Nature is the physical world where we lived in. The beautiful environment,
atmosphere, weather, ecosystem and landscape around us is nature. Humans
and other living things can’t survive without nature. It provides us with all the
necessities for our survival, from the food we eat, the clean water we drink, the air
we breathe and the houses we live in is the gift of nature. Excessive use and
consumption of nature can cause extreme damages when natural disasters
occurs that we humans cannot control nor stop.
Natural disaster is a natural phenomena that can happen anywhere and
anytime around the world. It is a normal natural processes on the planet that is
unpredictable and unavoidable that can cause fear, loss of property and death.
Natural disasters includes volcanic eruptions, earthquake, landslide, tsunami etc.
and all types of severe weather conditions such as hurricane, typhoon, winter
storms or any combination thereof.
Natural and man-made disasters cause serious disruption to a community,
and there are many casualties, financial, environmental, social, and economic
losses, which are beyond the power of the community. Although the vulnerability
of some communities and individuals to natural and human-made disasters is
inevitable, the individuals can play a role in reducing the disasters by changing
system resilience and disaster recovery capacity. (Torani, et al., 2019)
Disaster management involves systematic and sustainable working for the
lives and property especially during natural disaster, natural or man-made. The
most evident and foremost need for disaster management is to reduce or prevent
potential casualties. Preparedness towards is the only way to lessen the the
impact of damages of the disaster. It is always advisable and risk-free to have a
proactive approach and arrangement towards disasters. (Miller, 2020)
The current state of disaster laws in India is reactive in nature and this put
them on disadvantageous position. According to Disaster Management Bill there
is a need for paradigm shift in approach to disaster management. The National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was declared to be the mechanism to
take an action every time disaster strikes. As per the bill, the NDMA shall have
the responsibility of laying down plans and guidelines for the disaster
management. (Thomas, 2020)
Additionally, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR),
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have
launched the campaign “Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School”. Its’ goal is to
promote the integration of disaster risk reduction in school curricula in countries
vulnerable to natural disasters, as well as safe construction and retrofitting of
school buildings to withstand the forces of nature. (Izadkhah et al.,2008)
Natural and man-made disasters can happen anytime and anywhere, even
when students were in school, perhaps far away from their home and expected to
be independent. Though colleges and universities should always have strong
plans about disaster preparedness, students must also do their part to protect
themselves from whatever might come their way. An emergency plan was created
to battle against fear and injuries when disaster strikes. The first step is to learn
about the natural disasters in the area and plan ahead an emergency response.
The second step is find out how the school’s preparation and plans to protect
students, faculties and staff. Lastly, create an emergency supply kits that
consists of food, water, first aid, basic supplies, health items, emergency funds
and documents. (McClaren, 2020)
Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals which is to lessen
the impact of disasters in our life and in our environment. Disaster preparedness
is an action that includes critical planning, preparations and strict training about
the do’s and don't s in the face of potential disasters. It consists of a set of
measures performed and practice by the government and other organizations to
reduce the severity of the disaster’s damages. Initiatives such as training for
search and rescue, establishing early warning systems, developing contingency
plans, or stockpiling equipment and supplies. The goal of disaster preparedness
are the following; lessen the impact of disasters on vulnerable population, to
design a coordinated plan that reduces the waste of resources, time and efforts,
to save the lives and property
during disasters, individuals will be
knowledgeable about what to do in the midst of the disaster and lastly to
immediately return the affected and damage population as quickly as possible to
its normal state.