Tsunami Relief Disaster Management System

Tsunami relief disaster management system Presented by Ramya.R

Disaster? WHO defines disaster as “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

Classification of Disaster Natural versus manmade disasters Sudden versus slow on-set disasters

Phases of a disaster Pre-Disaster phase Alert phase Impact phase Post-Impact phase Reconstruction and rehabilitation phase

What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a series of waves with a long wavelength and period (time between crests). Time between crests of the wave can vary from a few minutes to over an hour. Tsunamis are often incorrectly called tidal waves; they have no relation to the daily ocean tides.

Tsunami (sooNAH-mee) is a Japanese word meaning harbour wave. Tsunamis can occur at any time of day or night.

How are tsunamis generated? Tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea bed level. Earthquakes generate tsunamis by vertical movement of the sea floor. If the sea floor movement is horizontal, a tsunami is not generated. Earthquakes of M > 6.5 are critical for tsunami generation. Tsunamis are also triggered by landslides into or under the water surface, and can be generated by volcanic activity and meteorite impacts.

How often do tsunamis occur? On the average, there are two tsunamis per year somewhere in the world which cause damage near the source. Approximately every 15 years a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami occurs. The destructive tsunami on Dec 26th, 2004 on the Indian Coast seems to have occurred for the first time in the history.

What does a tsunami look like when it reaches shore? Normally, a tsunami appears as a rapidly advancing or receding tide. It some cases a bore (wall of water) or series of breaking waves may form.

Tsunami Relief Establishment of an Early Warning System Emergency Response Preparedness Planning Safe Area Development Vulnerability Assessment for Preparedness, Mitigation Planning and Risk Analysis

Problem Situation Considering a Coastal Village in a remote district of south India. Let it be 400 Kilometers from the Head Quarters of the State. Let the Head Quarters of the District be 50 Kilometers from the village. There are 12 villages in a radius of 25 kilometers around the model village

Contd… Disaster waste Groundwater contamination Mass burial of dead Coastal damage Beach, soil, crop and vegetation damage

Contd… Danger of epidemics Physical injuries and disabilities Open defecation adds to the ill-health conditions Health infrastructure almost non existent

Contd… Mental disorders

Needs for this situation Base Hospital Selected village that lies in easy access Runs 24 hours a day with doctors, physiotherapists and nursing attendants Center for offering counseling X-ray, lab and ECG facilities Pharmacy

Needs for this situation Mobile Medical Unit: Once a week visit Provide referral services Conduct health awareness camps

Action plan: A Task Force with at least 2 Doctors, 2 Nurses, 2 Physiotherapists, 2 Counselors, 1 Project Director and 1 Coordinator. This Task Force will meet once a month to plan out the Health Care Projects

Phases of Intervention Short term (First month) Immediate relief Commencement of trauma management Initial measures for getting back to the normal routine Medium term (second – fourth month) Detailed stocktaking of land use, community needs and human and institutional resources for reconstruction. Immediate restoration of crucial communication and infrastructure Long term (Fifth month onwards) Permanent reconstruction and rehabilitation

Conclusion The proposals presented above can be taken as model for rehabilitation and reconstruction across the coastal space, though all interventions should be carried out in accordance with the specific realities

References www.directrelief.org www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsuna mi/ www.developmentgateway.com Text book of Community medicine with recent advances- B.C. Das and D, Shobha Malini