Equipping Villages for Disaster

Each year, India's monsoon rainy season causes massive devastation, resulting in the loss of homes, cattle, commerce and — above all — human life.

Disaster-preparedness program participants demonstrate proper use of lifesaving flotation devices. Photo by Sanchita Banerjee/CRS

As the torrential rains pound from overhead, rivers and dams overflow their banks and communities, leaving entire villages marooned and residents desperately wading through murky water to find food and shelter for their families. Most often, the brunt of the flooding falls on poor and marginalized communities. These are just the people who lack the influence and money to recover from natural disasters, even anticipated monsoon rains.

In hopes of lessening the burden of such emergencies, over the last several years CRS has been implementing disaster-preparedness programs in areas prone to these crises. Using a variety of techniques, these programs help communities bolster their resources, establish life-saving contingency plans and improve the way they communicate during a crisis. "CRS and our partners focus on building community resilience to various shocks and risks by strengthening positive coping mechanisms in the community," says Kasturi Sengupta, CRS Orissa state representative. "This collective preparedness and response helps them undertake the first response without support from external agencies."

Simple planning can have big payoffs in an emergency. CRS programs help communities train rescue committees, raise wells to protect water sources from pollution by floodwaters, identify safe shelter areas, and stock grain, tarps and other lifesaving supplies. Even though the monsoon season came earlier than usual this year — with record devastation that left tens of millions displaced in India and elsewhere in South Asia — the impact of the floods on individual families was considerably lessened in villages where the program is available. Communities in India's state of Orissa had evacuation plans and reserves of food grains ready to support families in the area. In the northeastern state of Assam, CRS had pre-positioned stocks in a nearby warehouse so that, when disaster struck, emergency relief kits were available and distributed quickly to people most in need. In Bangladesh, people began taking their livestock to higher ground at first sight of the rising waters, and built dams with water hyacinths to surround their houses — preventing, or at least lessening, the water entering their homes.

Empowering the Most Vulnerable

The disaster-preparedness program, implemented in India in 1999 with the help of our local partners, has more than 200,000 participants in over 1,500 villages in flood prone, vulnerable districts throughout Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa. In such highly populated areas as Bihar and Orissa, about half of the population lives below the poverty level, making the fallout from natural disaster even more severe. These districts are especially vulnerable because of their proximity to the Gangetic and Brahmaputra river basins and the Bay of Bengal, which is highly prone to floods and cyclones. CRS' village resilience strategy reaches out to ultra-vulnerable members of the community, especially women, in these areas.

In Bangladesh, volunteers and aid workers responding to this year's monsoon have noticed the impact and benefits of similar programs taking place in disaster-prone areas over the past three years.

"People have been promoting hygiene and sanitation practices in villages given the polluted conditions of the water and surroundings. You can see that some homes and roads had been built on higher ground before the floods. People are monitoring the level of rivers, following disaster-related news in the media, and disseminating information throughout the community," says Snigdha Chakraborty, CRS regional outreach program officer.

One Scoop of Rice at a Time

As part of the program, CRS encourages community groups to network with local social service providers, and organize emergency warning and evacuation plans. During emergency drills, people of all ages practice rescuing each other in high water or from rooftops. They also learn how to use flotation and rappelling devices.

Communities at particular risk are encouraged to collectively build reserves of food and supplies — for example, setting aside a scoop of rice or grain every week or month for use only in times of emergency.

"The grain banks provide food not only during the peak period of floods but also post flood, to provide food when no employment or wage-earning opportunity is available. With 405 grain banks in 253 villages, this is the most sustainable intervention of CRS," says Sengupta.

Kai T. Hill, an associate web producer with CRS, works in the Baltimore office. Caroline Brennan is South Asia regional information officer for Catholic Relief Services based in New Delhi, India