ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO

DISASTER (ISSUES AND

STRATEGIES)
A PROJECT
in the subject of Strategic Management

SUBMITTED TO

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
FOR SEMESTER II OF

MASTER OF COMMERCE
BY

(MOHD MOHSIN KHAN)

Roll No. (14)
Specialization: Business Management
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Dr. SANGEETA PAWAR

YEAR-2014 15

DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT

I, Shri Khan Mohd. Mohsin, student of M. Com. Part-I Roll Number (14), at the Department of
Commerce, University of Mumbai do hereby declare that the project titled, Economic losses due to
disaster (losses and strategies) submitted by me in the subject of Strategic Management for
Semester II during the academic year 2014-15, is based on actual work carried out by me under the
guidance and supervision of Dr Sangeeta Pawar.

I further state that this work is original and not submitted anywhere else for any other examination.

Date 07/10/2010Error: Reference source not found

Mumbai

Signature of Student

EVALUATION CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the undersigned have assessed and evaluated the project on ECONOMIC
LOSSES DUE TO DISASTER(ISSUES AND STRATEGIES) in the subject of Strategic
Management submitted by Shri Mohd.Mohsin Khan , student of M. Com. Part-I at the Department of
Commerce, University of Mumbai for Semester II during the academic year 2014-15.

This project is original to the best of our knowledge and has been accepted for Internal Assessment.

Internal Exaimer

External Exaimer

Director
Dr V. Deolankar

University of Mumbai
Department of Commerce
Internal Assessment: Subject: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
First name

: MOHD.MOHSIN

Fathers Name: MOHD.MOIN

Surname

Class

:KHAN

Branch

Roll
Number.

BUSINESS
M. COM.

MANAGEMENT

14

PART I

Topic for the Project: ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO DISATER

(ISSUES AND STRATEGIES)

Marks Awarded
DOCUMENTATION
Internal Examiner
(Out of 10 Marks)
External Examiner
(Out of 10 Marks)
Presentation
(Out of 10 Marks)
Viva and Interaction
(Out of 10 Marks)
TOTAL MARKS (Out of 40)

Signature

SR.

PARTICULAR

NO
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3.1
3.2
4.1
4.2
4.3

PAGE
NO.

CHAPTER-1
Introduction Meaning of Disaster
Natural Disaster and Nature
Types of natural disasters
CHAPTER-2
Economic losses due to disaster
Types of Economic Costs of Disaster:
Economic losses of Disaster
India Disaster Context Analysis
Susceptibility of India to Natural Disasters:
CHAPTER-3
Phases of disaster management process
Relief and Rehabilitation Measures
CHAPTER- 4
SUMMARY OF STUDY
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1-4
5-14
15-21
22-24
25-26
27-28
29
30
31-33
33-37
38
39
40

ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO DISASTER-(ISSUE AND STRATAGIES)

CHAPTER-1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Meaning of Disaster
Natural disasters, which are often and intense, result in considerable injuries and deaths,
disrupting normal life as well as the process of development. Increasing and various other
socio-economic factors have forced people to live in vulnerable areas. disasters are
perceived to be on the increase in their magnitude, frequency, and impact, Its geoclimatic conditions make the Indian region vulnerable to disasters. Floods and high winds
account for around 60 percent of all disasters. About 54 percent of the sub-continent's
landmass is while about4 crore hectares, that is about 1 2 percent of the country is to
periodic floods. The total expenditure on relief and reconstruction in Gujarat alone after
the severe earthquake of January 200 1 has been about Rs. 1,500 crore in year, just to
quote an example. New disaster threats have also developed such the tsunami disaster of
December 2004, which was an disaster.
In this Unit, we will discuss the meaning and nature of natural disasters. In addition, their
effects will also be highlighted. Keeping in view the variety of natural disasters that occur
in India, we will explain the types with special reference to their regional and
distributions. Lastly, we will deal with efforts to mitigate natural disasters.
India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geoclimatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and Landslides have been a
recurrent phenomena. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various
intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone
to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought.
In the decade 1990-2000, an average of about 4344 people lost their lives and about 30
million people were affected by disasters every year. The loss in terms of private,
community and public assets has been astronomical. At the global level, there has been
considerable concern over natural disasters. Even as substantial scientific and material
progress is made, the loss of lives and property due to disasters has not decreased. In fact,
the human toll and economic losses have mounted. It was in this background that the

