ballistic missiles,Defense,Doctrine,North Korea,Nuclear,PLA,SLBM,Submarines

Stronger Together: A Compendium of Stories of Courage and Resilience During Disasters

Over the years, India has witnessed a concerning surge in climate-induced disasters, posing significant challenges to the country’s overall resilience. The country experiences a range of disasters, such as floods, droughts, cyclones and heatwaves, which have become more frequent and intense due to the effects of climate change. Examples include the devastation caused by Cyclone Tauktae in 2021 in the southern parts of India, the displacement of people and damage to houses during floods in Assam and in Bengaluru during 2022, the occurrence of heatwaves in Northern India and the forest fires in Nagaland as well as various regions of Uttarakhand.

The Global Risks Report 2021, published by the World Economic Forum, has noted that among the most likely risks of the next ten years are extreme weather, climate action failure and humanled environmental damage. It states that in the next decade, amongst the risks likely to have the highest impacts, infectious diseases hold the top spot, followed by climate action failure and other environmental risks. Extreme weather events like floods lead to the emergence of vector-borne diseases like Dengue, Japanese Encephalitis, and Typhus.

While India has been making concerted efforts to deal with these climate change-induced disasters, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic impacted all aspects of daily life, livelihoods, and the overall social and economic fabric of communities across the world. While these biological disasters primarily affect humans, in the past few years, there has been a rising incidence of diseases amongst animals, like Lumpy Skin Disease Virus, which affects cattle and the Nipah Virus, which affects pigs as well as humans. Such infections are transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person-to-person, causing a range of illnesses from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory diseases and fatal encephalitis, resulting in lost lives, significant economic losses as well as affecting the livelihoods of people dependent on livestock, causing health and sanitation concerns for the people in the community.

The escalating frequency of disasters presents a pressing challenge for nations, worldwide. In the case of India, this urgency has prompted the government to adopt a comprehensive approach that integrates climate resilience, disaster management, and public health strategies.

To address the critical need for enhanced resilience against natural and human-made disasters, the Prime Minister of India released the 10-point Agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in 2016.

It serves as a guiding framework for enhancing the country’s resilience and emphasising the vital role of sustained and collective action in strengthening communities against disasters, while also acknowledging the importance of local organisations with an acute understanding of local needs, challenges, and capacities. This approach fosters a resilient society capable of withstanding and overcoming challenges. Aligning with the core aspects of the 10 Point Agenda, particularly Point 9 to Make use of every opportunity to learn from disasters, ‘Stronger Together: A Compendium of Stories of Courage and Resilience During Disasters’, is developed to serve as a powerful source of inspiration for others to learn and draw strength, enabling them to better prepare for and respond to disasters in India.

The Compendium has captured the best practices adopted by individuals and communities at the grassroots level for response and mitigation of disaster impacts in India, supported by local organisations in building capacities and assisting them to thrive through adversities. Their stories of courage exhibit resilience in the face of crisis and supplements the objectives enshrined in Agenda Point 8, which focuses on building local capacities to enhance disaster risk reduction. This also ties in with the objectives of the 3rd session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) which concluded in New Delhi, India, this year. Identifying the need for participatory decision making in disaster management, the NPDRR was constituted by Government of India in 2013. The theme of the third session, “Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate” reflects the need for localising disaster risk management at a time
when disaster risks are not only increasing but new patterns of risks are also emerging. While building local capabilities is indispensable for resilience, the localisation of disaster risk reduction efforts is equally critical. Representing local expertise, people at the grassroots possess an acute understanding of local needs, challenges, and capacities.

This is also reiterated by the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, established under India’s Presidency of the G20 in 2023, which emphasised the importance of the role of communities in DRR. The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration on DRR and the G20 DRR Working Group acknowledged that disasters impact people and communities differentially and can exacerbate pre-existing social and economic inequalities. Therefore, there is a need to prioritise actions for the most vulnerable and at-risk. The outcome document reiterated that the G20 would promote socially inclusive, locally led and owned, gender-responsive, childcentred approaches to DRR, and enable the full, equal, meaningful and inclusive participation and leadership of local communities, and of often underrepresented groups such as Indigenous Peoples, migrants, older persons, persons with disabilities, women, and youth. This ongoing theme is also
reflected in our Compendium.

