MAJOR DISASTERS IN INDIA SINCE 1970

MAJOR DISASTERS IN INDIA SINCE 1970

MAJOR DISASTERS IN INDIA SINCE 1970
MAJOR DISASTERS IN INDIA SINCE 1970
While studying the impact we need to be aware of potential hazards, how, when, and where they are likely to
occur, and the problems that may result from an event.

In India, 59 percent of the land mass is susceptible to seismic hazards;

• 5 per cent of the total geographical area is prone to floods;

• 8 per cent of the total landmass is prone to cyclones;

• 70 per cent of the total cultivable area is vulnerable to drought.

• Apart from this the hilly regions are vulnerable to avalanches /landslides /hailstorms/ cloudbursts.

• It is therefore important that we are aware of how to cope with their effects.

• We have seen the huge loss to life, property and infrastructure a disaster can cause but let us understand what
is a disaster.
 What is a Disaster?

Almost every day, newspapers, radio, and television channels report disaster striking several parts of the world.

• The term disaster owes its origin to the French word “Desastre” which is a combination of two words
‘des’ meaning bad and ‘aster’ meaning star. Thus the term refers to ‘Bad or Evil star’.

• A disaster can be defined as “A serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing
widespread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society
to cope using its own resources.

• A disaster results from the combination of hazard, vulnerability, and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce
the potential chances of risk.

• A disaster happens when a hazard impacts on the vulnerable population and causes damage, casualties and
disruption.

According to WHO disaster is- “ Any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human
life or deterioration of health and health services on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response
from outside the affected community or area”
• Disaster, as defined by the United Nations, is a serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or society, which involves widespread human, material, economic, or
environmental impacts that exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope
using its resources.
• Disaster management is how we deal with the human, material, economic, or environmental
impacts of a said disaster, it is the process of how we “prepare for, respond to and learn
from the effects of major failures”. Though often caused by nature, disasters can have
human origins.
• According to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies a
disaster occurs when a hazard impacts vulnerable people. The combination of hazards,
vulnerability, and inability to reduce the potential negative consequences of risk results in
disaster.
• The main objective of this lecture is to have a basic understanding of various concepts used
in Disaster Management, Disaster, Hazard, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk, and Disaster
Management Cycle. Apart from the terminologies, the lecture also tries to explain various
types of disasters.
• Any hazard – flood, earthquake, or cyclone which is a triggering event along with greater
vulnerability (inadequate access to resources, sick and old people, lack of awareness, etc.)
would lead to disaster causing greater loss of life and property.

• Ex. An earthquake in an uninhabited desert cannot be considered a disaster, no

matter how strong the intensities produced.

• An earthquake is disastrous only when it affects people, their properties, and

activities.
• Thus, disaster occurs only when hazards and vulnerability meet.

• It is also to be noted that with greater capacity of the individual/community and

environment to face these disasters, the impact of a hazard reduces.

• Therefore, we need to understand the three major components namely hazard,

vulnerability, and capacity with suitable examples to have a basic understanding of
disaster management.
For the purpose of the scope of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
2015-2030 (para. 15), the following terms are also considered:
•Small-scale disaster: a type of disaster only affecting local communities which require
assistance beyond the affected community.
•Large-scale disaster: a type of disaster affecting a society which requires national or
international assistance.
•Frequent and infrequent disasters: depend on the probability of occurrence and the
return period of a given hazard and its impacts. The impact of frequent disasters could be
cumulative, or become chronic for a community or a society.
•A slow-onset disaster is defined as one that emerges gradually over time. Slow-onset
disasters could be associated with, e.g., drought, desertification, sea-level rise, epidemic
disease.
•A sudden-onset disaster is one triggered by a hazardous event that emerges quickly or
unexpectedly. Sudden-onset disasters could be associated with, e.g., earthquake, volcanic
eruption, flash flood, chemical explosion, critical infrastructure failure, transport accident.
LIST OF VARIOUS TYPES OF DISASTERS
TYPES OF DISASTERS
 NATURAL DISASTERS

Natural Disasters: Natural disasters are primarily natural events.

