posted by bhawna bhardwaj.

1. The outcome of Asia's high rate of urbanization has been the expansion of urban
populations into geographic areas, which are frequently affected by disaster events. The
result is an increased vulnerability of populations and infrastructure.
Disaster mitigation measures such as
 Earthquake and cyclone-resistant buildings and infrastructure,
 Flood and landslide control measures,
 Incorporation of disaster vulnerability into land-use planning, and
 Introduction of regulatory measures in industrialized zones
have rarely been attempted in most Asian countries. Crosscutting issues, which are
directly influencing the vulnerability of urban population, such as rapid urbanization,
environmental degradation, climate variations, etc., also have contributed negatively to
national economies and infrastructure.
Some other such widespread issues are air pollution, shortages in water supply and
power generation, destruction of utilities such as power and telecommunication systems,
and to lesser magnitude, social conflicts. However there is opportunity for exploitation of
higher growth rates associated with urbanization for risk reduction. Increased resources
could be made available to integrate risk mitigation into urban planning and city
management, generating preparedness and emergency management capacity in urban
communities. The ultimate aim of UDRM is to manage and enhance the capacity of cities
to reduce disaster risk in an atmosphere of sustainable development, while enhancing
the quality of life of urban populations.
Activities undertaken by the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) over a
period of eight years, have demonstrated the effectiveness of mitigation measures in
reducing natural disaster vulnerability. Demonstration projects in nine countries,
information dissemination and networking activities, and the Regional training courses
on Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction, Flood Risk mitigation, Technological Risk
Reduction and Urban Disaster Mitigation have convincingly brought to light the
opportunities for high impact interventions. City managers and elected municipal officials
have responded to initial project activities in selected cities by matching funds to project
activities and pledges to incorporate disaster vulnerability considerations into new
building and zoning regulations. Change in the professional practices in urban land use
planning, building code appliances through the demonstrated commitment of the
professionals, construction sector stakeholders and development practitioners also
contributed to the success of the program. The activities have also emphasized the
challenges of institutionalizing disaster vulnerability awareness at all levels.
Currently a significant demand is apparent for Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM),
not only in AUDMP target countries but also in other countries in the region. The region
demands for expansion of AUDMP activities to improve response, preparedness
capacities as well as long-term mitigation activities to reduce the vulnerability. Since the
responsibility of implementing and linking diverse activities throughout a vast and
diverse region has been bestowed on ADPC, the center has recognized the importance of
enhancing the scope of AUDMP through theme action focused on Urban Risk
Management. Management. This will become a permanent focus area of ADPC for future
endeavor. UDRM theme will continue to facilitate interventions for promotion of local and
traditional practices, research and technological transfer, replication of best practices,
promotion of innovative solutions, development of, information products to capture
experiences for dissemination as well as training and capacity building.
The issue of Urban Disaster risk reduction is based on the success of initiatives
undertaken at regional level as well as national to grassroots or community levels with

2. the participation of all stakeholders including vulnerable communities. ADPC wishes to
focus on UDRM at the regional level while strengthening the national level institutions
through building their capacity.The UDRM interventions are directly related to other
urban issues such as governance, poverty alleviation, gender sensitivity, protection of
natural resource and environment etc. ADPC believes that by linking them together will
enrich the endeavor
VISION
Sufferings of inhabitants, economic and material losses as a result of disasters are
prevented, minimized or mitigated while preserving the gains and benefits of the
urbanization for building safer urban communities.
MISSION
Urban disaster risk is managed and mitigated by creating an enabling environment
through building the capacity of stakeholders, use of information on hazard potential,
facilitating structural and non-structural interventions and effective emergency response
planning process.
PURPOSE
 To create reactive, receptive, and sensitive urban communities in the region
capable of undertaking organized approaches to mitigate and manage disaster
risks by transferring information, technical knowledge and skills.
 To advocate for socially acceptable and compatible policies with farsighted
community values, legal mechanisms and increased investments to have a
effective disaster risk. mitigation mechanisms in place with the view to build safer
urban communities in the region
 To become a resource center on urban disaster risk management and a
recognized clearing house of information on the subject area.

