The “New Normal”: Disaster Response in Time of Covid-19

The coming 3-8 months are going to be critical for the disaster preparedness and response, especially, when the countries are facing pandemic and low economic performances due to the lockdown. World is a multi-hazard prone place and disasters are bound to happen. It’s not like that as long as pandemic is continuing disaster will not strike. What is the option left with the countries which are affected by COVID-19 with a possibility of other impending disasters? In such scenarios, what countries should be doing when all focus is concentrated in fighting Covid-19 and recovering economy? Each country need to take a serious review of their disaster response system at the highest level in the light of Corona pandemic. I would suggest that we, the world community, should not be failing as we failed collectively in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. In such scenarios, what countries should be doing when all focus is concentrated in fighting Covid-19 and recovering economy? What would be the coordination mechanism one should adopt?

An exclusive article by Prof. Santosh Kumar, a well known expert on Disaster Management

By Prof. Santosh Kumar, National Institute of Disaster Management

New Delhi, May 06, 2020:

I was just thinking while trying to figure out  the impact of COVID-19 across the globe and assessing  the devastation it has created all over the world that is beyond imagination. I wrote two articles on COVID-19, one in the month of February and another one was in the first week of March 2020.

I did not expect the economic loss would be so huge to absorb. Other than the human lives lost, economic loss and disaster response cost is mind blowing.

With no physical damage to the infrastructure, the economic loss may be running into trillions and trillions dollars.

But the complete global damage is yet to be realized as most of the countries are into lockdown by giving priority to life than the economic loss. COVID-19 is going to stay for long. We should be very happy that since the graph has started flattening, the challenges or the danger of COVID-19 would be soon over.

COVID-19 is not a simple name. It looks very small, but it has actually shaken the whole world. We used to think that the world is fully prepared to fight with the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. But on the spread of the corona globally and its quick conversion into a pandemic, the government had no choice but to lockdown the world.

Most of the governments of the affected countries, (more than 223) preferred lockdown as one of the top priorities in flattening of the curve (which is helping also).  The lockdown has varied from 20 days to 90 days so far.

It is not all over as challenges are still looming large. The entire population of the countries have been asked to maintain certain measures such as staying at home, maintain social distancing, wearing of mask, washing hands, no to social gathering, no to handshakes, no physical contact, maintaining personal hygiene etc.

These practices are now getting converted into a new way of life and gradually it will become a habit and get institutionalized as the New Normal”.

Most of the countries of the world which are affected with the global pandemic are also vulnerable to various other disasters. World is a multi-hazard prone place and disasters are bound to happen. It’s not like that as long as pandemic is continuing disaster will not strike.

In such scenarios, what countries should be doing when all focus is concentrated in fighting Covid-19 and recovering economy?

I would suggest that we should not be failing as we failed collectively in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. All countries have to candidly accept it. Many studies and reports of the WHO, World Bank and other research organizations have warned us earlier about the pandemic which might have gone unnoticed.

Now, when coming to another scenario, tomorrow when any Covid-19 affected country, god forbid, is hit by a cyclone, floods, earthquake, Tsunami etc how they are planning to response to the situation by maintaining social distancing and adhering to all other required protocols.

For an instance, if it is ignored and business is undertaken as usual by maintaining same SOP’s and protocols, the affected country will have to pay a heavier price. They may find an exponential jump of corona virus positive cases and all the efforts taken so far shall go waste  as dim as a dot and country again will be  will be falling into the trap of disaster.

So, what is the option left with the countries which are affected by Covid-19 with a possibility of other impending disasters? A few important question that needs to be highlighted. This is time to pause and ponder and move with the new thinking and strategies.

Many countries might face cyclonic storms as this is the time of low pressure, and in the monsoon season heavy rains and flooding can occur too.

The coming 3-8 months are going to be critical for the disaster preparedness and response, especially, when the countries are facing pandemic and low economic performances due to the lockdown.

Need to prepare and work on strategy/ideas that shall work in case of such disasters, how the response agencies are prepared to respond with the new protocol? What would be their sanitizing process of equipment during the operations?

How the social distancing would be adhered to? How victims will be rescued by the rescuers with social distancing and sanitization practices? How the victims will be kept in the camps and shelter homes?