United Nations General Assembly, in 1989, declared the decade 1990-2000 as the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction with the objective to reduce loss of
lives and property and restrict socio-economic damage through concerted international
action, specially in developing countries.
The super cyclone in Orissa in October, 1999 and the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat in
January, 2001 underscored the need to adopt a multi dimensional endeavour involving
diverse scientific, engineering, financial and social processes; the need to adopt multi
disciplinary and multi sectoral approach and incorporation of risk reduction in the
developmental plans and strategies.
Over the past couple of years, the Government of India have brought about a paradigm
shift in the approach to disaster management. The new approach proceeds from the
conviction that development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into
the development process. Another corner stone of the approach is that mitigation has to
be multi-disciplinary spanning across all sectors of development. The new policy also
emanates from the belief that investments in mitigation are much more cost effective than
expenditure on relief and rehabilitation.
Disaster management occupies an important place in this countrys policy
framework as it is the poor and the under-privileged who are worst affected on
account of calamities/disasters.
The steps being taken by the Government emanate from the approach outlined above.
The approach has been translated into a National Disaster Framework [a roadmap]
covering institutional mechanisms, disaster prevention strategy, early warning system,
disaster mitigation, preparedness and response and human resource development. The
expected inputs, areas of intervention and agencies to be involved at the National, State
and district levels have been identified and listed in the roadmap. This roadmap has been
shared with all the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.

Ministries

and Departments of Government of India, and the State Governments/UT

Administrations have been advised to develop their respective roadmaps taking the
national roadmap as a broad guideline. There is, therefore, now a common strategy
underpinning

the action being taken by all the participating organizations/

stakeholders

India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geoclimatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and Landslides have been a
recurrent phenomena. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various
intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone
to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought. In the decade 1990-2000, an
average of about 4344 people lost their lives and about 30 million people were affected
by disasters every year. The loss in terms of private, community and public assets has
been astronomical.
At the global level, there has been considerable concern over natural disasters. Even
as substantial scientific and material progress is made, the loss of lives and property due
to disasters has not decreased. In fact, the human toll and economic losses have mounted.
It was in this background that the United Nations General Assembly, in 1989, declared
the decade 1990-2000 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction with
the objective to reduce loss of lives and property and restrict socio-economic damage
through concerted international action, especially in developing countries.
The super cyclone in Orissa in October, 1999 and the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat in
January, 2001 underscored the need to adopt a multi dimensional endeavor involving
diverse scientific, engineering, financial and social processes; the need to adopt multi
disciplinary and multi sectoral approach and incorporation of risk reduction in the
developmental plans and strategies.
Natural disasters, which are often and intense, result in considerable injuries and deaths,
disrupting normal life as well as the processing the development.
Increasing and various other socio-economic factors have forced people to live in
vulnerable areas. Disasters are perceived to be on the increase in their magnitude,
frequency, and impact, Its geo-climatic conditions make the Indian region vulnerable to
disasters. Floods and high winds account for around 60 percent of all disasters. About 54
percent of the sub-continent's landmass is while about4 crore hectares, that is about 12
percent of the country is to periodic floods. The total expenditure on relief and
reconstruction in Gujarat alone after the severe earthquake of January 2001 has been
about Rs.1,500 crore in year, just to quote an example. New disaster threats have also
developed such the tsunami disaster of December 2004, which was an disaster.

