to ensure roads and infrastructure can handle the disaster

• NSS, NCC, NYK, student volunteers should be roped in for disaster management work along with NGOs

• Civil defence volunteers trained in shelter management and relief and coordination skills should be in place

Facts and Stats

• Indian seas are known as the deadliest basin for massive cyclones across the world
• Frequency of cyclones is more in Bay of Bengal as against the Arabian Sea
• Two seasons are there for formation of cyclonic storms namely :

- Pre Monsoon: April and May
- Post Monsoon: October to December

• As the monsoon penetrates into the inland, possibility of cyclone increases