Course Curriculum:

Disasters can be defined as some dangerous situation or event that can happen unexpectedly anywhere at anytime. The word disaster originated from the French word 'desastre', which is a combination of words ‘des’ (bad) and ‘aster’ (star) and therefore disaster indicates bad star. Disasters that cause serious threat to normal life, property, environment as well as the process of development may be rapid or slow and can be classified as natural disaster, man-made disaster and hybrid disaster. Natural disasters are those which result from natural forces like earthquakes, floods, tsunami, cyclones, Volcanic eruption etc., Man-made disasters like blast, terrible accidents, gas calamity, etc are caused from human beings interaction with artificial environment. Hybrid disasters (eg. epidemics) are those disasters that result from a compound of both natural or man made disaster. The increasing population, deforestation, industrial growth etc can be sighted as the reasons for both natural and human made disasters. The Bhopal gas tragedy in India and September 11 attacks on USA can be considered as two major man made disasters.

Disaster Management also called as Emergency Management is all about dealing with all kinds of disasters. Its major objective is to reduce the shocking effects of a disaster on the affected community and to help them return to normal life within a short period. Disaster management is a multi disciplinary area covering a wide range of issues like monitoring, evaluation, search and rescue, relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation operations. This highly responsible profession includes the plans and actions before, during and after the disasters. It is a combination of mechanisms such as timely warning, alerts, fast response and efficient coordination. Even though we cannot stop or avoid natural disasters, it is possible to resist aftermath calamities of such disasters.

Managing and protecting the mass from different hazards is a very important duty and it needs to be carried out with extreme care and caution. Disaster management is more of a service related field, so one should enter the field fully prepared i.e understanding the pros and cons of the field.

Career Prospects:

Disaster Management personnel should be well prepared to manage emergency situations and should respond to the needs of the people and areas affected, in a quick and efficient manner. They have to be prepared and should have a plan in mind as to how to combat any disaster if it occurs. The right planning helps to decrease the intensity and impact of the disaster.

NGOs and International organizations such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Organisations (UNO), Red Cross, UNESCO offer various opportunities for professionally trained disaster management professionals. They are recruited for conducting training and workshops on disaster management to the general public and for other related activities.