The document discusses disaster preparedness and response strategies for earthquakes in Sikkim, India. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the local terrain and vulnerabilities, effective community communication and alert systems, immediate rescue and evacuation assistance from local NGOs, identifying and supporting vulnerable groups, ensuring immediate needs are met, organizing and communicating data to stakeholders, designing support for trauma, establishing temporary shelters, and facilitating the return to normal life through rebuilding and mitigation efforts. The document provides an overview of many important factors to consider after an earthquake to save lives and support communities.

1. Sikkim Earthquake (18th September 2011)

2. Problem Finding & Opportunity Mapping

3. Understanding people and terrain
In context to Sikkim:
> mountainous terrain, rainfall, temperature
> loamy (water retentive) soil: possibility of aquifers
> religions and faiths

6. ‘What to do when disaster strikes?’
Everybody needs to be resilient and always prepared for a disaster. Disaster preparedness includes
effective mitigation against disasters prone to that area. Last minute decisions, during a disaster are based
on presumptions of disaster. Simulations for disaster preparedness should be as close to reality as
possible for effective communication.

8. Methods of alerting people
Making alert signals more comprehensive for greater perception.
Numerical data as a source for warning is not readily comprehended, example saying that a 6.5 richter
scale earthquake hit the town does not show its impact to the people. Perhaps this quantitative data
should be supported by comparitive damage for people to realise its graveness.
Identifying the most impactful locations for sending out disaster alertness messages.

10. Assistance for evacuation and rescue
The first people to assist in rescue and evacuation are the community members.
Local NGO’s should become the representatives of victims in the face of disaster. They have the following
responsibilities :
Potray a clear picture about the extent of the disaster and it’s effects.
Communicate with the outside world about resources required for the disaster, give suggestions and
prepare people who need to reach to the place of disaster. example: make maps and routes for doctors
coming to aid, make a list of things required by people.
Assist in establishing a smooth communication between victim and aid provider.

12. Identifying and equipping vulnerable
No one who witnesses a disaster is untouched by it. However it is important to recognize that due to
various factors, there are certain groups of people who are more vulnerable and need greater attention.
Women, children, aged and disabled are the main vulnerable groups who need special attention and care.

14. Immediate needs
It is one of the most critical phase to curb cascading hazards.
It is that point of time when empathy level among everybody towards disaster victims is at it’s peak.
Everybody is willing to extend a helping hand.
The victim’s approach to handling situations at this stage can help in saving human lives. It is essential
that victim remains vigillant and prepared rather than becoming complacent thinking that the disaster
has been averted and there shall be no more damage now. // Anticipated damage

16. Organised data source
Information obtained from stakeholders and community members pre disaster is both quantitative and
qualitative data. What is essential then is to ensure that this analysed data is compiled into information
that is presented in a language, style and format which will ensure that the intended audience will be able
to absorb its messages in entirety.

18. Design for trauma
Emotional reactions such as guilt, fear, shock, grief, vigilance, numbness, intrusive memories, and despair
are universal responses in all people experiencing unforeseen disastrous events beyond their coping
capacity.

20. Immediate shelters
Community shelters should be the best equipped with communication and resources during the
earthquake as they are one of the primary immediate shelters.
It needs to be one of the most accessible place during the disaster.
If there is a need for immediate shelters to be constructed, it needs to be easy, quick to construct/install.

22. Communication
Lack of accessibility makes the area more vulnerable to disaster damage.
Outside help takes some time to reach a disaster location, during this course of time it is the community
that comes forward to start disaster rescue. Knowing your neighbours and surroundings is probably one
of the easiest methods of ensuring aid during a disaster.

24. Prototyping and execution of
post disaster kits
There is a need for some immediate supplies, which need to be compact and easily distributable
And there is a need for long term supplies that will help them cope up with their lives in temporary
shelters and also assist them in bringing their lives back to normal.

26. Temporary shelter
It is a representation of how the village would look like. Temporary shelter ideas need to look at weather
conditions of the terrain. They need to look into materials that can be easily supplied to that place. Most
of these shelters need to last for atleast 8-10 months.

28. Shelter development
Temporary shelters must be executed with the following concerns in mind
> with basic facilities i.e. electricity, source of illumination
> some sort of connection to outside world
> modularity and personalisation of space
Temporary shelters should be tested by sociological and economical needs of the people and the
physiological impacts of the environment

30. Methods of data collection
It is to do with how can the data be organised and classified so as to provide most accurate and detailed
information about the extent of damage by deploying people from the community. Data collection also
ensures proper fund and resource allocation.

32. Methods of collecting funds

34. Methods of managing funds
It is about establishing a link between
Who is giving - What is given - Who is recieving
Long term planning of the funds needs to also keep maintainence in mind while building and
distributing resources.

36. Alternative employment
There is a disruption in the social fabric and a breakdown of the traditional forms of social support in the
affected communities. There is a high rate of unemployment due to the loss of primary livelihood.
What is needed post disaster is secondary livelihood sources related to the loss of infrastructure and
alternative occupational availability to revitalise the economic conditions.

38. Proofing hardware against disasters
Our systems are already crippled by poor human governance are prone to disasters, with natural
phenomena only acting as the tipping point.
It is about understanding the degree of structural resilience we can create, what it costs and what are the
ways to mitigate against whatever hazards concern our terrain.
Most building codes and most safety standards in general, address life safety: sufficient structural

40. Bringing back normal life
Its about ensuring a a complete restoration and building a better mitigation system for the future safe-
keeping of the community. It means the community springs back stronger and better recovered.

42. Sources
• Action Aid
• Echo Stream
• NDTV News
• The Telegraph
• Times of India
• Indian Express
• National Gepgraphic
• Sikkim Times
• Sikkim Now