The document defines disaster and disaster management, highlighting the importance of planning and preparedness to reduce vulnerability and cope with disasters. It categorizes disasters into natural and man-made types, describes various symptoms following disasters, and discusses essential activities during, before, and after disasters. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for proper construction practices and disaster preparedness plans to minimize impacts, particularly in the context of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

2.  DISASTER -Any occurrence that causes damage,
ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration
of health and health services on a scale, sufficient to
warrant an extraordinary response from outside the
affected community or area.
 DISASTER MANAGEMENT- It is the creation of plans
through which communities reduce vulnerability to
hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster
management does not avert or eliminate the threats;
instead, it focuses on creating plans to decrease the
effect of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead
to human mortality, lost revenue, and damage to
assets.

3. 3
C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f D i s a s t e r s
Natural
Disasters
Meteorological
Topographical
Environmental
Man made
Disasters
Technological
Industrial
Warfare

4. 4
Meteorological
Disasters
• Floods
• Tsunami
• Cyclone
• Hurricane
• Typhoon
• Snow storm
• Blizzard
• Hail storm
Topographical
Disasters
• Earthquake
• Volcanic
Eruptions
• Landslides
and
Avalanches
• Asteroids
• Limnic
eruptions
Environmental
Disasters
• Global
warming
• El Niño-
Southern
Oscillation
• Ozone
depletion-
UVB
Radiation
• Solar flare

5. Technological
• Transport
failure
• Public place
failure
• Fire
Industrial
• Chemical
spills
• Radioactive
spills
Warfare
• War
• Terrorism
• Internal
conflicts
• Civil unrest
• CBRNE
5

6. SYMPTOMS AFTER DISASTER
6
Physiological
Symptoms
• Fatigue
• Shock
symptoms
• Profuse
sweating
• Fine motor
tremors
• Chills
• Teeth
grinding
• Muscle aches
• Dizziness
Cognitive
Symptoms
• Memory loss
• Distractibility
• Reduced
attention
span
• Decision
making
difficulties
• Calculation
difficulties
• Confusing
trivial with
major issues
Emotional
Symptoms
• Anxiety
• Feeling
overwhelmed
• Grief
• Identification
with victims
• Depression
• Anticipation
of harm to
self or others
• Irritability
Behavioral
Symptoms
• Insomnia
• Substance
abuse
• Gallows
humor
• Gait change
• Ritualistic
behavior
• Hyper
vigilance
• Unwillingness
to leave
scene

7. Integrated
Disaster
Management
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
Mitigation
Activities prior to a
disaster.
• Preparedness plans
• Emergency exercises
• Training,
• Warning systems
Activities that
reduce effects of
disasters
• Building codes &
zoning
• Vulnerability
analyses
• Public education
Activities following
a disaster.
• Temporary
housing
• Claims
processing
• Grants
• Medical care
Activities during
a disaster.
• Public warning
systems
• Emergency
operations
• Search & rescue

8. PHASES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Impact
Disaster Response
Disaster Recovery
Disaster Mitigation
8

9. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS- It is ongoing multisectoral activity.
Integral part of the national system responsible for
developing plans and programmes for
1. disaster management,
2. prevention,
3. mitigation,
4. response,
5. rehabilitation and
6. reconstruction.
9

10. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
10
Co-ordination of a variety of sectors to carry out-
 Evaluation of the risk.
 Adopt standards and regulations.
 Organize communication and response mechanism.
 Ensure all resources- ready and easily mobilized.
 Develop public education programmes.
 Coordinate information with news media.
 Disaster simulation exercises.

13.  Earthquakes refer to shaking of earth. There is continuous activity going on
below the surface of the earth. There are several large plates (size of
continents) below the surface of the earth, which move (at a very slow
speed). As a part of this movement, sometimes, they collide against each
other. And, after the collision, they might still continue to push each other.
As they continually keep pushing each other, there is a pressure building up
– across these plates below the surface. And, then, at a certain time, one of
the plates might slide over another. This causes an earthquake.
 Some earthquakes might be caused by activity above the surface. For
example in a mountainous region, there might be a heavy landslide. Due to
a huge mass of land falling, at the point of the fall, there could be a minor
shaking of earth, due the impact of fall. However, usually, such earthquakes
are not very major.

