Abstract

A disaster means that appalling disturbance change which brings with it great damage misery and death when it occurs and leaves a legacy of destruction that has to be overcome Although disasters have enormous damaging capacity there exist considerable evidence of the efforts made by human beings to survive in extreme events such as earthquakes or hurricanes or fires and these evidences are observed throughout ancient to modern history of human civilization In contemporary societies warnings and repercussions of disasters has been superintended by various organizations in various forms International aid-agencies such as the World Bank WB United Nations Development Programme UNDP Canadian International Development Agency CIDA and United States Agency for International Development USAID etc emphasize through their Disaster Relief Program DRM on the involvement of community for development purposes and long term sustainability UNDP-DRM 2002-09