Dear Editor,
This refers to your editorial ‘Disaster Management’ (ST- Jan 25). Disaster is a very common occurrence to the human society. Disasters have a major and long-lasting impact on people long after the immediate effect has been mitigated. Although natural disasters are caused by nature and there is nothing that we can do to prevent them happening, there are many different natural causes that lead to natural disasters, and being aware of these causes enables us to be better prepared when such disasters are likely to arrive anytime. Disaster can take place anywhere and at any time. It is important to know what to do and have a plan before a disaster strikes. Disaster preparedness measures can significantly reduce the shock of disasters on people’s lives, livelihoods and assets. It is therefore necessary that to survive the disaster, every family must take responsibility for their own disaster preparedness from home itself. People talk about business continuity plan during a disaster, natural disaster insurance, socio-economic effects of a disaster, the preparedness on the national level, and so on. We all know that it is impossible to avoid disasters, but it isn’t impossible to plan ahead of time so that we can minimise the impact that any given disaster might have on us or on our family’s health, safety and property. One must remember that the future belongs to those who prepare.
Vinod C. Dixit
Ahmedabad