Disaster Management Officer

My name is Yakin S. Shivani and I work as the Disaster Management Officer out of Maliya-Hatina. My office is located in the Karimabad Society, which is right behind Alishah Baug in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. This isn't really a typical business where we sell things to customers. It’s more about being ready and organized for when things go wrong in the community. I spend a lot of my time looking at maps or talking to local leaders about safety. The office is quite plain, just a desk and some files, really. It’s located in a quiet part of town, which is good because it lets me focus on the planning part of the job. I’ve lived in this part of Gujarat for a long time, so I know the layout of the land and where the problems usually start when the weather gets bad. People around here know me, and I try to stay available for them. It’s not a fancy job with a big salary or anything like that. It’s mostly about being responsible for the people in the society and the surrounding area. Sometimes the days are very slow, and I just catch up on paperwork. Other times, it’s a bit of a rush when something happens. I don't have a big team helping me out, so I do a lot of the legwork myself. It is just important work that needs doing, and I’m the one here in Maliya-Hatina doing it.