14. 1. IMMEDIATE SAFETY
 Hence, in case of an earthquake, the safest place to be would be in an
open ground – away from all kinds of buildings and tall structures.
 If you can not rush out of your building, you can duck under some
sturdy desk etc. which might provide protection against heavy objects
falling on your body.
 If even that is not possible, sit against a wall, with your back pushing
the wall firmly, and, lean forward – to take your head in between both
your knees, and, put your hands at the back of your head – to provide
protection to your head and spine.
 Or, you could stand directly below one of the door-frame in your
house. This one appears a bit strange to many people. In fact, there
are jokes that after an earthquake – you don’t see all those door-
frames standing. So, what is the reasoning behind advising people to
stand below door-frames? In most styles of construction, doorframes
are made very strong, or, would have a “RCC beam” running right
above these frames. Either way, this “strong” structure would take the
impact of objects falling from above, and, would break the impact of
the heavy objects falling on the person. If you use this posture,
remember to save your arms and fingers from swaying doors etc. If
not careful, they could cause damage by chopping off fingers etc. due
to the banging of the doors against the frame.

16. CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSE
Some simple thumb rules to follow for constructing a house in
an area prone to earthquake:
o The entire construction should be a single monolithic structure, so
that the whole structure can move as a whole To the extent
possible, material used should be something that has been
available locally. This would allow very little differential in the
movement of your building vis-à-vis the material over which the
house sits – thus reducing the chances of sinking .Minimum use of
glass in building facades. These decorative pieces could be deadly,
during an earthquake. Glass being very brittle, even a minor twist
in the structure could cause breakage. And, glass being very heavy
and injurious could cause severe damage.
o Doors and windows should have fasteners, so that they can be
fastened. If the doors and windows are not fastened, they might
cause any of the following situations: Swaying/banging of doors
and windows against the frame could damage your
limbs/fingers/toes etc.
o The doors might get “stuck” due to damaged/misaligned frame –
making it difficult for you to run out, or, for the rescue teams to
reach you.
o Consult a good structural engineer to ensure that the structure is
strong enough to withstand seismic activities

17. EARTHQUAKE PROOFING
1. When staying in the house, simple precautions should be
used:
 Large/heavy items should be fastened, so that they don’t
fall-off, during earthquakes. Hanging items (like: fan,
chandeliers, decorations etc.) should be fastened, rather
than just left hanging through a hook
 You should be adequately prepared to live without utilities for
several days. As earthquake causes severe damages over
large areas, most of the utilities that we might take for
granted, might not be available for several days. These are
anyways generic precautions against disasters of any kind.

18. SOME RECENT EARTHQUAKES
1. Some of the earthquakes in recent times have been (not in any particular order):
• El Salvador; In 2001; Magnitude: 7.7S.
• Peru; In 2001; Magnitude 7.9
• Algeria; In 2003; Magnitude 6.8
• Indonesia: In 2004; Magnitude 9.0
• India; In 2001; Magnitude 8.1
• China - Sichuan Province; In May 2008; Magnitude-8.1; More than 68,000 dead,
and, 3,50,000 injured.

20.  Volcanoes refer to eruption of hot molten lava from below the surface of
the earth. As plates move away from each other, at certain places, the
surface might get stretched and thinner. In such a situation, the hot
molten lava and gaseous substances below this thinned surface could
open up a fissure and come out. Typically, these eruptions are always
accompanied by discharge of huge amount of gaseous substances,
which are various compounds of high toxicity. All eruptions (gaseous or
liquid) from a volcano is at high temperature, and, the mouth of a
volcano might look like, as if it’s spewing fire.
 The area around Pacific Ocean is characterized by higher volcanic
activity. In fact, the entire rim along the Pacific Ocean is called as the
“Ring Of Fire”, because of volcanic activity along this zone.
 There are a lot of volcanic activities taking place on a continuous basis,
across the globe, however, not all of these are serious enough to be
termed as disasters. In fact, for most of these – just a moderate level of
precaution might be sufficient.

22. COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO VOLCANIC
ERUPTION
 Volcanoes themselves might not appear to be a big disaster, but, they cause
several complications.
 Because of activities below the surface of the earth, including discharge of a
huge amount of material, its possible that volcanic eruptions could be
accompanied by earthquakes.
 Volcanic activity in sea could cause triggering of Tsunamis.
 Because of discharge of very high quantity of toxic material onto the
landscape, sources of water like lakes/rivers etc. could get poisoned, thereby
severely disrupting the water-supply. Also, the change in water composition
could impact the aquatic organisms also. Thus, overall ecosystem of the
water-body is misbalanced, thus, impacting the water quality. This could even
impact the areas fed downstream by these same water bodies.
 Because of discharge of high amount of toxic gases in the atmosphere – the
air could become highly difficult to breathe. Release of several gases –
including oxides, sulphides, aerosols etc. changes the atmospheric mix of the
area. These in turn can give rise to:
 “acid rain”
 Discharge of “aerosols” into the atmosphere alters the filtering impact of
the atmosphere – for Sun’s radiation as well as for heat from the earth
getting radiated back into the space. This can change the temperature of
the area.
 Molten lava coming out of a volcano could reach temperatures up to 1200

23.  Structural damages: Lava flowing down at such a high temperature could
cause structural damages.
 Landslide: As lava flows down, it gets solidified, and, modifies the landscape.
However, sometimes a fresh layer of lava at high temperature could
destabilize the earlier solidified layer, and, that layer could simply slide off –
causing a landslide.
 Lack of drinking water and breathable air causes people to migrate from their
existing place of living to other places, thereby causing situations of
migration, refugees. Besides, being emotionally distressful, there are severe
kinds of physical stress and strain also associated with migration activities.
And then, the resources at the destination side are also stretched beyond
their normal capacity.

24. Place year Number of deaths
Tambora, Indonesia 1815 92000
Krakatau, Indonesia 1843 36417
Mount Pelee, Matinique 1902 29025
Ruiz Colombia 1985 25000
Unzen Japan 1792 14300
Laki, Iceland 1783 9350
Kelut, Indonesia 1919 5110
Galunggung, Indonesia 1882 4011
Vesuvius, Italy 1631 3500
Vesuvius, Italy 79 3360
Papandayan, Indonesia 1772 2957
Lamington, Papua New
Guinea
1951 2942
El Chichon, Mexico 1982 2000
Soufriere, St. Vincent 1902 1680
Oshima, Japan 1741 1475
Asama, Japan 1783 1377

25. PLANNING AND PRECAUTIONS
 Even if volcanic activities do not result in too many fatalities, they
still do create immense challenges in terms of humanitarian aid,
due to destruction of houses, contamination of food and water.
Also, one has to deal with large-scale migration, relief camps etc.
which also give rise to sanitation concerns – which in turn results
in various complications due to diseases related to lack of proper
sanitation facilities.
 During a volcanic activity, the best place to be would be indoors.
Because the atmosphere is full of toxic chemicals, put filter-masks
over your mouth and nose, and, use goggles to protect your eyes.
Being outdoors could be one of the riskiest thing to do, as, you
could be coming in contact with volcanic ashes – which could
cause irritation to your eyes, skin etc. at the bare minimum, and,
could also cause breathlessness, or, long term damage to you
lungs, eyes etc.
 Avoid weak structures, including the fresh layers which might have
been formed by solidifying of lava during earlier discharges. This is
usually a mistake that tourists might make. Tourists might have a
tendency to get closer to the source of gaseous/lava discharge –
thus, maybe, standing on such structures which are unstable and
are probable to slide.

