Structured Approach to Disaster Management

Disaster management in India has evolved from an activity-based setup to an institutionalized structure; from single faculty domain to a multi-stakeholder setup; and from a relief-based approach to a ‘multi-dimensional approach for reducing risk’. The beginnings of an institutional structure for disaster management came during British period following the series of disasters that hit the country. These were the Famines of 1900, 1905, 1907 & 1943, and the Bihar-Nepal Earthquake of 1937. Over the past century, the structure for managing disasters in India has undergone substantive changes in its composition, nature and policy.