In India earthquakes, cyclones and floods kill thousands, leave millions destitute, and cause large infrastructure and financial losses. Hardest hit by these disasters are the poor, who are more vulnerable to risk than others.

To mitigate the devastations caused by natural or human-caused disasters, countries and communities must have the capacity to better predict potential disasters, prepare high-risk areas so that a disaster’s damage is limited, and respond in an effective, coordinated manner.

The Disaster Management Support (DMS) project, a collaborative effort between the Governments of India and the U.S., helps India reduce its vulnerability to natural and human-caused disasters. Supported and managed by USAID, DMS pairs Indian officials and specialists with experts from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, Geo Hazards International (GHI), the U.S. Geological Survey and the United Nations Development Programme. These agencies share with their counterparts methods and tactics that help India and its most vulnerable citizens prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.

Working together, U.S. and Indian partners:

• Use training and technology exchanges to professionalize India’s Incident Command System (ICS) – ensuring that the ICS has a cadre of professionals ready to respond in emergency situations
• Create Emergency Operations Centers that allow for disaster coordination between national, state and local officials during or following an event
• Strengthen early-warning systems that track the potential for floods, cyclones and other weather-related disasters and communicate this information so people can take action
• Train disaster volunteers and management teams in disaster-prone areas to create community-level disaster preparedness plans and to respond immediately after a catastrophe
• Enhance the techniques of search and rescue teams
• Formulate designs to retrofit buildings to meet earthquake-resistant standards.