26.  Avoid fumes/vapours of petrol etc. Presence of high temperature material in
the atmosphere could cause a fire, if these fumes come in contact with high
temperature material, e.g. During the Nyiragongo volcanic activity (Jan.
2002), people were trying to siphon off petrol from a gas-station. A leakage
came in contact with the hot lava, and, caused a blast at the gas-station,
causing more than 50 people to die.
 The inlets to your houses should be covered with filters, or, these inlets
should be closed – to prevent toxic ashes etc. to enter your house etc. Avoid
use of electronic goods, as, ashes might have entered the vent of these
goods (usually provided for heat-dissipation), and, could cause short-circuit
inside the devices.
 Because, one of the main issues post-volcano is lack of water and food, it
would help to familiarize with general preparedness – which also provides
certain tips on being able to survive for several days – provided,
preparations have been made in advance.
 Post-volcano also, efforts must be made to minimize contact with the
debris/ashes which have been spewed by the volcano. Clothes must be
shaken and rinsed. Ashes must be vacuumed, and, the vacuum lint filter
should be changed. Car filters should be changed, and so on.
 If you are staying in an area, which is prone to volcanic activities, the houses
should be constructed in a manner which will allow closing all vents, i.e.

28.  Floods refer to huge amount of water reaching land in a short span of time,
causing land surface to be submerged under water – at places, where, land
surface is usually not covered with water. Floods could be caused due to
natural causes, or, human activities, or, a combination of both. Floods are
caused by discharge of huge volume of water in a short span of time, at a
rate, such that the water can not be carried away from the scene of
discharge.
 Some of the possible reasons for such huge discharge of water could be:
 very heavy rainfall (say: due to cyclones, typhoons etc.) in a short span of
time. It should be noted that the amount of rainfall itself is not a sufficient
cause, the duration within which the rainfall is receive is equally important
contributor
 breach in levy, dams etc
 very high tidal waves (sometimes in the aftermath of a seismic activity,
e.g. earthquakes) etc. – also called tsunamis.
 Usually, flooding impacts a large area, wherein entire district or states might
be flooded. However, sometimes, flooding is very local, i.e. limited to just one
city, or, parts of it. Most often, the localized flooding is caused due to human
activities, rather than natural phenomenon. A natural phenomenon might

29. PREVENTION OF FLOODS
1. Sometimes, it might not be possible to prevent a flood, even if we know that
its about to get flooded. However, there are certain actions that can be taken
to reduce the impact significantly, or, to reduce the possibility of flooding:
 The first step is to keep the drainage system clean. This allows water to be
carried down very fast. Choked drains cause a significant reduction in the
ability and speed of the water to be drained away. In most situations of urban
flooding – this is a major cause. The drains might get choked due to throwing
of solid-wastes inside storm drains. These solid-wastes might include
construction material, plastics, paper etc. This is a clear example, how
human activity can amplify the process of flooding. Drains might also get
choked due to falling tree-leaves etc.
 General clean-up of streets is also important. As rain-water falls down the
street, it rushes into the storm drains. if the streets are not clean, the rain
water trying to go into the drain – carries solid wastes into the drain with
itself, which then obstructs the flow of water by the drainage system.
 Rain water harvesting system: As more rain-water tries to flow down the
drains, it puts that much more stress on the drainage system. Instead, if
there are several rain-water harvesting systems, the rainfall falling in that
much area would try to go to the sub-soil of the region locally, rather than
straining the drainage system. Lower is the amount of water trying to go
through the drainage system, the easier it is for the drainage system to drain
off the water.

