Without an expert in its ranks, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has to fall back on rudimentary inquiry by a couple of revenue officials while reporting on the incident in which nearly hundred houses in Kayantikkara in Kadungalloor panchayat developed cracks in an 'unknown phenomenon' on Monday.
DDMA ruled out the possibility of a tremor and called for a geological study in its report to the State government based on a field visit by Paravur tahsildar and Fort Kochi Revenue Divisional Officer, who have no specialized expertise in the subject.
This at a time when institutions like the nearby Cochin University of Science and Technology boasts of several engineering departments having expertise in subjects related to natural hazards and disaster management.
A.V. George, expert in disaster management and former head of the disaster management department of MG University, told The Hindu that, “compiling data of disasters occurred in the district at least for the last ten years, undertaking vulnerability analysis by prioritizing the disasters to which the district is more prone, and adopting disaster mitigation measures based on the degree of vulnerability are important steps in fighting disasters,” he said.
While the DDMA has prioritized disasters in the order of sea erosion, landslide, and chemical disasters, it does not have extensive data about their past occurrences in the district or area-specific disaster mitigation measures in place. Revenue officials also admit that the absence of an expert is a handicap while facing a disaster.
