Summary Note
Web-based Application for Tracking Disaster Management
Background
The National Disaster Management Authority Act 2005 mandates the development of
comprehensive disaster management plans at various levels. Accordingly, many
districts in Bihar have developed district disaster management plans (DDMP,
henceforth) to deal with a range of hazards. Samastipur, one of the districts in Bihar
also developed a GIS-enabled DDMP with support from Unicef and PRAXIS, focusing on
disaster risk reduction and enhancement of preparedness, concentrating on pockets of
greater vulnerability and customizing routine interventions of various government
departments to bring about greater safety from disasters.
‘Disaster-Ready’ – Relevance of a Web-based Tracker
The experience of supporting the DDMA of Samastipur in formulation of the DDMP and
the interest generated through the effort amongst agencies like Bihar State Disaster
Management Authority pointed at the need of scaling up the effort. Accordingly, Unicef
and Praxis collaborated in 2013 towards development of ‘Disaster-Ready’ – a webbased tracker application, which could possibly be hosted by a state level nodal
organization (e.g. Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, or the Disaster
Management Department), to keep track of all interventions of disaster management
based on real-time data, for ensuring improved responsiveness, accountability and
preparedness. The application entails the following functions:
a. Mechanism for uploading and retrieving real-time data related to hazards,
vulnerabilities, disaster management actions and inventory transactions, to
ensure timely actions at various levels with due accountability;
b. Mechanism for tracking progress of various districts of Bihar in formulation of
DDMPs, for use in monitoring by agencies like BSDMA and the Department of
Disaster Management, Govt. of Bihar; and evidence-based grading of districts in
terms of quality of their DRR initiatives, disaster preparedness, response and
mitigation, indicating key gaps;
c. Mechanism for accessing resource support (e.g. requests for trainings or
relevant information) for dealing with disasters comprehensively.
Accordingly, with the aforesaid possibilities in sight, an internet-based, interactive
application titled ‘Disaster-Ready’ has been developed, which is currently being tested
for its functional robustness.
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