The natural disaster category can be divided into five disaster group: biological, geophysical, meteorological,
hydrological and climatological.

1. Meteorological Disasters: Meteorological disasters are events triggered by short-live or small to meso-
scale atmospheric processes. The storms can be subdivided into:
i. Tropical storm - Tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm and hurricane
ii. Extra-tropical storm
iii. Local/Convective storms

2. Geophysical Disasters: Geophysical disasters are events originating from the solid earth.

i. Earthquake: Earthquakes refer to tremors of the Earth.

Two important factors are –
• Intensity/magnitude (Richter scale).
• The epicentre.
ii. Volcano: Volcanic activity describe both the transport of magma and/or gases to the earth’s surface, which
can be accompanied by tremors and eruptions.
iii. Mass Movement: Mass movement refers to the movement of a quantity of debris/land/snow/ice that slides
down a mountainside under the force of gravity. It can be subdivided into various types:
• Rockfall – refers to quantities of rock or stone falling freely from a cliff face.
• Subsidence – is the downward motion of the earth’s surface.
• Avalanche – is any kind of rapid snow/ice movement and refers to the movement of quantity of snow or ice
that slides down a mountainside under the force of gravity.

3. Hydrological Disasters: These are the events caused by deviations in the normal water cycle and/or
overflow of bodies of water caused by the wind set-up.
It can be further categorized into the following:
i. General floods.
ii. Storm surge/Coastal flood.

4. Climatological Disasters: According to Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) it is
‘events caused by long lived/meso to macroscale processes. These are –
i. Disasters caused by extreme temperatures – Heat wave, Cold wave, Winter storm.
ii. Drought – Drought is a long-enduring event caused by lack of rainfall.
iii. Wildfire – Wildfire refers to an uncertain burning fire, usually in wild lands, which causes damage to
forests, agriculture, infrastructure and buildings.
5. Biological Disasters: are disasters caused by the exposure of living organisms to germs and toxic
substances. These are –
i. Epidemic – Either an unusual increase in the number of cases of an infectious disease which
already exists in the region or population concerned or the appearance of an infection previously absent from a
region is termed as epidemic.
ii. Insect infestation – Invasive incursion and development of insects or parasites affect humans, animals,
crops and materials adversely.
iii. Animal stampede – A stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals in which the herd together
starts running with no clear direction or purpose.

Natural Disasters:
According to reports, in 2012, there were 905 natural catastrophes worldwide, out of which 93% were
natural disasters:
• 5% - Meteorological
• 36% - Hydrological
• 12% - Climatological
• 7% - Geophysical
 MAN-MADE DISASTERS

Technological or man-made hazards are events that are caused by humans and occurs in or close to human
settlements. These are mostly caused due to certain human conduct.

1. Social Disasters:
i. Arson – Arson is the crime of intentionally and cruelly setting fire to buildings, wild lands, vehicles or other
property with the intention to cause damage.
ii. Civic disorders – Also known as civic unrest or civic strife caused by a group of people.
iii. Terrorism – Is the systematic use of violence (terror) as a means of coercion for political purposes.

2. Political Disasters: It is of following type.

i. War – Is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. Is
characterized by extreme violence, social disruption and economic destruction. Types of wars based on
weapons used –
a) Chemical weapons (CW) – A device that uses chemical formulated to inflict death or human beings.
b) Biological weapons – Uses biological agents (bacteria, virus & fungi) for mass destruction and are also
known as germ warfare.
c) Nuclear weapons – Is a device that derive its destructive force from nuclear reactions.
d) Armed conflict – Is a contested incompatibility which concerns government and/or territory where the use
of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, resulted in at least
25 battle related deaths – Journal of peace Research.

ii. Massacre – A massacre is a specific incident in which a military force, mob or other group kill
many people – and the perpetrating party is perceived as in control of force, where the victimized party is
perceived as helpless or innocent.

