Nagaland is experiencing an ‘unprecedented’ crisis due to incessant rains in recent times. The Chief Secretary called it an ‘emergency-like’ situation while the Governor and the Chief Minister sent SOS to Centre seeking immediate intervention. The scale and severity of the present monsoon-related incidents is one of the gravest, the state has experienced yet. The coordinated responses from various quarters, particularly the government machineries, aftermath has been laudable.
Yet it raises a very significant poser: Is the state equipped to handle large scale disaster? The question is moot. Even the best laid plans are upended by disaster – natural or otherwise, and cannot prevent all hazards. One can argue that the state had none, notwithstanding the responses aftermath.
Take the case of the most common road policy. The department responsible for such maintenance started the process at the onset of monsoon, and incredibly blames the same for the incomplete works. Ditto for the drainage maintenance. Instead of pre-monsoon desilting operations in flash flood borne city like Dimapur, the process started after in reaction to clogged drain.
At the policy and implementation levels, to bring about an institutional mechanism for the management of disaster in the State, the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) and District Disaster Management Authority were notified on July 21, 2008. Besides raising the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters, State Plan and District Plan were supposedly put in place.
Potential and real hazards identified by the NSDMA include natural (Earthquake, landslides, floods, fires, droughts etc) and manmade (forest fires, chemical and gas catastrophes etc) disasters. The landslides are most common hazards. In one of its strategy, it noted that there is an urgent need to minimize the occurrences of landslide through proper management strategies – the frequency and severity can certainly be minimized through appropriate and timely biological, geological, and engineering measures.
Like many other policies, however, it seems to be merely an academic exercise.
While the State is recognized as most prone to landslides, incidentally, the Nagaland Emergency Preparedness Exercise (NPEx), Mock Exercise conducted annualy, so far has been confined to earthquake. With the main objective "to see how ready we are,” the same exercise carried out in April this year pointed out several lapses including communication link, health/first aid kits, alarm systems, mechanism for night time disasters.
Likewise, the urban population in the state has been increasing over the years - from 19% in 2001 to 28% in 2011. While urbanization can neither be avoided nor curtailed, as historical trajectories of development across the world have shown, an unplanned expansion can choked a city, this column had argued earlier. Such situation is being manifested in Dimapur right now.
Prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery are some important components of emergency risk management. However, the state policy mainly has been confine to post-emergency responses.
Disaster mitigation measures are those that eliminate or reduce the impacts and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an emergency or disaster occurs, the Nagaland State Disaster Management Plan highlighted. Proper surveys and mapping, sampling and testing of slope material, and design, analysis and evaluation of slopes, minimizing rock excavation and predicting the behavior of slopes for highways or townships were some measures recommended.
Other measures should include - adoption and enforcement of land use and zoning practices, implementing and enforcing building codes, flood plain mapping, disaster mitigation awareness programs, and insurance programs.
Such vital measures are clearly lacking and need to be adopted immediately in both in letter and spirit.
