Immediately after the 26th January 2001 earthquake, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) was established and registered as a ‘Society’ under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act and the Bombay Public Trust Act on 8 February 2001. GSDMA was initially mandated to implement the gigantic task of rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the earthquake affected areas of the State and simultaneously act as a nodal agency to plan and implement pre-disaster preparedness and mitigation activities including training and capacity building of all the stakeholders involved in disaster management....