‘Stronger Together’, highlights the efforts of people in the community in response to the increasing frequency of disasters, aimed at protecting lives, minimising impacts, and building resilient frameworks for future incidences. This compendium can serve as an inspiration on how transformative impact can be achieved through collective action and community empowerment. ‘Stronger Together’, has also captured stories of women at the grassroots, portraying immense courage, building trust and relationships across communities, and building risk resilience in their communities.

During emergencies, relief and support can take months to deliver due to disruptions in the supply chain and restricted movement norms as witnessed during the COVID-19 lockdown. Therefore, it is crucial for people in the community to take charge, lead themselves out of danger and foster a practice of disaster resilience and risk management while also coordinating support and assistance from local organisations, local leaders, or the government response agencies.

‘Stronger Together’, documents the stories of ten individuals, who have shown immense courage and leadership in response to the challenges and the growing local needs in aftermath of a disaster or a recurring calamity. Each story in the compendium narrates a different tale of determination, courage and unwavering resilience exhibited in response to varied disasters, and emergencies. The compendium recapitulates the pointers agreed during the G20 DRR Working Group Meeting, showcasing locally led, gender-responsive, child-centred approaches to DRR, recognising the leadership of local communities, and often underrepresented groups. From Satyavathi’s dedication to creating a community emergency fund in Pentakata village in the aftermath of Fani Cyclone, to the collective efforts of disaster management agencies and stakeholders during COVID-19 pandemic, as described in Vinod’s story from Satara village, these
stories serve as inspiring anecdotes of individuals living an ordinary life yet unveiling extraordinary strength and unity during crisis and emergencies caused by disasters in India.

This compendium can be seen as an opportunity to supplement the efforts of individuals. It can also provide an opportunity to identify individuals and leaders from the community who can take such initiatives forward across different regions and geographies, to build locally disaster-resilient communities.

The lessons we have derived from these ten stories of courage and resilience can serve as a valuable source of learnings to shape future strategies and efforts for strengthening the resilience of communities in the face of disasters. Some key lessons include:

Nurturing Local Resilience by Empowering the Grassroots through Training & Capacity Building: The objective is to foster a network of capable responders. The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need for training and knowledge sharing on psychosocial support and counselling of children and families affected by the crisis, thus empowering communities to thrive amidst challenges, ensuring their sustainable growth and well-being.
Harnessing the Power of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships: An important lesson learned is that community-led partnership models, guided by multi-stakeholder collaborative approach, hold the key to strengthening, the resilience of local communities across India, offering innovative frameworks for sustaining livelihood opportunities. The establishment of the Mahila Sangh (Women’s Self-Help Group) serves as a testament to the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in bolstering community resilience.
Fostering Local Leadership for Resilience at the Grassroots: During emergencies, the presence of capable local leaders becomes paramount as they can effectively lead and provide much-needed support to affected communities. Notably, local leaders such as Satyavathi and Damayanti play a vital role in mobilising communities, identifying immediate needs, and providing essential support to affected populations. By embracing community-led partnerships, we can empower local people to actively participate in their own resilience-building processes, paving the way for sustainable progress and a brighter future. Thus, by nurturing and empowering local leaders, we lay the foundation for strong and resilient communities.
Raising Awareness through Demonstrations: An essential lesson derived from the experiences documented here is the importance of demonstrative awareness programmes. Educating communities about disaster risks, early warning systems, and the preparation of flood survival kits is vital. Through the dedicated efforts of community workers and enhanced community preparedness, reliance on external aid and government support during disasters can be reduced. This enables communities to handle crises effectively and increases their ability to respond to and recover from adversity.

One of the most important features of this compendium is the potential of replicability of the efforts described in the case studies. The methods used by the local leaders, the approach of the community and the lessons learnt from their efforts, can be potentially learnt from, even applied across regions with similar topographies and demography that are subjected to similar kinds of disasters and distress with positive facilitation and enabling environments.

The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.