We often wonder why, despite warnings and previous experiences, communities around the world, including here in India, suffer repeatedly from disasters that include floods, earthquakes, and cyclones. A common reaction, sometimes even from experts, is to blame the victims – suggesting that people suffer because they simply don’t listen to advice or understand the risks.

But this Blame the Victim Syndrome is too simple and often wrong. The real reasons are much deeper, tangled up in how our minds work due to centuries of evolution, and sometimes, in the specific way our society remembers or forgets the previous incidences.

Understanding these reasons is the first step towards finding better ways to protect ourselves.

Built-in Optimism: “It Won’t Happen to Me” Feeling

One powerful factor is something called Positivity Bias or Optimism Bias. Deep down, most humans tend to believe that bad things are more likely to happen to other people than to themselves.

We might know that smoking causes cancer, but think we probably won’t get it. We might know that driving fast is dangerous, but feel we are skilled enough to handle it.

This isn’t foolishness; it’s partly how we’re wired. Our ancestors needed a dose of optimism to take risks essential for progress – like venturing out of safe areas to find better resources. Without this bias, humanity might have stayed hidden and never achieved much.

But in today’s world, especially concerning disasters, this bias can be dangerous.

People living in a flood-prone area might agree that floods happen there, but they carry a nagging feeling that their house will probably be okay this time. This optimism makes it hard for warnings about future risks to truly sink in on a personal level, even if people understand the general danger.

Why We Forget the Fear

Another challenge is the Fading Affect Bias. Our minds have a clever coping mechanism: the emotional pain or fear associated with bad memories tends to fade faster than the good feelings from positive memories.

Think of it like a psychological immune system – it helps us recover from trauma, grief, and hardship, allowing us to move on with life without being constantly haunted by past suffering. It’s a gift of nature in many ways, essential for resilience.

However, this gift has a downside for disaster preparedness. The intense fear and urgency felt during a flood or earthquake naturally lessen over time. Years later, even if we remember the event happened, we don’t feel the same level of threat.

The memory loses its emotional punch. This makes it harder to stay motivated to prepare for a future event. The danger just doesn’t feel as real anymore, even if logically we know it could happen again.

The Challenge of History in India

Adding another layer, specifically in the Indian context, is our historical relationship with record-keeping. While India has an incredibly rich history of achievements in philosophy, mathematics, literature, and science, there wasn’t always a strong, continuous tradition of systematically documenting specific disaster events – their dates, locations, and impacts – over centuries, unlike, say, China‘s long earthquake records.

This isn’t about capability; it was likely just a different cultural focus on what was deemed important to record for posterity.

This lack of detailed, long-term disaster history has consequences today.

Firstly, it contributes to a kind of collective amnesia. Without easily accessible records showing that major disasters have struck our regions repeatedly over centuries, it reinforces the feeling that “it doesn’t really happen here” or that past events were rare flukes.

Secondly, it makes modern scientific risk assessment harder. Scientists rely on historical data to understand how often and how severely disasters might occur. When deep historical data is missing, assessments might underestimate the true risk.

The devastating Bhuj earthquake in 2001, for example, happened in an area previously thought to be less risky, forcing a major revision of India’s seismic zoning map after the tragedy highlighted gaps in historical understanding.

Our Programming: A Hurdle for Safety

So, when we put these pieces together – our inbuilt optimism (Positivity Bias), our tendency to forget the fear (Fading Affect Bias), and sometimes a lack of deep historical records – we see a pattern.

Our evolutionary programming, designed to help us survive immediate threats, cope with trauma, and take risks for progress, doesn’t automatically equip us well for proactively preparing against future, uncertain disasters.

These inherent human tendencies act as significant hurdles, making disaster safety something we have to consciously work towards, rather than something that comes naturally.

But We Can Change 

Does this mean we’re doomed to repeat past mistakes? Absolutely not.

The hopeful message is that human behaviour can change, even when it involves deeply ingrained habits or cultural norms.

We only need to look at recent Indian history for proof.

Consider family planning. Decades ago, large families were the norm, influenced by social structures and religious beliefs like the importance of a male child for salvation among Hindus. Yet, through decades of sustained awareness campaigns, education, and accessible services, India saw a major shift towards smaller family sizes.

Think also about food habits and social rules. Strict traditions around who could cook food, eating on the floor, and using only hands were once widespread. Today, especially in many urban areas, these practices have significantly relaxed. People eat food prepared by anyone, often sit at tables, and use spoons and forks.

These examples prove that even strongly held beliefs and behaviours can evolve. Change is possible, but it requires dedicated, long-term effort.

Working With Our Nature for Disaster Safety

If blaming victims is wrong, and simply providing information often isn’t enough because of our inherent biases and historical context, then we need a new strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. This strategy must be smarter and more attuned to human nature.

Instead of just issuing warnings, we need approaches that:

Acknowledge Biases

Design communication that anticipates and gently counteracts Positivity Bias, making risks feel more personal, perhaps through stories, and Fading Affect Bias using regular reminders, memorials, or simulations to keep the sense of risk relevant.

Understand Context

Recognize local history, including data gaps. Invest in uncovering past events through geology, archaeology, and oral histories where written records are sparse. Tailor approaches to specific cultural contexts.

Focus on Engagement

Move beyond one-way information flow. Engage communities in identifying risks and solutions, making safety a shared responsibility.

Be Patient and Persistent

Realize that building a culture of safety is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires continuous effort, not just reactions after a disaster hits.

