Disaster Management — Practice Questions
UPSC-pattern practice questions on disaster management with explanations — CDRI, tsunami early warning, the Sendai Framework and DM Act institutions.
Questions
These are original UPSC-pattern practice questions. Attempt each one before revealing the answer.
With reference to the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), consider the following statements:
- It was launched by India at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.
- Its secretariat is located in Geneva.
- The Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative was launched under it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 3 are correct — CDRI was launched in New York in September 2019, and IRIS was launched under it at COP26 (2021). Statement 2 is wrong — the CDRI secretariat is in New Delhi; Geneva hosts the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
Answer: C
The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre is operated by:
Solution
INCOIS, Hyderabad (Ministry of Earth Sciences) has operated the centre since 2007, set up after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. IMD issues weather and cyclone warnings; NDMA makes policy and coordinates; NRSC provides remote-sensing data.
Answer: A
Which one of the following is not one of the four priorities for action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030?
Solution
The four priorities are: understanding disaster risk; strengthening disaster risk governance; investing in DRR for resilience; and enhancing preparedness and “Build Back Better”. “Zero mortality” is neither a priority nor a target — the first global target is to substantially reduce disaster mortality.
Answer: B
Consider the following pairs:
| Body | Chaired by |
|---|---|
| 1. National Disaster Management Authority | Prime Minister |
| 2. National Executive Committee under the DM Act | Union Home Secretary |
| 3. State Disaster Management Authority | Chief Minister |
| 4. National Crisis Management Committee | Cabinet Secretary |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
All four are correct. The common traps: assigning NDMA to the Home Minister, or the NEC to the Cabinet Secretary (who chairs the NCMC).
Answer: D
Mains
“Communities are the first responders in any disaster.” Discuss the role of community-based disaster management in reducing disaster risk in India.
Solution
Introduction: In the first hours of most disasters, help comes from neighbours, not national forces. Community-based disaster management (CBDM) makes local people partners in reducing risk, not just recipients of relief.
Body:
- Preparedness: village and ward disaster plans; mock drills; local knowledge of safe routes and vulnerable households.
- Early warning and evacuation: last-mile communication of warnings — central to Odisha’s cyclone success (1999 vs 2013).
- Response: trained volunteers (Aapda Mitra) for search, rescue and first aid; women’s self-help groups for relief distribution.
- Recovery: owner-driven reconstruction; local monitoring of relief.
- Institutional link: DDMAs with local-body co-chairs (DM Act, Section 25); Sendai Framework’s “all-of-society” approach.
- Challenges: low awareness, volunteer retention, weak local finances, exclusion of the most vulnerable.
Conclusion: Disaster resilience is built village by village; empowering communities is the most cost-effective investment in risk reduction.
Urban flooding has become a recurring disaster in Indian cities. Examine its causes and suggest a strategy for urban flood risk management.
Solution
Introduction: Urban floods differ from riverine floods: they result from intense rainfall over built-up areas where water cannot drain or soak in. Recurring episodes in major Indian cities show that the hazard is amplified by how cities are built.
Body:
- Causes:
- Natural — short-duration extreme rainfall, increasingly linked to climate change; high tides in coastal cities.
- Man-made — encroachment on lakes, wetlands and floodplains; choked and undersized stormwater drains; concrete surfaces reducing infiltration; solid waste in drains; unplanned construction on natural drainage channels.
- Governance — fragmented responsibility among municipal bodies, development authorities and State departments; weak enforcement of land-use rules.
- Strategy:
- Plan: drainage master plans based on watershed boundaries, not ward boundaries; protect and restore wetlands and lakes; zoning of flood-prone areas.
- Build: “sponge city” measures — permeable surfaces, rainwater harvesting, retention ponds; desilting before the monsoon.
- Warn: city-specific early warning using rain gauges and flood models; alerts on mobile phones.
- Govern: a single nodal agency for urban flood management; DDMA and municipal coordination; NDMA guidelines on urban flooding.
- Prepare: community volunteers, evacuation routes, protection of critical infrastructure (power, hospitals, transit).
Conclusion: Urban floods are largely a planning failure. Treating water as part of urban design, as the Sendai Framework’s risk-informed development approach suggests, is the lasting solution.