Disasters affect people individually and communities collectively. Communities across the world have been facing a series of new challenges due to increased frequency of disaster occurrence. These have proved to be a threat to the developmental gains, target of poverty reduction and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. In the above context, community based disaster management has become very important as communities are the first respondents to any disaster. There are numerous examples of successful disaster management by communities in countries like, Peru, Bangladesh etc. During the Chennai floods it was observed that local communities helped the vulnerable people as well as the NDRF teams.

Thus, capacity building of communities through training becomes very important because

• A bottom up approach would be adopted where communities are the best judges of their own vulnerability and are capable of making the best decisions regarding their well-being.
• It would ensure the formation of an inclusive plan keeping in mind varied risk-perceptions across people belonging to different social classes, age groups, gender etc. and unite the community in their mitigation and preventive actions.
• The involvement of local people promotes self-reliance and ensures that emergency management plans meet local needs and circumstances; use indigenous knowledge, and skills with respect to hazards and mitigation.
• Communities also play an important role in the recovery process including the socio- psychological rehabilitation of the victims of the disaster.
• With the training and creation of awareness generation on disaster management and carrying out the mock drills from time to time under the close supervision of Disaster Management Committees, the community will be able to function as a well-knit unit in case of an emergency.

It has become necessary to educate communities, impart skills and assign specific roles regarding disaster management to ensure a coordinated response. This can be achieved by:

• Undertaking location specific training programmes for the community.
• Integrating disaster management education wich formal and informal systems of education.
• Charting a proper safety plan including all pre-disaster planning to reduce risk and enhance community preparedness.
• Conducting the entire process of damage assessment and distribution of the relief packages with active involvement of local community leaders and SHGs.

The UNISDR has also noted that where communities are equipped and prepared, disasters have much lesser impact. Consequently, efforts are now focused around building risk resilience by helping communities mitigate the impacts of inevitable disasters, as mandated in priorities of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.