Select a strategy :	Strategy: Table of Contents Strategy Summary Strategic Goals and Objectives Strategic Framework SO1: Economic Growth SO2: Health SO3: Disaster Management SO4: Energy and Environment SO5: Opportunity and Equity Glossary

Strategic Objective 3:
Reduced Vulnerability to Disasters in High Risk Areas

	Problem		Geographic Focus
	Constraints		Impact Measurement
	Rationale		Intermediate Results
	Comparative Advantage		Relationship to Other Strategic Objectives
	Assumptions		Donor Coordination
	Target Groups

Problem
India is a country highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Enormous population pressures and urbanization have forced people to live on marginal lands or in cities where they are at greater risk to disasters and the damage they can cause. Whether a flood, a regional drought or a devastating earthquake, millions of Indians are effected each time a disaster occurs. In addition to large-scale displacement and the loss of life, these events result in the loss of property and agricultural crops worth millions of dollars annually. As examples, the Orissa super cyclone in 1999 killed thousands and destroyed more than one million hectares of crops. The Gujarat earthquake in 2001 claimed thousands of lives, left millions of people homeless and ruined public infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars. These catastrophes typically result in the substantial loss of hard won development gains.

In India, as in the United States, the primary responsibility for responding to disasters lies at the state level. The GOI does not yet have a national emergency plan for disaster management, although it can be and is called upon to assist when necessary. Many Indian states have limited resources and lack their own disaster management plans. Because of these factors, India's disaster response record has been mixed. Case studies of recent disasters list some shortcomings such as:

• Delayed response of government officers;
• Absence of early warning systems;
• Lack of resources to undertake measures like mass evacuation;
• Inadequate coordination among various government departments;
• Non-existent and non-familiarization with standard operating procedures to be followed in providing relief;
• Failure to keep essential stores like sand bags, medicines, and life saving equipment in ready stock; and
• Inadequate coordination with the Army and other service organizations, as well as donors depending on the scale of the disasters.

Constraints
While there is awareness in India that better disaster response mechanisms are necessary, the overall trend has indicated that numerous challenges remain to be overcome. Although India's national capacities to respond to disasters of small or moderate size with relatively little or no international assistance are generally adequate, the overall trends suggest that current GOI response mechanisms are less than optimal for responding to large-scale disasters and that foreign assistance is often required. Deaths and economic losses have increased. The reasons for this are varied including increasing population pressures in urban areas; an increase in poor people occupying marginal lands, e.g., river bottoms, which are susceptible to disasters; poor or ignored zoning laws and policies; lack of proper risk management (insurance); and other factors.

The level of preparedness of the center as well as the states in India is extremely uneven and in general requires considerable strengthening. While the states and local communities need better response and mitigation mechanisms, they are dependent on the center for assistance. Fortunately, the GOI and a number of states have a growing appreciation of the need for effective disaster management strategies. Historically India has preferred to manage disasters on its own. However, the magnitudes of the two recent disasters in Orissa and Gujarat have increased the GOI's interest in working with international partners like USAID to facilitate the delivery of aid, strengthen systems to reduce recovery costs and mitigate the effects of future disasters. Interest is high in the GOI for addressing major weaknesses such as: poor planning and coordination; lack of relevant technology for forecasting; inadequate human capacity and skills for response; inadequate attention to good zoning and building; and ineffective warning systems.

Rationale
USAID's Disaster Mitigation Strategic Objective is consonant with the Agency's Humanitarian Assistance goal and consistent with the GOI's recognized need for international relief assistance and disaster preparedness. Disasters can be a direct threat to economic, social, and political stability. By reducing vulnerability to disasters, this SO will help safeguard the development gains of past USAID investments and, more broadly, those of the GOI, communities, and other donors.

USAID has a window of opportunity to help create a more integrated and responsive disaster management system in India. Following extensive discussions with the GOI and other agencies, USAID will provide assistance in three mutually reinforcing areas: disaster preparedness, response and rehabilitation.

This strategy emphasizes preparing for and responding to natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and droughts), since they occur most frequently, cause the most devastation, and represent areas of comparative advantage for USAID and its USG partners. Yet the tragedy of "September 11" underscores the need for disaster preparedness to include man-made disasters as well. The SO, potentially, could address man-made disasters or other complex emergencies.

Comparative Advantage
Interventions planned under this strategic component are supported by ongoing activities that capitalize upon USAID's comparative advantage in disaster management. This comparative advantage includes the availability of existing USG disaster response and mitigation activities in India. Title II resources continue to be available for immediate use in case of a new emergency, and partner NGOs are already active around the country. There are also resources available from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to respond to immediate emergency needs after a formal disaster declaration has been made. Additional OFDA resources are also available within the broader South Asia region. Along with staff currently resident in the region and available to assist USAID if and as needed, this strategy will expand and activate relevant regional programs for increased benefit to India.

