LET US CONQUER THE DISASTER

As a human race, we have lived through disasters, but the one that we are facing now is one of the biggest. Coronavirus or Covid-19 has spread all over the world. Many people have suffered and lost their lives due to it. Economies have plummeted around the world causing major setbacks. Moreover, other serious diseases like Mucormycosis are born from Covid-19. The latest news indicates that even children can get infected by this deadly virus.

Disaster management is a gigantic task. A disaster is not something that disappears as quickly as it appears. There should always be proper management to boost efficient planning and response. This is not the responsibility of a single individual, but it is the collaborative effort of the Government and private, and public sectors. Disaster management should be coordinated and efficiently organized efforts to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the in the shortest possible time.

The disaster management cycle is an ongoing process. Mitigation consists of measures and policies made to reduce the severity of a disaster. The process includes hazard identification, a study of its vulnerability, arrangements for the right infrastructure, and ensuring efficient logistics. Proper information and public awareness are useful tools to include public involvement.

Disaster preparedness is a continuous process involving resources from multi-sector sources. Disaster preparedness is undertaken with rewarding outcomes. Those participating in the process must look at it from a mitigative, response, recovery, and business continuity perspective. In other words, during disaster preparedness, emergency management must be looked at carefully.

At the national level, an Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) should be established to define the scope of activities required for community preparedness and response.

Disaster response aims to provide early help to maintain life, improve health, and more importantly to support the morale of people. The main focus at the response stage is on meeting the primary needs of people until more permanent and substantial solutions are found.

It is important to have an articulated plan for recovery which should be a part of the emergency operating plan. Coordination between the disaster response/recovery and resources, security, and communication in disaster management is important to demonstrate the ways that people cope with and survive disasters.