Intext Questions
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Question 1. As a District Magistrate of a district of Delhi, which is in seismic zone IV (high risk zone), what are the measures or activities you would have organized to generate awareness a mong the school children and the communities around your school?
Answer : The actual day-to-day function of administering relief is t he responsibility of the District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner who exercises coordinating and supervising powers over all the departments at the district level. As the District Magistrate of a district of Delhi, I will arrange to conduct awareness sessions in the community and in the schools in the district on the following measures to be taken in case they feel the occurrence of an earthquake
- Protect Yourself and Your Family Immediately get yourself under a table, desk, etc. To protect your head from any falling object when the earth shakes.
- When the earth stops shaking, Turn off gas and electric heaters to protect against any break out of fire
- Avoid Rushing Out of the House Carefully check the situation and try to act accordingly.
- Open a window for exit from the building, as during an earthquake the doors may be damaged and cannot be opened. To avoid such problems open the door quickly to secure a safe exit.
- If outside when there is an earthquake, protect your head from falling objects like bricks, concrete, signboards etc.
- In case you are travelling when you feel an earthquake, stop driving and park the vehicle in a safe area. Driving on the road may create traffic blockage, causing problems for any rescue operation.
- Avoid being misled by false alarms and try to obtain the correct information.
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Question 2. Recollect and discuss with your friends in the classrooms regarding various disaster management teams at the village level-their members and their roles and responsibilities in before, during and after disasters.
Answer : At the village level, the Village Disaster Management Committee headed by the Sarpanch/ Village Headman is responsible for preparing the Village Disaster Management Plans and also coordinating with various agencies for providing training to the Disaster Management Teams. The members of the teams should ensure that mock drills are carried out by the villagers at regular intervals for various hazards. It is accepted that the Government alone cannot take on the entire responsibility of Disaster Management.
Exercises
Question 1. If you were the Relief Commissioner of the State of Assam which is affected by floods every year list out five departments that you need to contact.
Answer : The departments I need to contact will be
(i) Home Affairs
(ii) Health
(iii) Environment
(iv) Defence
(v) Food and Civil Supplies
Question 2. List out four members of the Disaster Management Committee at the district level.
Answer : Disaster Management Committees have been set up at the district level headed by the District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner and senior officials from the following departments
(i) Health
(ii) Irrigation
(iii) Veterinary
(iv) Water and Sanitation
(v) Police
(vi) Fire Services and many others.
Question 3. Write the main aim of the National Cadet Corps.
Answer : The main aim of the National Cadet Corps is to develop qualities of character, courage, comradeship, discipline, leadership, secular outlook, spirit of adventure and sportsmanship and the ideals of self less service among the youth to make them useful citizens. This is done by creating a human resource of organized, trained and activated youth who will provide leadership in all walks of life including the Armed Forces and making themselves available for the service of the nation.
Question 4. List the organizations which help the state govt. functionaries in responding to disasters.
Answer : The Disaster Management Committee which is basically the decision making body takes the help of the Disaster Management Teams, like the Fire Services, Police, Health practitioners, NGOs and other voluntary bodies.
Question 5. Explain the role of Central Govt. in responding to disasters.
Answer : The role of the Central Government is based keeping in view the following factors
(i) The gravity of the disaster.
(ii) The scale of the relief operations.
(iii) The requirements of Central assistance required for augmenting financial resources and logistics support at the disposal of the State Government.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Nodal Ministry at the center for coordinating disaster management activities for all natural hazards except drought which is taken care of by Ministry of Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. Other Ministries are assigned the responsibility of providing emergency support in case o f disasters that fall within their preview.