30.  DESILTING- The drains should be desilted before the onset of the rainy season. This
prevents the drains from getting choked. And, it also inceases the holding capacity of the
drain, as, accumulated silt prevents that much more water from being accumulated in the
drains.
 Inspection and repair of dams, levees, embankments etc: Before the onset of seasons
causing accumulation and/or carrying of heavy volume of water (such as rainy season),
these structures should be thoroughly inspected for possible weak-spots, and, these should
be repaired.
 AFFORESTATION: Forestation helps in binding the loose soil. The most major impact of
this is, as flood-water races through, it might take loose soil with it. This loose soil will now
choke the drains, as well as water-harvesting systems, thus, rendering both of these as
ineffective. On the other hand, trees will prevent soil to flow with the water, as, the roots of
the trees will act as binding force. Another major impact that afforestation provides is by
reducing the impact of flowing water. This has impact on large-scale flooding, such as
overflowing river. As water charges forward, its speed is reduced to some extent due to
resistance offered by trees. This can reduce the force of the charging water – thereby,
reducing structural damage – due to weakening in the force with which water hits various
structures.
 Local lowlands (say: foot of an overbridge) should have storm drains, so that water does
not get accumulated there. These drains should have some kind of mesh covering, so that
only water can flow in. Leaves and other solid debris should not go in these drains.
 Local embankments around low-lying houses etc: Lets say, for some reason, your house is
at a level lower than its vicinity (e.g. road-level). This can happen, because, say: you have
constructed a basement – which is obviously lower than the road-level, or, over a period of
years, the road-level has risen due to repeated tarring etc. In such cases, you should create
a “local” embankment between the street/road and your property, so that water can not
flow “down” from the street/road inside your house. These embankment might be
permanent – in the form of concrete structure.

31. PREPARED FOR FLOODS
• People who stay in flood-prone areas should construct their houses using material
which does not get damaged severely due to flood-water. Also, since, there is a
strong risk of structural damage (for large-scale flooding), the material used to
construct the house should be such that it can withstand high impact – due to the
charge of flowing water. One should prefer areas, which are slightly elevated. These
could be local elevations, i.e. higher parts of the city etc. There should be strong
embankments along all entrances of the houses – so that flood water does not
enter the house easily.
• Cement bags, covered with plastic sheets might be used to keep the flood water
from entering the houses.
• Besides, long boots should always be kept, so that one does not run the risk of
being bitten by snakes and/or other insects that might also be trying to save
themselves from the twirling flood-waters.
• One should keep arrangements for raising the height of items, which might get
damaged in water, e.g. put a few pieces of bricks below the legs of the furniture,
such as bed etc. to raise its height.
• Important document should always be kept on higher shelves.
• As water, food and utilities would not be available – and that too – for possibly
several days, one should also take measures towards General Preparedness.

32.  MACRO LEVEL EFFORTS -
While some of the steps mentioned above need to be taken at
municipal/city level, and, some at individual level, there are some
other techniques which have been tried/used at some places.
However, these require efforts at a much larger level. Some of these
steps include:
 Identified flood diversion areas: Flood waters are diverted to these
unpopulated areas, so that populated urban areas may be
protected.
 Construction of dams etc. at strategic locations
 Levees, embankments around cities lying along river/sea coasts.
The flooding of New Orleans – in the aftermath of Katrina
hurricane was due to a breach in such a levee.
 Sea walls
 Beach nourishment: The sea-beaches are widened, so that they
can absorb the impact of flood-waters – due to rise in sea-levels.
 Conversion of flood-prone areas into wetlands, where,
urbanization is not allowed, i.e. one can not construct residential
houses, or, any other permanent structures etc.
 As can be seen, such efforts require a very high degree of financial
commitment, not just for constructing the system, but, also for

34. NUCLEAR LEAKS
 These days, nuclear technology is used in several applications. Some of
these include: medicinal, power and of-course military. Out of these, nuclear
energy based power is getting popular. In any case, because of growth in
applications, based on nuclear technology, there are several nuclear
installations being found at industrial scale.
 In general, nuclear installations are highly sophisticated, and, have lots of
control measures in place to prevent any major hazard. Still, it’s a fact, that
inspite of all these sophistications etc. accidents could still occur. The
problem with nuclear accidents is – though, less frequent (due to high degree
of sophistication and control measures), but, once an accident occurs, the
impact is severe.
 The problem with accidents/leaks with nuclear installation is that radioactive
material might get discharged into the environment. This radioactive material
could then enter human bodies. The primary ways for these radioactive
materials to enter human-bodies is:
 through breathing of contaminated air.
 through eating of contaminated food (including livestock animals – which
might have inhaled/eaten contaminated air/food) – including milk from a
cow which has grazed on contaminated grass!!

