The three-day regional capacity building training programme for North East academics on ‘Inspiring the minds for disaster risk reduction’ concluded today.
The event was organised jointly by North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and Indian Universities and Institutions Network on Disaster Risk Reduction (IUINDRR-NIDM), part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The valedictory programme was held at Shillong Science Centre on the NEHU campus here. The training programme served as a platform for inspiring academics to take an active role in disaster risk reduction by providing them with information, resources and a platform for discussion.
The programme focused on key considerations and strategies required for financial resilience to disaster, community-based disaster risk reduction, the disaster vulnerability profile of India, disaster preparedness planning and disaster management.
More than 60 delegates participated from Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya.
The training programme comprised of lectures by the invited guest from IUINDRR-NIDM as well as faculty from NEHU and covered the various topics related to financial resilience to disaster, causes and impacts of disasters, flood forecasting, early warning and emergency response through remote sensing and GIS, application of geo-informatics in disaster management, disaster profile of North East India and disaster risk with climate variability, community mapping/ risk analysis and disaster vulnerability of India.
During a campus assessment exercise, trainees were divided into groups, each assigned a specific topic to explore around the NEHU campus. These topics included the general campus profile with a focus on the architectural and engineering features of campus buildings such as the Science Centre and cluster classrooms. After conducting their assessments, each group presented their findings and experts provided valuable suggestions based on these presentations.
The chief guest at the valedictory programme was Brig Vijayant Mahadik, Group Commander of Shillong Group National Cadet Corps, who highlighted that disaster risk resilience enhances national security and stability as resilience in critical infrastructure and systems is essential to the continued functioning of a country during and after disasters. He also stressed that increased investments in multi-hazard early warning systems as well as expanding coverage, particularly in India, is essential in reducing fatalities. Early warning systems can also decrease disaster losses by up to 60 per cent, offering a remarkable tenfold return on investment.
