Odisha State Disaster Management Authority

Odisha State Disaster Management Authority,(Formerly Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority) abbreviated as OSDMA, is an agency of the Department of Revenue & Disaster Management whose primary purpose is to carry out response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response.[1] OSDMA was established by the Government of Odisha , Department of finance resolution on 28 December 1999 as 'Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority'. It was done as a response to the death toll and damage caused by 1999 supercyclone.[2][3] OSDMA is overseen by a governing body. The chief secretary of Government of Odisha is the ex-officio chairperson of the governing body.[4]

Odisha Disaster Management Authority
Agency overview
Formed1999
TypeAgency
JurisdictionGovernment of Odisha
HeadquartersRajiv Bhavan,Unit 5 ,Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Agency executive
  • Aditya Prasad Padhi, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt of Odisha
Parent departmentDepartment of Revenue & Disaster Management (Odisha)
Websitewww.osdma.org

History

Prior to establishment of OSDMA , the emergency management in Odisha was not a specialised function. It was being handled by the district administration. However the 1999 super-cyclone this approach was found lacking. Due to lack of coordination on various organisations and departments , the rescue , and relief works were severely hampered. This caused a death toll of 10000.[5] Government of Odisha created a comprehensive disaster response plan . OSDMA was created under this plan as an agency of the Department of Revenue & Disaster Management as Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority. Its primary purpose is to carry out response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response.It was later renamed to its present name.

Organisation

OSDMA is operationally organized into the following divisions:

  • Disaster Management Division
  • Projects Division
  • Finance division

Functions and responsibilities

OSDMA, as the apex body, is mandated to carry out, plan for Disaster Management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. To achieve this, it has the following responsibilities

  • It carries out disaster mitigation activities such as mock drills[6] and evacuation in vulnerable areas.[7]
  • Carry out reconstruction activities while coordinating other departments.[8]
  • Work with aid agencies, UN Agencies, International, National and State-level NGOs for disaster management activities[9][10]
  • Work with other state and national level relevant organizations for disaster management.
  • Prepare and issue guidelines for disaster management for local administrations and other organisations.
  • It also carries out preemptive disaster mitigation activities such as construction of cyclone shelters,[11] early warning systems [12] and preparedness drills[13]
  • In addition to the major natural disasters (Cyclone, Flood, Earthquake), OSDMA is also the primary organisation for capacity improvement to face events such as Lightning, heat wave, whirlwind, tornado, heavy rain, drowning, boat accident and snake bite.[14]

Programmes

OSDMA runs many programmes for disaster management

  • National Programme for Capacity Building of Architects in Earthquake Risk Management (NPCBAERM)
  • Disaster Risk Management Program
  • National Programme for Capacity Building of Engineers in Earthquake Risk Management (NPCBEERM)
  • Building Early warning system such as Cyclone and Tsunamialert siren towers in coastal areas.[15][16]
  • Training a canine unit for rescue assistance.[17]

Awards and Recognition

It was awarded the SKOCH Award, 2018 for its work in disaster management.[18]

Disaster response

OSDMA has proved its efficacy with its commendable performance during various disasters hitting the state of Odisha. Some of the major response operations of OSDMA as below:

2013

2014

  • Cyclone Hudhud – OSDMA sent disaster response teams to help with post cyclone reconstruction[20]

2015

  • Nepal Earthquake - OSDMA team sent to helo local authorities in relief and restoration operations.[21]

2018

  • Cyclone Titli – Evacuated about 300,000 people to cyclone shelters.[22]

2019

  • Cyclone Fani – Evacuated about 1.2 million people to nearly 4000 cyclone shelters.[23]

2020

Cyclone Amphan - About 6.58 lakh people were evacuated.

See also

References
  1. Babu, Suresh Chandra; Blom, Sylvia (30 April 2014). Capacity development for resilient food systems: Issues, approaches, and knowledge gaps. Intl Food Policy Res Inst. pp. 18–. GGKEY:CE1PADH0Y0N.
  2. Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett (4 September 2017). Avoidable Deaths: A Systems Failure Approach to Disaster Risk Management. Springer. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-3-319-66951-9.
  3. "World Bank Board Approves $153 Million Support to Odisha Disaster Recovery Project". World Bank. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. R. Subramanian. Disaster Management. Vikas Publishing House. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-93-5271-870-2.
  5. "Learning from Deaths in Disasters: The Case of Odisha, India". Middle East Institute. 5 March 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  6. "Odisha State Disaster Management Authority holds mock drills simultaniously across state". 21 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. "World Bank praises India's Cyclone Phailin evacuation efforts". LiveMint. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  8. "Government of India and World Bank Sign $153 Million Agreement for Odisha Disaster Recovery Project". World Bank. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  9. Pioneer, The. "UN hails State Govt's evacuation efforts". The Pioneer.
  10. "PSUs mobilise aid for Odisha's cyclone-hit areas". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  11. Delhi, India Today Web Desk New; May 6, 2019 UPDATED; Ist, 2019 14:46. "IIT Kharagpur shelters thousands in Odisha amid cyclone Fani". India Today. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. Reporter, Staff (18 January 2018). "Disaster warning system for Odisha by March". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  13. "Tsunami drill in coastal zones". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  14. "Odisha Govt. Puts eight disasters under State response fund". The Hindu. 23 April 2015.
  15. "Odisha to set up 122 cyclone, Tsunami alert siren towers - Bhubaneswar News". The Times of India. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  16. "Odisha launches disaster alert system for its coast". The Hindu. 30 October 2018.
  17. "Meet the dogs who save lives". Telegraph India. 30 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  18. India, Press Trust of (2 March 2019). "OSDMA bags SKOCH Award". Business Standard News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  19. "World Bank praises India's Phailin evacuation efforts". The Hindu. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  20. "Odisha returns Andhra's favour". Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  21. "Nepal earthquake: Odisha government announces Rs 5 crore for victims". The Economic Times. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  22. "Know why Titli is a rarest of rare cyclone". Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  23. "Fani's hard lesson on resilient infrastructure - India". Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
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