3. Industrial Disasters: It is of following types:

i. Chemical Spill: Is a release occurring during the production, transportation or handling of hazardous
chemical substances.
ii. Explosion: An explosion can involve industrial structures. An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and
release of energy in an extreme manner. Those are of –
a) Nuclear Plant explosion and radiation.
b) Explosion at other industrial plants.
iii. Transport accident – Transport accidents refer to accidents involving mechanized modes of
transport. They are of
a) Air b)Water c) Railways d)Roadways
iv. Engineering Failure: Engineering is the science and technology used to meet the needs and demands of
society. These includes buildings, aircrafts, etc. eg. Structural collapses.

4. Human Disasters: Human disasters are disasters that take place due to intentional or unintentional human
behaviour.
i. Human error of judgement.
a) Stampede
b) Airplane crashes
c) Road accidents

ii. Poisoning :
a) Food poisoning
b) Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning

A disaster is an unfortunate event that causes a large number of fatalities and damages. The increasing trends
towards losses of both lives and property can be attributed to two broad reasons:
• The increase in the population density worldwide.
• The standards of living have augmented has various dimensions of disaster – Economic, Political,
Psychological & Social.
 DISASTERS

Effects of disaster : Disruptive factors of disasters:

1. Population displacement 1. Death and destruction
2. Injury or Death 2. Loss of basic amenities
3. Risk of epidemic of diseases 3. Disruption of emergency services
4. Damage to infrastructure 4. Destruction of roads and modes of
5. Psychological problems communication
6. Food shortage 5. Disorganization in response services
7. Socioeconomic losses
8. Shortage of drugs and medical supplies

Characteristics of disasters:
1. Size and Scope
2. Unpredictable
3. Unfamiliar
4. Speed and Urgency
5. Threat
Aspects of Disaster Management
 Importance of Disaster Management

To undertake To provide
To avert a
rescue relief
disaster
operations measures

To undertake To reduce
To undertake
rehabilitation trauma and
liaison work
programmes tension

To protect the To minimize

Environment losses
 Objectives of Disaster Management

Reduce Reduce
Speed
Damages and Personal
Recovery
Deaths Suffering

Protect
Approaches
Victims
Source: UN-Spider
HAZARD: A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health
impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

VULNERABILITY: The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or
processes which increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of
hazards.

CAPACITY: The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within an organization,
community or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience.

MITIGATION: The lessening or minimizing of the adverse impacts of a hazardous event.

RESILIENCE: The ability of a system, community, or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb,
accommodate, adapt to, transform, and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner,
including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk
management.
RETROFITTING: Reinforcement or upgrading of existing structures to become more resistant and resilient to
the damaging effects of hazards.
RISK: The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society
or a community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure,
vulnerability and capacity.
What is a Hazard ? How is it classified?.

Hazard may be defined as “a dangerous condition or event, that threat or have the potential for causing
injury to life or damage to property or the environment.”
The word ‘hazard’ owes its origin to the word ‘hasard’ in old French and ‘az-zahr’ in Arabic meaning
‘chance’ or ‘luck’.

Hazards can be grouped into two broad categories namely natural and manmade.

1. Natural hazards are hazards which are caused because of natural phenomena.
(hazards with meteorological, geological or even biological origin). Ex. cyclones, tsunamis
Landslides, floods, drought, fires are socio-natural hazards since their causes are both natural and man made.

2. Manmade hazards are hazards which are due to human negligence.

Manmade hazards are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include explosions,
leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars, etc.
VARIOUS TYPES OF HAZARDS
Vulnerability may be defined as “The extent to which a community, structure, services or geographic area is
likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction
and proximity to hazardous terrains or a disaster prone area.”

Vulnerabilities can be categorized into Physical, Social, Economical & Environmental vulnerabilities.
*VULNERABILITY
• Vulnerability describes the characteristics and circumstances
of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the
damaging effects of a hazard. There are many aspects of
vulnerability, arising from various physical, social, economic,
and environmental factors. Examples may include:
• poor design and construction of buildings,
• inadequate protection of assets,
• lack of public information and awareness,
• limited official recognition of risks and preparedness measures,
and
• disregard for wise environmental management.
Physical Vulnerability: It includes notions of who and what may be damaged or destroyed by natural hazard
such as earthquakes or floods.
It is based on the physical condition of people and elements at risk such as buildings, infrastructure etc; and their
proximity, location and nature of the hazard. It also relates to the technical capability of
building and structures to resist the forces acting upon them during a hazard event.

