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Disaster Preparedness Projects in Coastal Orissa
 After
the Orissa Super Cyclone of 1999, the Disaster
Preparedness Project was launched in Kendrapara and
Jagatsinghpur districts of coastal Orissa. This project
is an example of LRRD - Linking Relief Rehabilitation
with Development. Witnessing attitudinal and behavioural
changes among the community members in operational areas,
the project was extended to Ganjam and Jaipur districts
from 2005. However, owing to financial constraints, the
Jagatsinghpur project closed in October 2006.
Target activities achieved include the formation of
Disaster Mitigation Teams (DMTs) to help communities
during disasters as well as the training of community
people and local self government representatives on
disaster preparedness. The following skill trainings
were conducted for the DMTs:
- Warning, search, rescue & evacuation
- First aid and trauma counselling
- Shelter & relief management
- Water & sanitation
- Networking & leadership development
Furthermore, awareness programmes were organized in
schools both for teachers and students. Participatory
Rural Appraisal exercises were conducted to generate
baseline data for the planning and implementation of
disaster mitigation measures.
Other sustainable development activities were carried
out like:
- Formation of Self Help Groups, training of group
members and creation of group funds
- Establishment of Grain Banks
- Organization of health awareness and gender
sensitization programmes
- Creation of Non-formal Education Centres and training
of instructors
- Organization of vocational and agricultural training
- Development of wastelands through plantation
programmes and group farming
- Development of community infrastructures through Food
for Work Projects
- Renovation & construction of tube wells/dug wells
with raised platforms (to avoid contamination from
floodwaters)
- Construction of community centres
Neighbouring communities are now requesting LWSI to
take up this type of capacity building activities with a
participatory approach in their areas. Other NGOs are
also trying to replicate the Community Based Disaster
Preparedness concept.
Community Based Disaster Preparedness and Livelihood
Support Project in Tamil Nadu
 The
tsunami of 26 December 2004 left its greatest impact on
rural coastal communities in South India. Thus the
government and humanitarian agencies focused on the
fishing communities immediately after the disaster.
Post-tsunami rapid impact assessments showed that for
every ocean-fishing community, at least two
non-ocean-fishing communities were equally affected but
deprived of support. While these communities may have
suffered less physical losses, in many cases they have
experienced irredeemable losses by way of their existing
sources of livelihoods.
Keeping this reality in view, LWSI initiated a
Community Based Disaster Preparedness and Livelihood
Support Project in 50 tsunami affected non-ocean-fishing
and dalit communities of Cuddalore and Nagapattinam
districts of Tamil Nadu from August 2006.
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