35. PREPAREDNESS
 The first thing in the step for preparedness is to understand the authority
structure under the rule of the land, i.e. to understand, who will issue
notification in the case of a failure, or, a chance of failure. This is to ensure
that all the information received is only from authorized and reliable sources.
The worst thing that you might want is to deal with multiple sources of
information, your inability to sort out rumour from the real situation. In the
same context, it should be worthwhile to also understand the means and
mechanism that this competent authority will use to provide reliable
information. There was a time, when, news agencies used to be a good,
authentic source of information; however, today – with so many agencies,
and, a lot of them being involved in a race to be the first ones, sometimes, it
might not be possible for each of them to provide authentic and reliable
information.
 Usually, each nuclear installation would have a person/team authorized to
communicate on matters related to disasters – at their locations and sites.
For some nuclear sites, they might want to make use of sirens and/or Public
Address System etc.
 Next thing would be to understand the risk perception of your home/office,
based on its distance from the nuclear installation. Typically, areas around a
nuclear installation are divided into zones. A common classification is 3

36.  Now, you should understand the terminology used for communication of
risks at the nuclear facility. E.g. one of the common terminology might
include:
 Early Warning: to mean – no or very little impact so far, but, the nuclear
facility is in a situation, that the problem could soon increase
 Disaster Alert: to mean – a hazardous release of radioactive material has
already happened, or, is very likely to happen
 The above are just example usage of terminology. The actual terminology
that has to be used is governed by the law of the country, and hence, you
should understand the terminology for your nuclear location.
 However, this web-site provides some general information – which might be
useful to the readers:
 First of all, stay indoors (unless, specifically asked to evacuate). By staying
indoors, you are trying to reduce the level of your exposure to radio-active
material. Similarly, bring your pets and livestock indoors/their stalls.
 Prepare for possible evacuation
 Arrange for iodine tablets
 Do Not consume freshly harvested food products – because, it might
have been contaminated
 Do not use water which was outside, as it might have been
contaminated

37. 1. Some other precautions and guidelines that you should follow:
 Unless you are competent and authorized to be working on the disaster
relief/mitigation, do not drive/venture into the zone having risks. First of all, by
entering into this area, you could be endangering yourself, and, secondly, you could
be hampering other efforts which could include: movement of rescue vehicles,
disaster response teams, and, maybe possible evacuation. Remember, a nuclear
accident is not a show-item, that you have to watch. Stay away.
 While staying indoors, try to stay in closed rooms – away from doors and windows,
in basements etc. All mechanisms of air-circulation should be turned off. Once
again, the idea is to avoid contamination from radioactive material, which is there in
the atmosphere and air. For this purpose, when you build your house, it should be so
constructed, such that all openings should be totally coverable – to prevent the
entry of contaminated air into your house.The material chosen for building should
also be such that it can effectively screen contaminated material, e.g. timber is very
poor in its ability to screen radiation. So, timber houses would be very risky – in
terms of contamination.
 Care should be taken that you should be able to continue to receive further
information that might be provided by the disaster management team.
 One of the most active action that one can take is: take Iodine tables. Iodine tables
actually saturate the thyroid glands, and thus, they prevent radio-active iodine
(released due to the accident) from getting accumulated into the thyroid gland.
Considering that, you might not want to get outdoors – during a disaster, to collect
iodine tablets – it might be prudent to have a supply of such tablets, if you are
staying in an area, which has a risk of seeing nuclear accident. It should be
understood that ability to have uncontaminated proper food is more effective than
having iodine. So, if uncontaminated food can be consumed, that should be given
the first preference.