Social Vulnerability: It refers to the inability of the affected population to endure unfavorable impacts of
hazards.
It includes social aspects such as levels of literacy, good governance, social justice, conventional values, customs
and ideological beliefs.
It seeks to estimate the effects of events on vulnerable groups of society to respond to hazards

Economic Vulnerability: It refers to potential impacts of hazards on assets and business processes.
The level of economic vulnerability is dependent to a great extent on the economic status of individuals,
communities and nations.

Environmental Vulnerability: It is the aftermath of natural resources depletion and resource degradation.
Vulnerability varies significantly within a community and over time
Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population
density levels, remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used
for critical infrastructure and for housing (UNISDR).
• Example: Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are
more vulnerable to fire.
2. Social Vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations and
societies to withstand adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent
in social interactions, institutions and systems of cultural values. It is linked to
the level of well being of individuals, communities and society. It includes
aspects related to levels of literacy and education, the existence of peace and
security, access to basic human rights, systems of good governance, social
equity, positive traditional values, customs and ideological beliefs and overall
collective organizational systems (UNISDR).
• Example: When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and
differently-able, may be unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
• 3.Economic Vulnerability:The level of vulnerability is highly
dependent upon the economic status of individuals, communities
and nations The poor are usually more vulnerable to disasters
because they lack the resources to build sturdy structures and put
other engineering measures in place to protect themselves from
being negatively impacted by disasters.
• Example: Poorer families may live in squatter settlements
because they cannot afford to live in safer (more expensive)
areas.
• 4. Environmental Vulnerability: Natural resource depletion and
resource degradation are key aspects of environmental
vulnerability.
Risk: Is a situation involving exposure to danger or the possibility that something unpleasant or
unwelcome will happen.

In the context of disaster management, risk is viewed ‘as the product of the interaction of potentially
damaging event and vulnerable conditions of a society or element exposed

Capacity: Is defined as the ‘resources, means and strengths which exist in households and communities
which enable them to cope with, withstand, prepare for, prevent, mitigate or
quickly recover from disaster’.

Two types:
• Physical Capacity
• Socio-economic Capacity
Hazard: source of potential harm, injury or loss

Risk: combination of the likelihood of a specific unwanted event and the potential
consequence if it should occur

Risk assessment: the process that involves measurement of risk to determine priorities

Risk Control: implementation of strategies to prevent or control hazards

Risk rating: the category or level or risk assigned i.e. high, medium and low.

Risk Management: the description of the steps taken to manage the risk by identifying
hazards and implementing control in the work place.

Risk assessment process: - The goal for risk assessment is to identify hazard, determine risk
rating and controls.
*RISK
• Risk (or more specifically, disaster risk) is the potential disaster
losses (in terms of lives, health status, livelihoods, assets and services)
which could occur to a particular community or a society over some
specified future time period. (Reference UNISDR Terminology)
• It considers the probability of harmful consequences, or expected
losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity
disrupted or environmentally damaged) resulting from interactions
between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.
• Risk management is a way of preparing a community by
employing measures to minimise impacts, and preparing them to
cope with impacts. This includes planning to minimise impacts, well
prepared emergency plans and measures to protect the most vulnerable
people of the community.
 DISASTER RISK
The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a
community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability
and capacity.
Annotation: The definition of disaster risk reflects the concept of hazardous events and disasters as the outcome of
continuously present conditions of risk. Disaster risk comprises different types of potential losses which are often difficult to
quantify. Nevertheless, with knowledge of the prevailing hazards and the patterns of population and socioeconomic
development, disaster risks can be assessed and mapped, in broad terms at least.

Acceptable risk, or tolerable risk, is therefore an important subterm; the extent to which a disaster risk is deemed
acceptable or tolerable depends on existing social, economic, political, cultural, technical and environmental
conditions. In engineering terms, acceptable risk is also used to assess and define the structural and non-
structural measures that are needed in order to reduce possible harm to people, property, services and systems
to a chosen tolerated level, according to codes or “accepted practice” which are based on known probabilities of
hazards and other factors.

