disaster management
indepth
Climate change and Disaster Management in
Coastal Areas
V Selvam
he livelihood
security of the coastal
communities and
ecological security
of the coastal zones
of India is already under stress
due to high population density,
rapid urbanization and industrial
development, high rate of coastal
environmental degradation and
frequent occurrence of natural
disasters such as cyclones and
storms. This made more than 100
million people, who directly or
indirectly depend on coastal natural
resources for their livelihood,
vulnerable. The problem is going
to be further aggravated by increase
in sea level rise due to climate
change. It has been projected that
along the Indian coast sea level
would rise by 39 to 57 cm by 2050
and 78 to 114 cm by 2100 due
to climate change (Unnikrishnan
et al, 2006). The coastal zone in
India, particularly the east coast is
vulnerable to hydrometeorological
hazards such as cyclones, floods
and geophysical hazards like
T
However, in order
to develop and
sustain effective
coastal bioshields
active participation
of the local
community
and local self
government is
necessary
tsunami. Meteorological data show
that more than 1000 cyclonic
disturbances occurred in the Bay
of Bengal during the last century;
out of which over 500 were either
depressions and over 400 were
either cyclonic storms or severe
cyclonic storms. Out of 205 severe
cyclones for which records are well
documented, 55