Disaster Planning and Governance in India: Experts’ Experiences and Insights

With an increasing need for experts to provide solutions to complex disaster scenarios and related management issues across the globe, universities and governments are finding it highly relevant to introduce courses on disaster management.

Disaster management education could help in disaster mitigation and could save several lives, as well as assets. Written in simple language by disaster professionals, most of whom have dedicated their entire careers to disaster management, this book will be an important textbook for graduate and postgraduate research students. It provides the history of disaster management, especially governance issues and scientific and technological development in the areas of disasters including recovery processes, which have drastically reduced the loss of lives. This book not only unfolds the process of evolution of disaster management and challenges faced by experts in the field, but also suggests various ways in which we can build a resilient country.

Sunita Reddy is an Associate Professor at the Center of Social Medicine and Community Health of Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. She has published three books and 74 papers in peer-reviewed journals. She is the Founder Chair of the Anthropos India Foundation, and is one of the founding members of the Special Center for Disaster Research at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Anil Kumar Sinha, a veteran of laying the foundations of Disaster Management in India, has expertise in disaster risk reduction, climate change and mainstreaming public policy analysis. He is the founding Vice-Chairman of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority. As Joint Secretary in the Government of India, he provided leadership and management in response to events such as the Bhuj Earthquake in 2001 and the Orissa Super-Cyclone in 1999. He also founded the National Institute of Disaster Management, and International Recovery Platform (IRP)/UNDP in Kobe, Japan.

“A reflective and insightful articulation of disaster management policy, laws, institutional structures, technology for early warning, manuals for advance preparedness, communication mitigation and relief measures in India. A genuine account coming from lived experiences of expert functionaries in an equally disastrous milieu of COVID-19.”
—Dr Sukhadeo Thorat, Professor Emeritus, former Chairman, University Grants Commission and Indian Council of Social Science Research

“The importance of DRR [disaster risk reduction] policies is determined by the function of economic development. The higher the level of development, the more attention to DRR policies the people pay. India has been experiencing rapid economic development. It has also been facing new DRR challenges one after another and overcoming them. The book is an excellent reference for DRR policymakers and practitioners on how they should overcome challenges.”
—Koji Suzuki, Project Director, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), Co-Chair, Sentinel Asia Steering Committee (SASC), Member of National Committee for Space Strategy (QZSS), Visiting Professor, Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS), Kobe University, Supporting Researcher, Chiba University and Senior Advisor, Oriental Consultants Global

“The strides made by India in disaster management reflect a fascinating success story. With their rich personal experience, the authors have narrated this journey as seen through the eyes of policymakers and practitioners. Lay readers, experts and administrators would benefit immensely from this lucid and comprehensive account of the evolution of disaster management policy and structures.”
—Skand R. Tayal, former Ambassador of India

“This book unravels several undocumented and unheard aspects of the history of disaster management and its evolution in India in recent decades. The innovative approach adopted by the authors is highly commendable. The book will undoubtedly prove to be of immense significance to students and professionals in the field of disaster management.”
—Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, former Member, National Disaster Management Authority, India

“This excellent book fills a void by documenting the history and development of disaster management policies, planning, and institutions to combat disasters in India. The credentials of the editors and the contributors are impeccable. Their methodology lends credibility to their insights, and the topics covered will no doubt prove extremely useful for policymakers, academics and practitioners.”
—Ajit Seth, IAS (retd), former Cabinet Secretary, Government of India

Bhaskar Barua

R K Bhandari

Janak Raj Bharadwaj

Amod Dixit

Rakesh Dubey

Santosh Kumar

Vikrant Mahajan

G Padmanabhan

KJ Ramesh

Sunita Reddy

Loy Rego

Pardeep Sahni