Introduction

Disasters are out of human control and they cause immense loss of human lives and properties, shaking the normal everyday activities and putting a stop on them for several next months.Natural disasters are very common all over the world, there is no escaping of it.

Disaster Management is the administration of programs and resources for responding to such emergency situations caused either by natural events such as floods, earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones etc. or sometimes by emergencies caused by human activity such as nuclear explosions, transport accidents,  stampedes, fires, oil spills, industrial accidents etc. The professionals who help to deal with such disasters are known as disaster management specialist; they design and direct program and process of responding to disasters of a different kind. They work as emergency management directors who also plans and work for another kind of emergency situations.

Responsibilities of a Disaster Management Specialist

Natural disasters are very common all over the world, there is no escaping from them but there has to be something done to deal with such stressful situations. Being seventh largest country in the world, India is very prone to natural and human-caused disasters. The geographical and geological setup of the country makes it extremely susceptible to disasters. Disaster management specialist holds a very responsible position as it requires them to make immediate decisions when it comes to saving lives of people in emergency situations. These professionals have several responsibilities to take care of such as:

• Corporate with officials to analyze and prepare ‘damage assessments’ followed by emergencies and disasters.
• Figure out the needs associated with emergency/disaster related situations that need to be addressed in disaster planning or conduct surveys.
• Confer up with local and area government officials, hospitals, schools, and other institutions to determine their capabilities and needs in the time of natural emergencies or disasters.
• To coordinate crisis management activities and disaster response such as opening public shelters, ordering an evacuation, and enforcing special programs and needs.
• Administer and design disaster/emergency readiness training courses for the general public to educate them about responding effectively to disasters and emergencies.
• Maintain and develop inter-group communications between various departments and municipalities, alleviate plan development, exchanges of personnel and equipment, respond to effort coordination etc.
• Perform and develop evaluations and tests of disaster management plans with the conformity of federal and state regulations.
• Inspect equipment and facilities for disaster management centers and communication equipment to evaluate their functional and operational capabilities in a time of disaster management.
• Staying informed about the changes and activities that could affect the likeliness of a disaster/emergency.

How to pursue this career path

The eligibility criteria to become a ‘Disaster Management Specialist’ differ from university to university. A few points to be noticed are given below:

• A student from any stream is eligible to apply for this course.
• One need to secure at least 55% marks in the senior secondary examination in order to apply for the diploma or bachelor’s course.
• If you wish to pursue diploma course you need to have a graduation degree in any field from a recognized university.
• To pursue a D. course your must have passed graduation with at least 55% marks.

Various fields to select from:

• Disaster theories, statistics, and logistics.
• Emergency/Disaster planning procedures.
• Political, international and social issues.
• Law and management fundamentals.
• Environmental and sustainable development, technology development.
• Psychological, physical and social reconstruction of disaster-affected.
• Relief coordination and planning.
• Hazards, risks, and disasters.
• Earth catastrophes, explosion, and fire.

List of top colleges that offer this career path

• National Institute of Disaster Management (New Delhi)
• Centre for Disaster Management (Maharashtra)
• Indira Gandhi National Open University (New Delhi)
• University of North Bengal (Darjeeling)
• Mahatma Gandhi University (Kottayam)
• National Civil Defense College (Nagpur)
• International Centre of Madras University
• Disaster Management Institute (Bhopal)

Designations Associated with this career path

• Security Administration
• Database Analyst
• Security Administration
• Database Analyst
• Network Administrator

Organizations that offers job opportunity for this career path

• SAARC Disaster Management Centre, NIDM Building, New Delhi.
• Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Indraprastha Estate
• National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi
• National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi
• Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), Haryana
• Ambedkar Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh
• Shri Krishna Institute for Public Administration, Ranchi
• Centre of Disaster Management, HCMRIPA, JLN Marg, Jaipur
• India Meteorological Department, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

For further queries and related information, you can approach the Professional Experts at CareerGuide. Hope this will help you!