Incident Response System : NDMA
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) recently said several states and Union territories (UTs) are yet to implement the Incident Response System (IRS).
- Incident Response System is a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedure and communications operating within a common organizational structure, with responsibility for the management of assigned resources to effectively accomplish stated objectives pertaining to an incident.
- In line with administrative structure and DM Act 2005, Responsible Officer (RO) is designated at the State and District level as overall in charge of the incident response management.
- RO may delegate responsibilities to the Incident Commander (IC), who in turn will lead/manage the incident through Incident Response Teams (IRTs).
- IRS functions through Incident Response Teams (IRTs) in the field. An IRT is a team comprising all positions of IRS organization; headed by Incident Commander (IC).
- On receipt of Early Warning, RO activates IRTs. In case of a disaster without any warning, local IRT will respond and contact RO for further support, if required.
- IRTs pre-designated at all levels, i.e. State, District, Sub-Division and Tehsil/Block.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):
- Parent body: Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Objective is to coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response.