Assumptions
Achievement of the SO is based on the following key assumptions. They will be monitored for their continued validity and relevance during program implementation, and will be updated, as appropriate.

• India will continue to be vulnerable to natural disasters of potentially very serious magnitudes, and its disaster requirements are likely to extend beyond the scope of "natural" to more complex (e.g., man-made) emergencies in the future;
• The GOI will be required to play an increasing and more pivotal role in coordinating international disaster aid;
• The US public, especially Indian Americans, will want rapid and effective USG relief responses to India's disasters;
• The responsibility for government response to disasters in India will continue to devolve from the national level to the states;
• The Indian private banking and insurance sectors can be sensitized to the special needs of vulnerable groups affected by disasters; and
• USAID will have access to continued Title II food assistance, adequate program budgets, and technical and material resources of its sister USG departments, agencies and units (e.g., the US Forest Service {USFS}, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration {NOAA}, the US Department of Agriculture {USDA}, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance {OFDA}, the Federal Emergency Management Agency {FEMA}, and the Department of Defense {DOD}) to mount and coordinate an effective USG disaster assistance program in India.

Target Groups
This SO targets the following broad sets of beneficiary groups, key representatives of which were consulted in developing this strategy:

• At-risk populations, e.g., women, children, scheduled castes and tribes, in high-risk, disaster-prone communities;
• Service providers, e.g., first responders;
• Public and private partners, e.g., banks, insurers, NGOs, businesses; and
• GOI, public policy makers, military, police, and disaster management officials.

Geographic Focus
The geographic focus of the strategy will be determined in close cooperation with the GOI as its disaster management approach evolves. Based on consultations within USAID, with the GOI and with external partner institutions, disaster issues will be addressed at the national, state and local levels of government, as well as at the community level. Targeted states and communities will be selected based on a set of criteria that will be agreed upon with the GOI and other key partner institutions.

Illustrative criteria include:

• The frequency and kinds of disasters that occur;
• State and local receptivity to assistance;
• USG expertise and interests; and
• Opportunities for synergies with other USAID SOs and other donor programs.

Impact Measurement
The success of the Disaster Mitigation SO will be measured by the following illustrative indicators, which will be finalized following approval of the strategy:

• The number of households and communities that participate in USAID-sponsored mitigation activities that address and seek to reduce the loss of life, property and assets;
• The number of more responsive and coordinated disaster-management systems at the national level and in targeted states that have been tested and activated;
• The number of private and public partner agencies that have field-tested mitigation and response activities; and
• The number of communities and institutions that have adopted measures that ease post-disaster rehabilitation and that allow those most affected to more easily return home and resume normal activities.

With support from the Bureau for Humanitarian Response/Food for Peace (BHR/FFP) and OFDA, USAID will continue to provide emergency disaster assistance to help meet critical humanitarian needs. With other USG partners, such as DOD and State, the NOAA, USFS, FEMA, and USGS, USAID will also address requirements across the disaster response spectrum, ranging from pre-disaster activities to rehabilitation. To underscore a more strategic approach to creating a more responsive disaster management system, USAID will collaborate with the GOI at the national and selected state and local levels of government to examine the circumstances that cause the loss of lives and livelihoods, and to initiate targeted activities that mitigate against such losses.

Intermediate Results
Three broadly accepted and mutually reinforcing stages of disaster response are all necessary and relevant components of the SO: mitigation, including preparedness and long term risk reduction measures; response, or immediate relief; and rehabilitation. Activities related to each are inherent in the following three intermediate results.

IR 3.1 Increased Community Preparedness to Mitigate and Manage Disasters
Mitigation activities lead to long term risk reduction, reduced loss of life and property, and more effective-and less expensive-response and rehabilitation.

Illustrative Activities

• Community-level disaster planning;
• Drought mitigation;
• Public awareness and information campaigns;
• First responder training;
• Hospital preparedness;
• Exposure to "best practices" opportunities (in-country, regional, and international);
• Building code enforcement;
• Weather and flood forecasting; and
• Early warning systems.

Illustrative Indicators

Possible measures of progress for this IR are the number of:

• Communities that prepare disaster plans that define what to do and where to go when a disaster strikes;
• Communities undertaking drought or flood mitigation activities;
• Individuals participating in public awareness and information campaigns or exposed to best practices opportunities;
• Individuals or groups who participate in first responder training;
• Hospitals that complete preparedness training;
• Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) created with USAID assistance; and
• New and enabling legislation, administrative directives or programs enacted by the GOI at the national, state or local levels.

Community-level disaster planning and drought mitigation efforts will likely be implemented by international and NGO partners and state-level authorities. USAID expects that public awareness and information campaigns will be designed and launched in collaboration with these partners, with specialized media channels in India, and with support from USG partners like the DOD. Current OFDA-funded activities in India already include some first responder and hospital preparedness training programs that will be expanded under the SO. Finally, with NOAA and USGS assistance, improved, more accurate national weather forecasting and early warning systems that provide timely information to disaster-prone communities will be an important measure of progress.

