Disaster Management

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Disaster Management is an emerging theme and discipline in India. The Government of India has recognized its importance and now have a Disaster Management (DM) Act enacted in the year 2005. The DM Act 2005 recognizes the importance of academia for the development of the country through sustainable development approach by mainstreaming disaster management into it. The disaster management team is working towards understanding various natural and human-induced hazards and risks in general and the hazards in the State of Karnataka in particular.

Objectives

  • Capacity development of student group to engage in the Disaster Management theme to make contributions
  • Identification of specific needs in the disaster risk management theme and to develop innovative products, services or processes

Abstract about our team

Disaster Management is an emerging theme and discipline in India. Government of India has recognized its importance and now we have Disaster Management (DM) Act enacted in the year 2005. The DM Act 2005 recognize the importance of academia for the development of the country through sustainable development approach by mainstreaming disaster management into it. The faculty of engineering at Christ (Deemed to be University) has recognized the importance of it and currently the E-Sail has envisaged the Disaster Management as its component theme for the benefit of students and societies. The team working on it constitutes students who have a flair for the subject and are keen to learn further. The faculties involved in the thematic development and mentoring have experience in the fields of different facets of disaster management. Besides the team also constitutes of people as advisors who have expertise in the disaster risk management and response and innovations development in the thematic domain.

Projects

  • Understanding the risk (profiling) and innovation possibilities for real world disaster management complex issues (A case study of flood and landslides deluge in Kodagu district of Karnataka is being undertaken).
  • To acquire technical knowledge for possible innovations in mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
  • To have direct study exposure to the disaster affected areas in Kodagu District of Karnataka (the district which has been affected by floods and landslides in August 2018).
  • To develop Web and Mobile app for damage and loss assessment (data capturing and analysis).

Activities conducted

  • Generally the team met on Fridays’ from 12pm to 1pm and brainstormed about different methods and innovations on the theme of disaster management.
  • One exclusive interactive session has been organized for the team exclusively with Cap Sekhar of AlphaMers Ltd who is into the business of product customization for different facets of disaster management.
  • Engaged the student team from National University, Korea with the current works of the team and accompanied them for a village visit to look at the issues of the area from a disaster management perspective.

Advisory Board

  • Capt D.C. Sekhar (AlphaMers Pvt Ltd, Bangalore)
  • Mr Girinath Reddy (TISS, Mumbai)
  • Ms Manomita Das (TISS, Mumbai)
  • Mr Lakshman Srikanth (C-HAERT, Kottayam & RMSI, Noida)
  • Mr Tamil Kumar (Community Engagement Specialist, Coimbatore)

Ideas

  • Neighborhood Project: The intention of this project is to develop an ideal neighborhood which can withstand any sort of natural calamity mainly floods and earthquakes. The project would be focusing on every discipline in the engineering domain. Civil engineering department will focus on layout of building stronger bridges, roads and focuses on better installing better drainage systems for directing the channels of water flow. Circuit branches deal with fail proof communication network and equipment centers to address a particular contact in case of emergency. The other domains focus on medical emergency, re-habilitation, coordination, etc.
  • Pilot ladders and aerostat: Pilot ladders can be used for rescuing the victims from the respected location. It is not only handy and useful but also is highly reliable when nylon polymers are being used in the making. Aerostat is used when the wireless communication is being compromised and the balloon rises about 20-30 m above the level and supplies radar signal for communication.
  • Solar paneled Drones with thermal camera: These drones are used for many purposes. It can be sued for surveillance and during time of calamity, it can be used for detecting survivors using thermal cameras in regions where it is visually inaccessible. The material used in making the drones are more affordable compares to a normal one which doesn’t mean there would be compromise in quality of the product.
  • U-Safe Boat with restube : It is self-propelled, remote controlled and works in any position under the most adverse conditions. It also has its own navigation and guidance system. A float that was born to save lives in a simple, fast and safe way. Restube is a floatation device that is worn like a waist bag and if the trigger is being pulled out then the helps the survivor to the float on the level where he could breathe.
  • Disaster survival gear : In critical situations where a disaster occurs and the life on the affected area is more based on survival than to rely on pleasures, a few applications can be imposed for the well-being of the victims. This mainly involves survival gear when a particular victim has been affected. They consist of food, survival gear that mainly involves multipurpose knives, emergency blanket, portable oxygen (based on the disaster), first aid, etc. Wireless communication is the best alternative in reaching messages from one region to another but in disasters, there might be chances that they might be destroyed. For this reason, we can reinforce radio communication in which victims can share frequencies or spectrums from one mate to another. Economically, it might be hard to afford but it can be cut down by reducing the number of units distributed and some the expensive items can be shared among victims.
  • IoT based urban planning : Focus on “urban planning” i.e. create a database region wise which puts light on the population at that area(area of every 3 acres) and also mention what body is present in that region which might include ( Heavy industry , water bodies, flora, under construction , etc.). All of the above inputs can be represented pictorially which can be monitored during time of disaster and take respected measures at given regions. For example, in housing colonies a bigger rescue force than that of compared to a forest region where the expectancy of population would be lesser.
  • Water purification pen: This is used to filter unwholesome water for drinking purpose. This application is already available in regions such as Africa, South America etc. It has a fibrous filter which keeps filters the harmful organisms such as bacteria, virus, etc.

Accomplishments and achievements of 2018-19

  • Improved subject clarity among the team members
  • Consistent thinking has lead to constant communication with Kodagu district administration to involve in helping them with different aspects of disaster management. The Kodagu Zilla Panchayath has officially sent the invitation for future associations.

Road map for 2019-20 and Future planned activities

  • Development of Interdisciplinary Approaches/methodology for complex disaster management problems (Team work enhancement)
  • Development of a webapp and a Mobile App for DaLa (Damage and Loss assessment) and Field Validation.
  • Design of innovative products (Rescue and Communication)
  • Neighborhood Design (System Approach)