UPSC Disaster Management – Chapter 1: Disaster Management – Concepts, Terms and India's Risk Profile (20 MCQs)

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UPSC Disaster Management – Chapter 1: Disaster Management – Concepts, Terms and India's Risk Profile (20 MCQs) – 20 questions, subject: Disaster Management. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

Under the DM Act, 2005, an event becomes a "disaster" mainly when it:

Correct Answer: A [is beyond the coping capacity of the affected community]

Explanation:

Section 2(d) of the DM Act, 2005 treats an event as a disaster when it is beyond the coping capacity of the affected community.

2.  

People and assets located in hazard-prone areas are described as:

Correct Answer: C [exposure]

Explanation:

Exposure means the people, buildings and assets located in hazard-prone areas, such as settlements on flood plains or coasts.

3.  

Which of the following is a non-structural mitigation measure?

Correct Answer: C [Enforcing land-use zoning]

Explanation:

Zoning changes how land is used through law and planning rather than physical construction, so it is non-structural.

4.  

Drought is generally classified as a:

Correct Answer: B [slow-onset disaster]

Explanation:

Drought develops gradually through months or years of rainfall deficit, so it is a slow-onset disaster.

5.  

The High Powered Committee on disaster management (1999) was chaired by:

Correct Answer: A [J. C. Pant]

Explanation:

The High Powered Committee set up in August 1999 was chaired by J. C. Pant.

6.  

The HPC (1999) grouped disasters into how many groups?

Correct Answer: C [Five]

Explanation:

31 disasters in five groups.

7.  

According to the National Disaster Management Plan, about how much of India's landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity?

Correct Answer: C [59%]

Explanation:

The NDMP states that about 59 per cent (58.6%) of India's landmass is prone to moderate to very high intensity earthquakes.

8.  

About how much of India's cultivable area is vulnerable to drought?

Correct Answer: D [68%]

Explanation:

The NDMP records that about 68 per cent of India's cultivable area is vulnerable to drought.

9.  

The ability of a community to absorb, adapt to and recover from a hazard quickly is called:

Correct Answer: C [resilience]

Explanation:

Resilience is the ability to resist, absorb, adapt to and recover from a hazard quickly.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. Disaster management was moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2002.
2. The Tenth Five-Year Plan had a separate chapter on disaster management.
3. The DM Act, 2005 applies only to natural disasters.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2 are true; statement 3 is false because the Act also covers man-made causes, accident and negligence.

11.  

Assertion (A): Cutting vulnerability can reduce disaster risk even when the hazard cannot be controlled.

Reason (R): Disaster risk depends on exposure, vulnerability and capacity as well as on the hazard.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Risk depends on vulnerability as well as the hazard, so lowering vulnerability lowers risk; R therefore explains A.

12.  

Evacuation and search and rescue belong to which phase of the DM cycle?

Correct Answer: B [Response]

Explanation:

Evacuation and search and rescue are emergency actions taken when a disaster strikes, which is the response phase.

13.  

Which of the following is an example of social vulnerability?

Correct Answer: D [Exclusion of persons with disabilities from warnings]

Explanation:

Leaving persons with disabilities out of warnings arises from social exclusion, so it is social vulnerability.

14.  

The UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction covered:

Correct Answer: D [1990–99]

Explanation:

The UN General Assembly declared the 1990s (1990–1999) the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.

15.  

"Build back better" is mainly a principle of:

Correct Answer: A [recovery and reconstruction]

Explanation:

Build back better means using rebuilding after a disaster to make homes and infrastructure safer, a recovery-phase principle.

16.  

India's relief-centred approach to disasters had its roots in the:

Correct Answer: B [Famine Codes]

Explanation:

The Famine Codes, framed after the Famine Commission of 1880, set the relief-based pattern India followed for a century.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. High Powered Committee on disaster management
2. Famine Commission
3. National Disaster Management Plan
4. Disaster Management Act

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-1-4-3]

Explanation:

1880, 1999, 2005, 2016.

18.  

About how many kilometres of India's coastline are prone to cyclones and tsunamis, according to the NDMP?

Correct Answer: D [5,700 km]

Explanation:

The NDMP says close to 5,700 km of the coastline, then measured at 7,516 km, is prone to cyclones and tsunamis.

19.  

The risk that remains even after all reduction measures is called:

Correct Answer: A [residual risk]

Explanation:

Residual risk is the risk that remains even after all disaster risk reduction measures are in place.

20.  

Which of the following is a human-induced disaster?

Correct Answer: A [Chemical gas leak]

Explanation:

A chemical gas leak results from industrial activity or human negligence, so it is a human-induced disaster.

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