But for a State that has seen the wrath of two mighty cyclones that claimed over 2,000 lives, is this enough? No, say experts on natural disaster mitigation.

The cost of disasters in the State is rising each year and the State has already exhausted the relief fund from the Centre, says well-known expert on the subject Mihir Bhatt, who is also an honorary director of the Disaster Mitigation Institute here. But in what is now a familiar story, the victims continue to remain without relief.

Yet, the State, with its blinkered vision, can think only in terms of relief rather than as an opportunity to invest in prevention, Bhatt says.

He says the State needs to move away from crisis management to disaster risk management. ``This means that the government and civil society should make efforts not to find ways to better and effectively manage drought, floods or cyclones, but instead find ways to reduce people's vulnerability to risks posed by these disasters,'' Bhatt says.

Pointing out some flaws in the disaster management plan of the State Government, Bhatt says there is no legal provision for early warning. Besides, there is the problem of jurisdiction of various authorities overlapping, which leads to ineffective handling of disasters. For instance, there was utter confusion in the aftermath of the 1998 cyclone at Kandla in Kutch because areas under both Kandla Port Trust and State government authorities were affected.

However, Bhatt is of the opinion that the State Government has learnt lessons from the 1998 cyclone. This is reflected in the fact that the evacuation of people was much more efficient during the cyclone that struck Kutch in May, he says.

Bhatt suggests that only investment in protecting the livelihood of people will reap economic dividends. Elaborating, he says the 1998 cyclone displaced an estimated 15,000 salt-pan workers, and the one in 1999 affected the livelihood of about 1,000 fisherfolk. ``This is a big loss to the financial market as well as to the labour market,'' he points out. He also stresses on the social security sector. ``If communities are not insured, the number of victims each season will only rise,'' he says.

However, other experts point out that the State Government lacks the know-how to effectively mitigate natural or man-made disasters. Says a senior Fire Brigade official, ``After the gas leakage in western parts of Ahmedabad early this year, the authorities could not even detect its source. They just do not have the equipment to detect such leakages.'' The officer says cities like Ahmedabad, which are vulnerable to such risks, should have gas leak detection equipment.

Interestingly, the Chief Inspector of Factories who is responsible for implementing and co-ordinating the Disaster Management Plan expressed ignorance. ``Had the Information Department told us, we would have organised rehearsals,'' said Chief Inspector of Factories B M Mehta. He admitted they had completed forgotten about the incident.