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Vice-Chancellor of the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), (TN) Mr. M Krishnan said during the pandemic, that he realised the need for a disaster management centre to educate and train the students so that they can help the society combat disasters. He opined that currently there is a paradigm shift in disaster management and we need trained manpower to tackle disasters and also ensure preparedness.

“We have to deal effectively with the challenges posed by man-made and natural disasters in the current era of technological advancement. The centre will provide solutions on issues ranging from crisis management to disaster preparedness,” said Krishnan.

“A major factor in dealing with disasters is to create awareness among people about it. Our students moved from village to village and created awareness among people about Covid-19 and do’s and don’ts related to it. There was a lot of fear among villagers about the disease and our students helped in allaying their fears through proper counselling,” said the V-C.

He hit the nail on the head when he said that there was a paradigm shift in Disaster Management. Actually, it’s quite logical to understand that if the very nature of disaster change with time, the methods and mechanisms of Disaster Management must follow suit. So, when there was a nuclear attack like Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the world had to deal with it at that time and if it is Corona attack today, the same applies.

Today, in broad terms, the world is actually faced with two real and present dangers- Climate change and germ warfare i.e., Corona.