DISASTER RISKS IN INDIA

& ITS MANAGEMENT

SUBMITTED TO:- DR. S.K. SHARMA

Outlook

What is disaster risk?Disaster RisksElements at risksDisaster Risk In IndiaCategories Of Certain DisasterDisaster management CycleAims Of Disaster ManagementRole Player In disaster Management.

What is Disaster Risk?Disaster risk is expressed as the

likelihood of loss of life, injury or destruction and damage from a disaster in a given period of time.

Disasters Risks Many of them related to the climate which

cause massive losses of life and property. Droughts,floods,cyclones,avalanches and landslides brought on by torrential rains, and

snowstorms pose the greatest threats. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption,

landslides, hurricanes etc.

ELEMENTS AT RISK• People• Livestock• Rural Housing Stock• Houses Vulnerable• Crops, Trees, Telephone, Electric

poles• Boats, Looms, Working Implements• Personal Properties• Electricity, Water and Food Supplies• Infrastructure Support

DISASTER RISKS IN INDIAOne of the four most disaster prone countries.

All types of natural disaster (except volcanic activity).

58.6 % of total landmass – prone to earthquake.

12% (40 million h)is prone to flood & river erosion.

5700 km. coastline – prone to cyclones & tsunamis.

68% cultivated area – vulnerable to drought.

Hilly area are at risk from landslides.

While Bangladesh is among the top five countries at risk of disaster, India ranks 77 on the World Risk Index.

Based on disaster affinity: India can be categorized into 5 sub-divisions.

1. The northern mountain region (including foothills):- Snow storms, Landslides, cold waves, Heavy rainfall, Degradation of land & soil.

2. The Indo-Gangetic plains:- floods

3. The Deccan plateau:-Drought, Erratic rainfall and Earthquakes

4. The western desert:- Drought, Limited rainfall 5. The coastal areas:-Sea erosion, Cyclones, Tidal waves

COMMON DISASTERS DROUGHT :- Prolonged and severe moisture deficit –Adverse effect on vegetation, animal and man on a sizeable area (Warwick, 1975)• Failure of South west and north east monsoon in India (GOI, 2000)

•Monsoon failure- Crop failure Water scarcity Shortage of food and feed for man / Animal

• Major categories of drought - Meteorological Agricultural Hydrological Socio-economic

MeteorologicalLong period of abnormal dry weather--- serious hydrological

imbalance (Huschke , 1959)

Agricultural drought:Shortage of crop and grasses.

Hydrologic Drought: Below average water content in streams, reservoirs', ground

water, lakes and soils for long pd. (Yevjevich et al., 1977)

Socio-economic: Increased demand for an economic goods– result of weather

related shortfall in water supply

EARTHQUAKES

Most seismically active regions in world- Himalayan mountain ranges

Depending on their degree of seismicity the entire country can be divided in to seven regions (Gupta, 2001)

1. Kashmir and the Western Himalayas2. The Central Himalayas3. North-East India4. The Indo-Gangetic Basin and Rajasthan5. Cambay and Ran of Kutch6. Peninsular India including Lakshadweep7. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

CYCLONES Low pressure centre surrounded by spiral thunderstorms strong winds and heavy rains.Indian Ocean is one of the six major cyclone-prone regions of the world (Sen and Chander, 2003) Coast line: 7516 km. Due to the low depth ocean bed topography and the coastal configuration.

Most exposed states of India for Cyclones

West Bengal Orissa Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu along the Bay of Bengal Gujarat & Maharashtra along Arabian Sea

FLOOD Overflow of water---covering by water of land not normally covered

FOUR TYPES :-

1. Areal or rainfall

2. Riverine flood 3. Estuarine and coastal flooding

4. Catastrophic flooding

LANDSLIDES

Average 2-5 minor/major landslides occur every kilometer in Garhwal Himalaya (Tolia, 1997).

FIRE (Wild Fire) A wildfire or wildland fire is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in the rural area

ROAD ACCIDENTS OF ANIMALS

HAZARDDamage Potential

Elements at Risk

Slopes of hillsSea & Sea-coastLow-lying AreasRiver/Stream Banks

Natural Features

Unsecured personal assetsLivelihood tools / Equipment

Public Infrastructure

Agri. & Horticultural cropsWeak BuildingsHuts & Semi-permanent Houses

People & Live-stockSocietal Elements

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

CYCLE

AIMS OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

• Reduce (Avoid, if possible) the potential losses from hazards.

• Assure prompt and appropriate assistance to victims when necessary.

• Achieve rapid and durable recovery.

National Disaster Risk Management programme, Knowledge Networking is foreseen as an initiative to establish networks and partnership among prime government agencies, policy makers, disaster managers and specialists from allied fields of engineering, architecture, planning, seismology, hydrology, agriculture and social science to exchange information and working together to reduce the risk of disaster.

Role Players in Disasters1) People : Individuals, House -Holds, Volunteers

2) Gram Panchayat : Sarpanch, Panchayati Secretary, Panchayati Members

3) Village Elders : Caste/Community/ Religious, Leaders, Teachers, Doctors, Engineers, Retired Army & Police Personnel

4) Govt. Dept. Officers : Agriculture, Medical, Engineers (Housing, Roads & Buildings, Irrigation) Revenue Department, Public Health, Police

5) NGOs

SUBMITTED BY:- DR. VINAY KUMAR & DR. HARSHITA BHUMRA