3.1. Investment in Preparedness vs. Response

So, we can have many more such small things right, we have many more such like insurance, like rainwater harvesting, we have many more such small technologies. Now, we need to promote, we need to encourage people to adopt and install these small technologies, a small thing but a big challenge. (Refer Slide Time: 09:45)

This chunk emphasizes the significance of small technologies, such as insurance and rainwater harvesting, in disaster preparedness. These technologies are often easy to implement but crucial for enhancing community resilience. However, the challenge lies in getting people to accept and implement these solutions.

Think of it like having a small safety net in your home—just like you might invest in a smoke detector or a first aid kit, rainwater harvesting helps manage water resources efficiently. Both might seem insignificant, but they provide critical support during emergencies.

So, what do we do for the local government? let us say, municipal authority, they ask people to follow something like you have to evacuate during certain time or you have to manage your solid waste, you have to follow building bye-laws, you have to store food during emergency, or you have to keep survival kit, or contingency kit like that. Now, this process that a local government is telling something to the people at risk to reduce their risk and to install and adopt some disaster preparedness technology.

Local governments have a crucial role in disaster management. They provide guidelines and instructions to help citizens prepare for emergencies, such as evacuation procedures and the necessity of maintaining emergency supplies. This guidance is essential for encouraging individuals to take proactive steps toward disaster preparedness.

Imagine your local fire department organizing a community workshop on fire safety. Just like that, local governments provide essential information to help residents protect themselves and their families from potential disasters.

We know this is called a simple risk communication process, right but it is not always easy, the conventional risk preparedness mechanism or system, they think that only providing information to the people is enough, if I ask people to evacuate during emergency that is enough but that is not always enough.

While risk communication is a fundamental aspect of disaster preparedness, simply providing information is often inadequate. Many people may not act on the instructions they receive, highlighting a gap between communication and action. This indicates that more strategies are needed to foster a culture of preparedness.

Consider a teacher who tells students to study for an exam. Simply saying this is not enough; they must also motivate students and provide them with the tools to study effectively. Similarly, authorities must engage the community beyond mere instructions to ensure they prepare.

We know after putting a lot of money, running a lot of projects, spending a lot of time, the inclination; the tendency of the people to prepare against disaster is elusive, it is really low. Why; why people are not preparing? Here is a good example; what do you think as risky, people may not think is risky.

Despite investments in disaster preparedness initiatives, many individuals show little inclination to prepare for emergencies. This is often due to misperceptions of risk, where individuals may underestimate potential hazards or believe they are not personally at risk.

Just like people often ignore health warnings until it's too late, many individuals don't act on disaster preparedness messages until they are directly threatened, often underestimating the frequency and severity of potential disasters.

Actually, people overestimate their knowledge that they know all, or people estimate that they are prepared enough that even flood will can earthquake will happen I will be safe because I am not that vulnerable, I am prepared enough, my house is good.

People often have an inflated sense of their own preparedness and knowledge regarding disaster risks. They may believe their homes or personal readiness will protect them, leading to complacency and a lack of proactive measures.

It's similar to drivers who think they're skilled enough to handle any driving conditions. They may skip safety measures, thinking they can manage without them until they find themselves in a difficult situation.

Or maybe people think that okay, it is also the responsibility of others like, people often blame the municipal authority for getting flood, they said that flood is an issue of the local government, it is not my duty to protect myself against flood risk.

Another barrier to preparedness is the belief that disaster risk management is solely the responsibility of government authorities. Many individuals expect local governments to handle emergencies, resulting in a lack of personal responsibility and proactive action.

Think of it like a neighborhood watch program; if everyone assumes that just one neighbor will take care of security, the whole neighborhood becomes vulnerable. When everyone takes personal responsibility, the community becomes much stronger against threats.

Here are some data we can see that, actually, ideally we should have more money should be invested on prevention and preparedness. But if you look into the current situation, it is totally opposite, we are spending more money in emergency response and very less money in prevention and preparedness, right.

Currently, investment trends show a disproportionate focus on responding to emergencies instead of preparing for them. This misallocation of resources means that communities are often ill-equipped to handle disasters when they occur.

Imagine a household that only buys food and supplies for when guests come over but never prepares their own meals. After some time, they find themselves unprepared when guests unexpectedly show up.

So, disaster preparedness which we are promoting it is not enough, people are more, we are spending more money on disaster relief, people are not ready to spend money on preparedness so, government is also failing to spend money on preparedness.

There is a clear need for more proactive financial investment in disaster preparedness. Both individuals and governments are currently more inclined to allocate funds toward immediate disaster relief rather than preventive measures, which hinders long-term resilience.

This is like a person who only saves money to cover emergencies instead of investing in health insurance or safety measures that could prevent future spending. Prioritizing immediate fixes over prevention ultimately leads to greater hardship.

So, these risk communications like local government to the community, how we can manage this one? Let us imagine that a flood is coming and local government is trying to say to the people that flood is coming so, you are at risk so, your family is at risk so, please, please, please evacuate, do not take the risk, but please evacuate to a safer place that we told you.

Risk communication is key when managing disasters. Local governments must effectively convey risks to communities and encourage timely action, such as evacuations, but this is often met with resistance or apathy from individuals.

It's like a coach yelling at players to get off the field before a storm hits. If players ignore the advice, they can put themselves in danger, highlighting the importance of not only the communication but also the players' responses to it.

--