Abstract
Corona virus has taken up the limelight in the sector of disasters since its arrival, however since then the world has faced various other major and minor hazards which have turned into disasters. Be it the Beirut explosion or the Air-India plane crash, disasters have been continuously creating trouble for people. Being in the same time as Covid-19, these disasters can be labelled as parallel disasters. Parallel disasters are difficult to manage as they have a cumulative impact. Sometimes there are multiple hazards and sometimes one hazard leads to another, both the times disaster management becomes very difficult. However, there is one factor in the form of public health which can strengthen the resilience of the population and thus decrease the cumulative impact without even interacting directly with the disaster. In this article, we look at various types of disaster which, along with Covid-19, which have either caused havoc or have the potential to become catastrophes, in the Indian context. The article will look at natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, cyclones and the very devastating heat waves along with man-made disasters like industrial disasters and oil spills. The article will also give a considerable heed to epidemics in the form of Covid-19. We will touch upon the topic of disaster management for all the mentioned disasters which can act as parallel disasters in India and look at why public health can be an important element in management of parallel disasters. Finally the article will talk about the Indian disaster management policy and institutional framework and look at where and how parallel disasters and public health systems can be incorporated in it.
Highlights
Parallel DisastersThere are many disasters which have seriously affected the well-being of humankind since times immemorial
We look at various types of disaster, along with Covid-19, which have either caused havoc or have the potential to become catastrophes, in the Indian context
In case of disasters which are occurring at parallel with Covid-19, it is very essential to include public health comprehensively into the disaster management systems
Summary
There are many disasters which have seriously affected the well-being of humankind since times immemorial Be it the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the bubonic plague or the nuclear reactor explosion in Chernobyl, the world has been through innumerable catastrophes which has taken a heavy toll on its residents. The bubonic plague or the nuclear reactor explosion in Chernobyl, the world has been through innumerable catastrophes which has taken a heavy toll on its residents People belonging to this generation, who were not familiar with massive epidemic disasters like the plague, smallpox or Spanish Flu, have been introduced to the most recent global disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic. The effect of the other disasters has been a lot and Covid-19 has only worsened the cumulative impacts This brings up the topic of parallel disasters, which certainly has a greater impact than one disaster at a time. Disasters can be of three types which are anthropogenic (man-made like industrial and nuclear), natural (like earthquakes and cyclones) and epidemics (like covid-19) [6]
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