Towards Odisha's greater investment in disaster risk reduction

Jyotiraj Patra in Orissa Diary: Cyclone Phailin, the worst ever cyclone to hit the eastern coast of India along the Bay of Bengal in 14 years, the unprecedented cyclone-induced rainfall and the subsequent flooding in major river systems in Odisha have left a trail of devastation which has severely impacted the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands. 

Better preparedness planning and coordination among various stakeholders have been instrumental in saving the lives of almost a million people at-risk through their timely evacuation to safer places... Based on field insights and engagements across forums during post-Phailin relief and response activities a framework is being proposed to facilitate this process through the mutually reinforcing elements of Review, Enable, Address, Collaborate and Highlight (REACH):

a. Review: It is high time the state government, to begin with,  undertake a systematic review of the State Disaster Management Policy (2005) involving all other line departments, private sector and businesses, international agencies, civil society organizations and the public at large. ...

...b. Enable: This process of review, among others, would help identify and understand some of the institutional gaps as well as opportunities which would enable the development and strengthening of a disaster risk management approach which is robust, adaptive, and facilitatory in nature.

....c. Address: Addressing the root causes of vulnerability of communities and the economic sectors their livelihood is dependent on is essential to build their capacities to better cope with and recover from disasters. Poverty is one of the key underlying factors which limit people’s access to and benefit from productive assets....

....d. Collaborate:  Collaboration across levels and with a diverse set of stakeholders is essential not only to develop a robust framework of coordination but to ensure ownership of decisions and actions, transparency and accountability. Often missing in this entire process is the citizens including the at-risk communities living across the vulnerable regions.....

...e. Highlight: A systematic and coherent approach of disaster preparedness, which includes greater coordination and participation of the communities at-risk, was instrumental in timely evacuation of a million people....

Cyclone Phailin on October 11, 2013, from NASA