How the test of the corona virus would be done side by side at the camp site and quarantine facilities to the responders and victims to be planned? How the provisions of humanitarian assistance be provided to the victims?

Disaster response is not only done by government agencies alone. Fleet of the provincial, local government officials, large number volunteers, community members, civil societies, national and international organisations local leaders and specialized forces too are also involved other national and international agencies also participate.

What would be the coordination mechanism one should adopt?

Currently, in all the countries, the disaster management systems along with the public health department stressed but active in containing COVID-19.

All the empowered groups/committees should also meet and discuss the preparedness and responding to disasters specifically in the light of social distancing and other protocols which are being practiced.

The resources allocated for the disaster humanitarian response and relief might have been consumed or depleted in responding to Covid-19 pandemic disaster. Planning for the additional resources is the felt need. What would be the possible changes still be brought in the contingent financing for disaster response?

Disaster response is visible and will continue to have visual images all over. People might also become judgmental on the basis of media reporting which might lead to opinion formation about the governance and might have political implications.

Disaster response is divided into different phases:

i)dissemination of early warning ii) mass evacuation iii) shelter management iv) search and rescue operation v) treatment of the victims vi) provision of safe shelter vii) humanitarian assistance –relief vii) rehabilitation and viii)  immediate recovery.

All these stages require heavy preparation and massive requirements with continuity of supply chain. Each stage has to be unfolded and discussed thoroughly keeping the protocol of social distancing into forefront.

Say, if in the flood affected areas (which could be an identified red zone for corona virus) if affected people have to be rescued by boat but how can the social distancing be designed to avoid Covid-19 to spread?

And, further to it how the people who have been brought to the camp are found to be corona positive, how they may be quarantined and other protocols of isolation and treatment will be flowed? 

Another, if the victim is a special child or adult (physically, mentally and visually impaired) how while addressing their differential need, how they could be rescued with social distancing, mask, and personal hygiene could be maintained?

And how testing system will be deployed while ensuring the responders and victims do not turn corona positive? In such a new scenario, COVID-19 response may be made an integral part of the disaster response system at least till the problem of pandemic is not over.

To conclude, each country need to take a serious review of our disaster response system at the highest level both at the national and the state levels in the light of Corona pandemic. 

Disaster does not have any political boundaries (everyone has seen that in the case of pandemics and in the case of Asian Tsunami 2004) therefore, there is a need to gear up regional Inter Governmental organizations/institutions such as European Union, Economic Commission for Latin American countries, SOPAC, SAARC, ASEAN, EAS, African etc. for regional response system in addressing trans-boundary disasters and also providing bilateral support to the country in distress.

In the time of economic slow-down, till the economy stabilizes, all national platforms, ministerial conferences, global platforms of disaster management should be planned digital discussion forums with experts for finding solutions which would help in speeding up the process, adhering to the norms of social distancing and also curtailing the cost of travel. Time is slipping away.

The global leadership may be provided by any of the countries in leading it from the front and dedicated UN institutions for disaster risk reduction, UNDRR, UNOCHA, UNESCAP, the World Bank, ADB, NDB etc. may like to facilitate the process with the national governments.

Any delay has a big cost. High level global, regional and national levels committees may start taking a review of disaster management systems, both internationally and nationally, for addressing the issues and the new challenges that have already emerged as New Normal.

Prof. Santosh Kumar, Ph.D. Professor & Head of Governance, Policy Planning & Inclusive DRR, National Institute of Disaster Management( Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India) Formerly, he was the Director, SAARC Disaster Management Centre; Executive Director, (I/C) NIDM, Disaster Management Specialist, The World Bank. He has also worked as Professor & Head, Centre for Disaster Management, HCM RIPA, Jaipur, and Deputy Director, Research, UP Academy of Administration, Nainital. https://bit.ly/2KRPQRd Contact- profsantosh@gmail.com, Twitter; @NdmProfsantosh

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author. It doesn’t reflect the views of the Institute, he is associated with. Also, the facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Indian Observer Post either, and Indian Observer Post does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Image courtesy - Representational images of Kerala Floods in 2018 by Prof. Santosh Kumar

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