disaster management
analysis
Hazard profile of India
G Padmanabhan
ccording to
UNISDR, in the year
2010, India ranked
second in the world
for natural disasters
after China. India’s hazard profile
is mainly determined by the geoclimatic settings and topographic
features, and the underlying
vulnerabilities result in annual
disasters of varying degree. Climate
induced hazards rank high in
terms of frequency, impact and
uncertainties of occurrence. This
article tries to capture some of
the challenges that India is facing
in dealing with Climate induced
Disaster Risk Reduction.
A
The approach
to disaster
management has
been undergoing a
change from a relief
centric to more
proactive approach
encompassing all
phases of disaster
management
without limiting it to
relief
Hazard profile of India
About 59 percent of the land
area is prone to earthquakes (MHA,
2011). The Himalayas and adjoining
areas, north east, parts of Gujarat
and Andaman Nicobar Islands are
seismically the most active regions.
Around 68 percent of the country is
prone to drought of varying degress
-38 percent receiving 750-1125 mm
of rainfall, and 33 percent receiving
less than 750 mm of rainfall. The
drought prone areas are confined
to peninsular and western India
primarily arid, semi-arid, and sub
humid regions (NIDM/DAC 2009).
Out of 40 million hectares of flood
prone area in the county, around 7.5
million hectares get affected every
year by recurring floods. While
flood occurs in almost all river
basins in India, large parts of states
such as Assam, Bihar, Gujarat,
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal
gets affected almost every year.
Approximately 71 percent (5300
kms) of the 7500 kms long coast
of India are susceptible to cyclones.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil
Nadu, and Puducherry get affected
periodically due to cyclones.
The following table shows the
number of events recorded and
the damage due to disasters during
1980-2010.
The author is Emergency Analyst, UNDP India, New Delhi. The views expressed are the author's personal.
YOJANA March 2012
39