38.  Iodine tablets also have severe side-effects. Hence, an overdose of iodine
tables is not advisable. In general, older people should avoid iodine tables.
The side-effects on them could be more harmful than the advantages that it
might provide. Similarly, children and pregnant women should take a lower
dosage.
 The exact dosage of iodine tablets would be dependent on several factors,
several of them being very local. Hence, local experts should be consulted
on the exact dosage to be taken. WHO recommendations could act as an
indicative information on dosage.
 If evacuation is to be involved, it should be done before the formation of the
radioactive clouds. However, there is only so much that one can do in
his/her individual capacity – in the sense that we would need to depend on
the disaster management authority to advise as to when should we start
evacuating. However, when evacuating, try to do so in an orderly manner,
without clogging the roads etc. Once again, try to stay tuned to sources of
traffic information, so that you can use the least congested routes to
evacuate.
 Theoretically, post-evacuation, the law enforcement agencies are
responsible for ensuring no-burglary/break-ins in your house. However,
there is a limit to how much can they control/patrol. Hence, it would be good
to secure your house properly. Also, since, its not known how long you might

39.  Theoretically, post-evacuation, the law enforcement agencies
are responsible for ensuring no-burglary/break-ins in your
house. However, there is a limit to how much can they
control/patrol. Hence, it would be good to secure your house
properly. Also, since, its not known how long you might have to
stay away, try to arrange for sufficient fodder for your livestock.
 If you are not contaminated, you should NOT crowd the
emergency centres and/or hospitals. As it is, dealing with
nuclear radiation needs specialized knowledge, and, you don’t
want to overburden the system, which would be already too
stretched in case of a nuclear incident.
 As soon as you are out of the effected area, or, are entering a
non-contaminated area, you should:
 Discard your contaminated clothing (so that the virgin area
does not get further contaminated)
 Wash those areas of your body, which were exposed, e.g.
hands, face etc. If needed, take a bath. Needless to say, this
step needs to be done using uncontaminated water. Imagine,
you are just entering your house – from outside. Since the
water stored in overhead tanks could also be contaminated,
there is only a limited supply of decontaminated water. Hence,
you should use your judgement, as to whether to take a

41. • Global warming and climate change are terms for the observed century-scale
rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related
effects. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is
warming. Although the increase of near-surface atmospheric temperature is the
measure of global warming often reported in the popular press, most of the
additional energy stored in the climate system since 1970 has gone into the oceans.
The rest has melted ice and warmed the continents and atmosphere. Many of the
observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented over tens to thousands of years.

42. RESPONSES TO GLOBAL WARMING
 Mitigation
Mitigation of climate change are actions to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, or enhance the capacity of carbon sinks to absorb GHGs
from the atmosphere. There is a large potential for future reductions in
emissions by a combination of activities, including: energy
conservation and increased energy efficiency; the use of low-carbon
energy technologies, such as renewable energy, nuclear energy,
and carbon capture and storage; and enhancing carbon sinks
through, for example, reforestation and preventing deforestation. A
2015 report by Citibank concluded that transitioning to a low carbon
economy would yield positive return on investments.
 Adaptation
Other policy responses include adaptation to climate change.
Adaptation to climate change may be planned, either in reaction to or
anticipation of climate change, or spontaneous, i.e., without
government intervention. Planned adaptation is already occurring on
a limited basis. The barriers, limits, and costs of future adaptation are
not fully understood.

43.  Climate engineering
Climate engineering (sometimes called geo-engineering or climate intervention) is
the deliberate modification of the climate. It has been investigated as a possible
response to global warming, e.g. by NASA and the Royal Society. Techniques under
research fall generally into the categories solar radiation management and carbon
dioxide removal, although various other schemes have been suggested. A study from
2014 investigated the most common climate engineering methods and concluded
they are either ineffective or have potentially severe side effects and cannot be
stopped without causing rapid climate change.