3. Urban Cities and Disaster Management
18th January, 2022.
Figure 2: No Copyright Infringement Intended
Context:
 Recent unexpected heavy rains in Chennai conclude a season of monsoon floods
and urban paralysis, highlighting the risk of extreme weather events.
Urban City and disaster management
 Disaster Vulnerability in India: According to the National Disaster Management
Agency, about 12% of India's total land area is flooded, 68% is prone to droughts,
landslides and avalanches, and 58.6% of land is hit by earthquakes.
 Tsunamis and hurricanes are common phenomena on 5,700 km of the 7,516 km
coastline. This vulnerable situation makes India one of the most vulnerable
countries.
NITI Aayog's Cities Report:

4.  In a report on India's urban planning capacity reform, NITI Aayog cites the Covid 19
pandemic as an insightful moment highlighting the urgent need for all cities to
become healthy cities by 2030.
 There is no doubt that climate impacts will have more fundamental and
sustainable impacts on cities.
 It encourages 500 priority cities to participate in the competitive framework and
introduce participatory planning tools, surveys and focus group discussions to
assess the needs and desires of citizens.
Consequences:
 Uprooting of trees: Extensive tree uprooting caused by hurricanes is affecting the
already depleted green coverings of urban areas. Disasters in densely populated
urban areas can cause a lot of human casualties.
 Collapse of Infrastructure: Dangerous infrastructure that collapses in an
earthquake or tsunami kills more than any other natural disaster such as a
tornado or storm.
 Economic loss: The economic loss of a disaster that damages infrastructure can be
enormous. The World Bank estimates that annual disaster losses are already close
to US $ 520 billion and that disasters put up to 24 million people in poverty each year.
Causes:
 Theme Planning and Municipal Issues: Less than half of all cities have master
plans, and even these are informally dominated as both influential elites and poor
invasions of commons such as wetlands and riverbanks. increase.
 Low devolution of Power: Neglect of local councils, lack of power, and failure of
local government development often cause paralysis of cities during extreme weather.
 Invasion of natural space: The number of wetlands decreased from 644 in 1956 to
123 in 2018, and the current green coverage is only 9%, ideally at least 33%.
 Reliance on Market Power: The invasion of significant commons reflects the
extreme reliance on market power to provide affordable urban housing. Most
suburban housing investments are government-approved floor plans, as
suburban Panchayat has little capacity or funding to create basic infrastructure
such as water, sanitation and roads.

5.  Inadequate drainage infrastructure: crowded drainage, unregulated development,
ignorance of natural terrain and hydrogeomorphology make urban floods a man-
made disaster. Cities like Hyderabad and Mumbai rely on centuries-old drainage
systems that cover only a small part of the core cities.
 Loose implementation: Even though regulatory mechanisms such as environmental
impact assessment (EIA) have provisions such as rainwater harvesting and
sustainable urban drainage systems, acceptance by users and enforcement
authorities remains
Way forward
 Municipal Role: What is needed is a central role for democratically elected local
governments to ensure greater inclusion and community awareness. The top-level
climate change adaptation sector serves as a liaison to work together with all
relevant sectors of the state, including housing and urban development,
transportation, water supply, energy, land use, public works and
 Holistic commitment: Large-scale urban floods cannot be contained by local
governments alone without coordinated and targeted investment in energy and
resources.
 Coordination between different Bodies: The Metropolitan Development Authority,
NDMA, State Revenue and Irrigation Department need to be involved in such
cooperation with local government agencies.
 Better Urban Planning: All aspects of urban growth, starting with affordable housing,
play a central role in adapting to future climate change.
 Environmentally friendly: Biophilic design and environmentally friendly materials
can also reduce the increase in carbon emissions during the construction of
infrastructure.
 Example: A perfect example of this is Japan, which is regularly exposed to
earthquakes. India's disaster resource network should be institutionalized as a
collection point for the collection of organized information and equipment.
 Drainage planning: Watershed management and emergency drainage planning
should be clearly expressed in policies and legislation. Urban basins are micro-
ecological drainage systems formed by topographic contour lines.

6.  Focus on Documentation and standard operating proceedures: Detailed
documentation in this regard must be maintained by authorities not bound by the
jurisdiction of the region. Instead, drainage plans should be developed
considering natural boundaries such as watersheds rather than government
boundaries such as constituencies.
Conclusion
Indian cities are the driving force of economic growth with mass production and
consumption, but this sunrise story is threatened by unsustainable urban development in
an era of climate change. What is needed is to develop a robust and functional
metropolis that can handle floods, heat waves, pollution and mass migration to sustain
the economic impetus. Otherwise, Urban India will be a subprime investment