Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
Also called: HADR · Topic: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) is the help given to people during and just after a disaster such as a cyclone, earthquake, flood or tsunami. It includes rescue, evacuation, food, water, shelter and medical aid. Armed forces often do this work alongside civilian agencies such as India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The armed forces bring ships, aircraft and helicopters to move people and supplies, and NDRF teams carry out the rescue. HADR can stay inside one country, or one country can help another. Under the UN's Oslo Guidelines, the affected country stays in charge of the relief. Foreign military help comes only when that country asks for it, and only as a last resort, when no civilian option can do the job.
Example
Tiger Triumph is an India–US tri-service HADR exercise, meaning the Army, Navy and Air Force of both countries take part. It is held on India's cyclone-prone eastern coast. Its first edition was in 2019, and the 2025 edition practised an amphibious landing (troops coming ashore from ships) at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. In 2026 it was run at Visakhapatnam as a tabletop exercise, which means a planning exercise done on paper, with no troops sent out. NDRF took part for the first time.
Don't confuse with
- Disaster mitigation: steps taken before a disaster to reduce its harm, such as building codes, hazard maps and embankments. HADR is the response during and after the disaster.