Residual risk is the disaster risk that remains even when effective disaster risk reduction measures are in place,
and for which emergency response and recovery capacities must be maintained. The presence of residual risk
implies a continuing need to develop and support effective capacities for emergency services, preparedness,
response and recovery, together with socioeconomic policies such as safety nets and risk transfer mechanisms,
as part of a holistic approach.
• Risk can be calculated using the following equation: Risk =
Probability of Hazard x Degree of Vulnerability.
There are different ways of dealing with risk, such as:
• Risk Acceptance: an informed decision to accept the possible
consequences and likelihood of a particular risk.
• Risk Avoidance: an informed decision to avoid involvement in
activities leading to risk realization.
• Risk Reduction refers to the application of appropriate
techniques to reduce the likelihood of risk occurrence and its
consequences.
• Risk Transfer involves shifting of the burden of risk to another
party. One of the most common forms of risk transfer is
Insurance.
Risk management
• Risk mitigation (i.e. moderating the severity of a hazard impact)
is the main objective of risk management. It aims to reduce the
physical and economic impacts of an event and limit the human,
material, economic and environmental costs of an emergency or
disaster. Therefore, it is necessary to have good information on
the costs of natural disasters. These are estimated with a risk
analysis.
• Following the risk analysis, the risks are evaluated in a risk
assessment process to decide whether they are
tolerable/acceptable. Both risk analysis and assessment are
normally part of an integrated risk management process and
produce crucial information that is relevant to decision makers
for identifying viable options for risk reduction.
Intersection of hazard,
exposure, and vulnerability
yields the risk (Reese & Schmidt
2008, p.5)
It can be best explained by
• Disaster Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability/Capacity
• The relationship between these four components, indicate that each
of the three variables that define risk - the hazard, the elements
exposed and their vulnerability are of equal value. Reducing any
one or more of the three contributing variables will lessen the risk to
a community. In reality, however, there is little opportunity to
reduce the hazard component, therefore, only the vulnerability and
the elements at risk will vary. When hazard and vulnerability are
high, it will cause disaster but when capacity is present, it will
decrease the impact. Hence, to reduce the risk of a disaster,
1) Decrease the vulnerability of the community; and
2) Increase the capacity of the community
 Disaster Risk Management

Disaster risk management is the application of disaster risk reduction policies and strategies to prevent new
disaster risk, reduce existing disaster risk and manage residual risk, contributing to the strengthening of
resilience and reduction of disaster losses.

•Prospective disaster risk management activities address and seek to avoid the development of new or
increased disaster risks. They focus on addressing disaster risks that may develop in future if disaster risk
reduction policies are not put in place. Examples are better land-use planning or disaster-resistant water supply
systems.

•Corrective disaster risk management activities address and seek to remove or reduce disaster risks which are
already present and which need to be managed and reduced now. Examples are the retrofitting of critical
infrastructure or the relocation of exposed populations or assets.

•Compensatory disaster risk management activities strengthen the social and economic resilience of individuals
and societies in the face of residual risk that cannot be effectively reduced. They include preparedness, response
and recovery activities, but also a mix of different financing instruments, such as national contingency funds,
contingent credit, insurance and reinsurance and social safety nets.

•Community-based disaster risk management promotes the involvement of potentially affected communities in
disaster risk management at the local level. This includes community assessments of hazards, vulnerabilities and
capacities, and their involvement in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of local action for
disaster risk reduction.
•Local and indigenous peoples’ approach to disaster risk management is the
recognition and use of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge and practices to
complement scientific knowledge in disaster risk assessments and for the
planning and implementation of local disaster risk management.

•Disaster risk management plans set out the goals and specific objectives for
reducing disaster risks together with related actions to accomplish these
objectives. They should be guided by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015-2030 and considered and coordinated within relevant development
plans, resource allocations and programme activities. National-level plans need to
be specific to each level of administrative responsibility and adapted to the
different social and geographical circumstances that are present. The time frame
and responsibilities for implementation and the sources of funding should be
specified in the plan. Linkages to sustainable development and climate change
adaptation plans should be made where possible.