Investing in Awareness for a Safer Tomorrow

Our evolutionary past and psychological makeup present real challenges to becoming truly disaster-resilient. But these challenges are not insurmountable. By understanding why we often underestimate risk and forget past dangers, and by learning from successful social change campaigns in our own history, we can design better DRR strategies.

We need to move beyond blame and embrace empathetic, psychologically informed, and sustained approaches. Investing time, creativity, and resources in continuous awareness and community engagement is not just an expense; it’s a crucial investment that will pay the dividend of safety and resilience for generations to come. The task is difficult, but creating a safer future is both possible and essential.

आज हमने क्या सीखा:-

हमारी सकारात्मकता: जिस तरह से हमारी प्रजाति का विकास हुवा हैं, उसका प्रतिफल हैं की हम में कई मनोवैज्ञानिक गुण हैं। आपदा सुरक्षा के के लिहाज से देखे तो हम सकारात्मकता से भरे होते हैं – हमें लगता हैं की चाहे जो हो जाये, हम सुरक्षित रहेंगे और यही कारण हैं कि प्रायः हम खतरे के बारे में भली भाँति जानने–समझने के बाद भी जोखिम उठाते हैं। यह जो गुण हैं उसने जहाँ एक ओर हमें अन्वेषण व प्रयोग करने का साहस दिया तो वहीं दूसरी ओर हमें आपदा सुरक्षा के प्रति लापरवाह बना दिया। इसके कारण हमें लगने जो लगता हैं कि हम आपदा से प्रभावित होने से रहे। सो हम आपदा का खतरा देख-समझ कर भी सुरक्षा उपायों के प्रति बेपरवाह बहे रहते हैं।         

भूल जाने का गुण: इसी के साथ ही हम दुख पहुँचाने वाली या परेशान करने वाली यादों, विशेषकर उन घटनाओ से जुड़े दुःख  के एहसास को अपेक्षाकृत काफी जल्दी भुला देते हैं और यह प्रकृति का एक ऐसा वरदान हैं जो हमें जिंदगी में आगे बढ़ने का साहस  देता हैं। पर साथ ही इससे हम क्षेत्र में घटित आपदाओं को भी याद नहीं रख पते हैं।   

बाबूगिरी का आभाव:  फिर हमारे देश में इतिहास लिखने या घटनाओं के प्रलेखन या दस्तावेजीकरण की भी परम्परा नहीं रही, सो हमें पता ही नहीं होता हैं कि हमारे देश या क्षेत्र में विगत में कब, कौन सी आपदा घटित हुयी और उसमे कितनी क्षति हुयी।

आत्मविस्मृत: ऐसे में हमें तो यही लगता हैं कि हमारे क्षेत्र में विगत में आपदाये घटित ही नही हुयी हैं, या हमारा क्षेत्र आपदाओं से पूरी तरह सुरक्षित हैं। ऐसे में जब ख़तरा दिखाई ही न दे, तो कोई तैयारी या सुरक्षा के उपाय करे भी तो क्यों? सो हम आपदा पूर्वतैयारी को हल्के में लेते हैं, चेतावनियो पर ध्यान नही देते हैं और प्रायः लापरवाह बने रहते हैं, जिसके कारण हम बार-बार आपदाओं से प्रभावित होते हैं।

असहायता: ऐसे में आपको लग सकता हैं कि इसका तो कोई समाधान हो ही नहीं सकता, पर सच में ऐसा हैं नहीं।

समाधान: कोशिश करने से इसका समाधान हो भी सकता हैं। पर यह सच में रातोरात तो होने से रहा – कोशिश भी लम्बे समय तक, लगातार और ईमानदारी से करनी होगी और इसकी पहली सीढ़ी जन-जागरूकता से हो कर जाती हैं।

हमारा उत्तरदायित्व: तो हमें लोगो को उनके क्षेत्र पर आसन्न आपदा के खतरों के साथ ही विगत में घटित आपदाओं के बारे में बताना होगा, सुरक्षा के गुर सिखाने-बताने होंगे और वो भी सरल, समझ में आने वाली भाषा में। अगर हम यह सब कर के लोगो को समझा पाते हैं कि आपदा का खतरा वास्तविक हैं, तो सच मानिये आपदा सुरक्षा उपायों का स्वैच्छिक अनुपालन होगा, लोग खुद सुरक्षा के बारे में जानकारी मागेंगे, आपदा सुरक्षा उपायों कि माँग होगी, इन सबका एक बड़ा बाज़ार होगा – आखिर जान-बूझ कर आपने प्रियजनों को तो खतरे में कोई नहीं डालेगा।

लग जाइये काम पर: अगर आपको लगता हैं कि ये सब बातें ठीक हैं, तो अपनी अलमारी से विगत में किये गये सर्वेक्षणों की रिपोर्टे बाहर निकालिये, उनके सार को सरल भाषा में लोगो तक ले जाइये – हो सके तो स्थानीय भाषा में, उन्हें बताइये कि उनके क्षेत्र में क्या खतरे हैं, उनसे विगत में कितना नुकसान हुवा हैं, और कुछ सरल उपाय कर के वह कैसे अपने परिजनों कि सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित कर सकते हैं।                  

आपका स्वर्णिम भविष्य: अगर आप ईमानदारी से यह सब कर लेते हैं तो फिर सच मानिये, आप ऐसे चमत्कार के साक्षी बनेंगे जिसकी आपने कभी कल्पना भी नहीं करी होगी।

तो फिर इन्तजार किस बात का हैं?

बस शुरू हो जाइये, और परिवर्तन के सूत्रधार बनिये।  

हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।

सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।