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It was 26th January 2001. Just when the nation was getting ready to celebrate the
Republic Day the ground shook beneath the feet of Gujarat. The day of celebration turned
into days of mourning. The nation watched horrorstruck as the images of destruction and
stories of families torn apart by death flashed through the newspapers and leapt straight
into the face from the television sets. Everywhere people shivered thinking what would
have happened if the earthquake had happened in their state, their city, their locality.
Everywhere there was talk about forming disaster management squads, doing emergency
drills and making the residents acquainted with them. But people have short memory so
all of it was forgotten in the course of the following days. Are we all waiting for another
disaster to strike before we can formulate the plans?
Unfortunately earthquake is not the only disaster threatening to cause mass destruction.
Emergency can come into a variety of forms – collapsing buildings, outbreak of
communicable diseases, riots and fires to name just a few. The law and order system has
to fight on various fronts – rescue mission, providing medical assistance and controlling
panic. It needs helping hand from the common man and we should all be prepared to
shoulder our responsibilities.
Let's not wait for another Bhuj, another Bhopal, another Panshet to catch us unawares.
Let's be proactive, not reactive.
Steps:
Every Citizen Group needs to formulate plans for assisting on all aspects of relief work
taking into consideration the needs of the locality. E.g. if the neighbourhood has a lot of
buildings close together, then there should be plans for directing the fire engines and
ambulances so that they can reach the affected sites as soon as possible. But still we all
can come up with some simple plans.
Rescue Mission:
1)
Draw volunteers from the Citizen group to form barricades at a safe distance around
the affected site so that people don't impede the rescue team.
2)
Keep a list of neighbourhood hospitals ready so that affected people can be
transported there in case the official help is delayed.
3)
Also keep a list of 24 hour chemists in the area.
4)
To deal with a possible shortage of ambulances keep vehicles ready to take people to
hospitals.
5)
Inquire fire-fighting crew or official relief workers if they need any specific help.
6)
Chalk up a plan for a rescue operation for your building in case of a fire. Conduct fire
drills, if possible in an entire locality.
7)
Make sure that the Citizen Groups have a ready supply of powerful torches.
Medical Assistance:
1)
Keep the First Aid kits ready.
2)
Keep a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all doctors in the area
so that they can be contacted to provide immediate treatment and first aid.
3)
Make sure that the neighbourhood hospitals are stocked up well in their blood banks
with non-infected safe blood.
4)
In case there is any blood donation arranged, make sure that proper care is taken –
sterilized needles and checks for infected blood.
Controlling Panic:
1)
Set up a call center where relatives and friends of the affected people can call up to
get information. Make sure these call centers have the names of the victims and phone
numbers of the hospitals they have been taken to. They should also have the names of the
people who are safe along with their present whereabouts.
2)
Contact the local cable operator so that the call center number can be published on the
television. Also contact the police station with the number so that they can route the
inquiry calls to the center.
3)
Put up boards in the area to release accurate information about the situation so as to
prevent panic and rumors from spreading like wildfire.
4)
These boards can also be used to communicate the need for any specific type of blood
group that the bank might be short on.
5)
In case of an outbreak, consult doctors so as to give accurate information about the
disease, symptoms, medicines and hospital numbers on these boards.
At least one person from every house should be made familiar with these procedures.
Important information about fire fighting:
A high-rise building is the one over 24 meters and with more than eight floors.
The Development Control Rule of 1992 states that a 30 meter building must have 6 meters
of space on all 4 sides.
A building taller than 30 meters must have 6 meters of vacant space on 2 sides
and 9 meters of vacant space on the other 2 sides.
The width of the fire engine is 4.5 meters at least.
Equipment needed: sprinklers, hydrants, pipes, panel boards and smoke detectors.
Survival Kits:
Always keep ready at home survival kits containing:
Dry food like biscuits
Bottled purified water
Essential medicines
First Aid kit
At least 2 functional torches
At least 2 sets of clothes
Personal hygiene products
Blankets
In short, Be Proactive NOT Reactive.
Ham Radio Network
A Ham radio network will be of great help in disaster management. You have
to give a certificate exam for the same.
You don't need a computer or
a phone line for that but a tranceiver and a 5 year license.
For more information check out these sites:
EHam
Beginner's Guide to Ham Radio
Ham Radio for the wireless enthusiasts
- has information about Indian rules and regulations, Study Materials for the
Amateur Radio Station Operator's Certificate Examination, learning the Morse
code and Indian callbook.
How to Ham
Organizations:
Natural disaster management
Safety Guides
Mumbai Amateur radio society
Feedback:
This is a very important issue where every possible suggestion could very well mean a
difference between life and death. So please feel free to bombard us with absolutely
anything useful that comes to your mind and we will put it up on this site.
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