45.  Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the
late 1970s: a steady decline of about four percent in the total amount
of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime
decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions. The latter
phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to these well-known
stratospheric phenomena, there are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone
depletion events.
 The details of polar ozone hole formation differ from that of mid-latitude thinning but
the most important process in both is catalytic destruction of ozone by
atomic halogens. The main source of these halogen atoms in the stratosphere is
photo-dissociation of man-made halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and
foam-blowing agents (chlorofluorocarbon(CFCs), HCFCs, freons, halons). These
compounds are transported into the stratosphere by winds after being emitted at the
surface. Both types of ozone depletion were observed to increase as emissions of
halocarbons increased.
 CFCs and other contributory substances are referred to as ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UV-B wavelengths
(280–315 nm) of ultraviolet light (UV light) from passing through the Earth's
atmosphere, observed and projected decreases in ozone generated worldwide
concern, leading to adoption of the Montreal Protocol that bans the production of
CFCs, halons, and other ozone-depleting chemicals such as carbon
tetrachloride and trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological
consequences such as increases in sunburn, skin cancer, cataracts, damage to

46. CONSEQUENCES OF OZONE
DEPLETION
 Increased UV
 Biological effects
 Basal and squamous cell carcinomas
 Malignant melanoma
 Cortical cataracts
 Increased tropospheric ozone
 Increased production of vitamin D
 Effects on non-human animals
 Effects on crops

47. PLANNING FOR REDUCTION OF
HARMS OF OZONE DEPLETION
 194 nations, including Canada, have signed an international
agreement to end the production
of chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs), halons and other ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). The agreement is called the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987). The protocol has
been amended several times, to speed up ODS phaseout dates and
to include more types of ODS.
 The federal and provincial/territorial governments share responsibility
for protecting the ozone layer. Under the Montreal Protocol, the
federal government is responsible for controlling the import,
manufacture, use, sale and export of ODS.
 The regulation was amended in November 1999, mainly to include
other halocarbons as Class III substances —
e.g.,hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). The
Class III substances do not contain chlorine or bromine atoms, so
they don't deplete the ozone layer. However, they are considered
potent greenhouse gases and have a significant global warming

49.  A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that rotates while in contact with both the
surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus
cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones, although the word cyclone is
used in meteorology to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in
many shapes and sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation
funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud
of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour
(180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometres)
before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than
300 miles per hour (480 km/h), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter, and stay on
the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).
 Most tornadoes take on the appearance of a narrow funnel, a few hundred yards
(meters) across, with a small cloud of debris near the ground. Tornadoes may be
obscured completely by rain or dust. These tornadoes are especially dangerous, as even
experienced meteorologists might not see them. Tornadoes can appear in many shapes
and sizes.
 Tornadoes normally rotate cyclonically (when viewed from above, this is counter-
clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern). While large-scale
storms always rotate cyclonically due to the Coriolis effect, thunderstorms and tornadoes
are so small that the direct influence of the Coriolis effect is unimportant, as indicated by
their large Rossby numbers. Super cells and tornadoes rotate cyclonically in numerical
simulations even when the Coriolis effect is neglected. Low-level mesocyclones and
tornadoes owe their rotation to complex processes within the super cell and ambient
environment.

50. SAFETY
 Though tornadoes can strike in an instant, there are precautions and
preventative measures that people can take to increase the chances
of surviving a tornado. Authorities such as the Storm Prediction
Center advise having a pre-determined plan should a tornado warning
be issued. When a warning is issued, going to a basement or an
interior first-floor room of a sturdy building greatly increases chances
of survival. In tornado-prone areas, many buildings have storm
cellars on the property. These underground refuges have saved
thousands of lives.
 Some countries have meteorological agencies which distribute
tornado forecasts and increase levels of alert of a possible tornado
(such as tornado watches and warnings in the United States and
Canada). Weather radios provide an alarm when a severe weather
advisory is issued for the local area, though these are mainly
available only in the United States. Unless the tornado is far away and
highly visible, meteorologists advise that drivers park their vehicles far
to the side of the road (so as not to block emergency traffic), and find
a sturdy shelter. If no sturdy shelter is nearby, getting low in a ditch is
the next best option. Highway overpasses are one of the worst places

51.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management
 http://www.disastermgmt.org/
 http://www.wcpt.org/disaster-management/what-is-
disaster-management
 http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-
management/about-disaster-management/
 http://nidm.gov.in/default.asp
 http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/

52. PRESENTED BY : ARUN KUMAR NAYAK
ROLL NO : 35
CLASS : X-A