IR 3.2 Improved Capacity of Public and Private Partners to Meet Critical Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Disaster Situations
While this SO will enable India to better cope with disasters, India will likely still require US and international assistance in response to specific emergencies. Many of these emergency needs will be addressed through relief assistance activities that target the most vulnerable, including women and children.

USAID will assist the GOI as it develops a comprehensive and integrated disaster management system. There has been considerable interest recently within the GOI in US emergency response systems, in particular, the EOC at FEMA, search and rescue operations support, and the incident command system. With OFDA assistance, training programs will be conducted to help establish similar systems within India at the central level and in selected state and local areas. Under this IR, pre-positioning of critical relief supplies, partner training and capacity building activities will ensure faster, more efficient responses to disasters. Improving the strategic use of relief resources from all USG sources to link relief to rehabilitation is a key aim.

Illustrative Activities

USAID activities to improve the capacity of the GOI and relevant partners to respond, include:

• Incident command system training;
• Search and rescue operations;
• Stockpiling of relief supplies;
• Partner training/capacity building; and
• Coordination of international relief resources.

Illustrative Indicators

Progress will be measured by:

• People trained at the national and at selected state and local levels;
• Critical supplies (e.g., water-treatment plants and inflatable boats) pre-positioned;
• Timeliness and effectiveness of delivery of needed assistance to the affected populations; and
• Disaster resources better linked to rehabilitation and development.

IR 3.3 Facilitated and Expedited Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Accordance with Sound and Equitable Standards
It is critical to reestablish normalcy and livelihoods in affected communities as soon as possible following a disaster. It is equally important to reestablish security and restore the functioning of basic institutions to meet critical needs and basic rights. Depending on resource availability and specific rehabilitation requirements, USAID will provide support to help rebuild social and physical infrastructure. This IR will support efforts to examine policies that affect the rehabilitation phase (e.g., those governing banking and insurance), and engage the GOI in increasing responsiveness to and equity for the needs of those most affected.

Illustrative Activities

• Retro-fitting of public buildings, e.g., schools, to be more earthquake resistant;
• Support for materials stockpiling for reconstruction inputs;
• Microfinance support for affected small-scale enterprises or the informal sector;
• Training programs for engineers and masons on how to build more disaster-resistant structures; and
• Information system support to promote transparency and equity in GOI and private sector disaster response.

Illustrative Indicators

Progress will be measured by the number of:

• New or rebuilt structures that meet acceptable disaster-resistance standards;
• Individuals who participate in training programs;
• Improved information systems and policies created and established;
• Loans provided for livelihood restoration;
• Housing loans provided that have a mitigation focus; and
• Vulnerable households that have access to government or private reconstruction programs.

Relationship to Other Strategic Objectives
Drought mitigation work will positively impact the environment and agriculture sectors. First responder and hospital preparedness training will directly affect the health sector by helping to reduce morbidity and mortality. Effective emergency assistance that considers food, water and other basic requirements of more vulnerable disaster victims will complement USAID's health and nutrition programs. Community-level preparedness work targeting women as prime participants will also help to reinforce the USAID gender-related interventions across the portfolio by taking into consideration women's special needs during periods of displacement. Improved disaster preparedness will positively impact governance at the national, state and local levels through more effective local participation and leadership. These activities will promote and result in increased local empowerment, mobilize resources and help sustain activities. They will also likely generate increasing interest in disaster preparedness across civil society and improved governance via an increasing demand for greater accountability and transparency across the entire system.

Donor Coordination
USAID works closely with donors to provide humanitarian assistance in emergency situations. Coordination has facilitated better distribution of funds to NGO implementing agencies. There are a number of bilateral and international agencies involved in disaster-related activities in India, and there has been increased interest in the sector since the Gujarat earthquake. USAID is coordinating its efforts with the following donors and activities.

• British Department for International Development (DFID) will likely target capacity building activities, working with the United Nations and the Indian Red Cross;
• Disaster management has become a key part of the World Bank's poverty reduction agenda. While not involved in relief efforts, the World Bank has provided assistance in pre-disaster and post-disaster activities;
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed $500 million for reconstruction after the Gujarat earthquake, of which $200 million was for housing. The ADB is also providing technical assistance through the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) to the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal;
• With grant support from USAID, the United Nations Development Program has been a lead coordinator of relief efforts in Gujarat to ensure more equitable distribution of aid and reconstruction support. It is interested in continuing to coordinate relief efforts of various donors, NGOs and other UN agencies; and
• The Japanese International Cooperation Agency, and the governments of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark have provided assistance to India in recent disasters.