CUTTACK: To make the Millennium city better prepared to deal with disasters, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation(CMC) will soon start assessment of risk and vulnerabilities of natural and manmade disasters. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will provide technical support to CMC in carrying out the detailed assessment. On Wednesday, a high level meeting of UNDP and CMC officials under the chairmanship of mayor Meenakshi Behera was held to discuss strategy for the assessment work.CMC sources said UNDP along with few international agencies, which have with expertise in assessing hazards in urban areas, will study each of the 59 wards of Cuttack and identify the risks. "Study of the hazard risks will start within few weeks and we have plans to complete the work within six months. Meanwhile, UNDP has assured us to provide interim report on basis of which we can chalk out plans for better management of water-logging in monsoons," said CMC commissioner, Gyana Das. CMC will provide complete cooperation and support to UNDP in the project. "UNDP will take care of the funds required for the risk assessment work," added Das.The team will properly study and do analysis of the hazards Cuttack has been facing and the future hazards. The study will be done using mapping and geographic information system (GIS). Risks and vulnerability analysis with regard to cyclones, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, heat wave and other disasters including fire and water logging and climate change will be done.Besides, thousand year old Millennium city has many old and unsafe structures, hence the UNDP will focus on identifying these structures and suggest measures to deal with these structures during disasters. "During earthquake and cyclone, the unsafe structure poses serious threat. We have tried to survey unsafe and old buildings in Cuttack several times but we never managed to complete the project due to lack of cooperation from people. But this time, a detailed report will be prepared on unsafe structures," said a CMC official.Das said the outcome of the exercise will help the civic body to identify steps that the city administration and other stakeholders could take to mitigate the risk in efficient and effective manner.

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