In this Unit, we will discuss the meaning and nature of natural disasters. In addition, their
effects will also be highlighted. Keeping in view the variety of natural disasters that occur
in India, we will explain the types with special reference to their regional and
distributions. Lastly, we will deal with efforts to mitigate natural disasters.
A natural disaster could occur due to an immediate extreme events or it could be the
result of a long duration process, which disrupts normal human life in its established
social, traditional and economic system to a considerable extent. The define it as the
occurrence of a sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric and
functioning of a society (or community). Today, the term Disaster is commonly used to
denote any extreme event, be it natural or man-made, which brings about loss of life,
property, infrastructure, essential service and means of livelihood to an extent that it
becomes difficult to cope with the situation due to it being beyond the normal capacity of
the affected communities to deal with unaided. A hazardous situation turns into a disaster
event when the affected community (or district or state or country) needs immediate and
prolonged assistance and support to deal with the situation and its after effects.
A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of, or
effecting, the Earth; examples include floods, severe weather, volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or
property damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of
which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover. An adverse
event will not rise to the level of a disaster if it occurs in an area without vulnerable
population. In a vulnerable area, however, such as San Francisco, an earthquake can have
disastrous consequences and leave lasting damage, requiring years to repair.

1.2 NATURAL DISASTER: AND NATURE

A natural disaster could occur due to an immediate extreme event or it could be the result
of a long duration process, which disrupts normal human life in its established social,
traditional and economic system to a considerable extent. The define it as the occurrence
of a sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric and functioning of a
society (or community)." Today, the term 'Disaster' is commonly used to denote any
extreme event, be it natural or man-made, which brings about loss of life, property,
infrastructure, essential services and means of livelihood to an extent that it becomes
difficult to cope with the situation due to it being beyond the normal capacity of the
affected communities to deal with unaided. A hazardous situation turns into a disaster
event when the affected community (or district or state or country) needs immediate and
prolonged assistance and support to deal with the situation and its after effects.
An Overview of the Issues
The theoretically correct measure of economic impacts from a natural disaster would be
the change in welfare that occurred as a result of the event. Welfare can be evaluated ex
post, as the compensation required to avoid loss, or ex ante, which accounts for
uncertainty (Rose 2012). Although thinking in terms of hypothetical welfare measures
can be instructive, a complete welfare analysis is usually quite difficult empirically and
would require making a number of assumptions and simplifications in analysis. If society
were risk-neutral, ex ante welfare could be evaluated with the expected economic loss
(Rose 2012). Scholars interested in empirical estimates (as opposed to modelling results,
which can be useful in estimating welfare calculations) have attempted to measure
observable disaster damages and follow-on economic impacts as a rough approximation
of the net economic costs of a disaster.
Various lists and typologies of disaster impacts have been created. Most scholars of
disasters have generally classified disaster impacts into direct and indirect impacts. Direct
impacts have been described as the physical destruction from a disaster, and indirect
impacts (some authors prefer the term higher-order impacts) are considered the
consequences of that destruction (National Research Council 1999). In this way, direct
damages refer to damages to structures, contents, and infrastructure that occur as a direct

result of experiencing the hazard. Direct impacts also include mortality and injury caused
directly by the hazard. Indirect damages refer to lost economic activity, such as loss of
potential production, increased costs of production, loss in expected income, and other
welfare losses, which occur as a result of the initial damage. Direct and indirect damages
include nonmarket impacts, such as declines in the quality of life, environmental
degradation, or lost recreational amenities, for example. In theory, it should be possible to
sum up all direct and indirect losses to generate a measure of the total economic costs of a
disaster. In practice, this is quite difficult, for several reasons discussed in this section.
The approach of dividing disaster impacts into direct and indirect damages and summing
them appears to be a theoretically straightforward accounting method for estimating the
total economic impact of natural disasters; however, the difficulty in practice has led
much of the literature to focus instead on the impact of disasters on macroeconomic
variables. This approach is another lens through which to view disasters and is clearly not
additive with direct and indirect damages (ECLAC 2003). The assumption is that direct
and indirect effects would be reflected in macroeconomic accounts if the disaster was
significant. The focus on macroeconomic variables is probably due in part to the fact that
good data are available on them, but the ease of data availability does not imply that
macroeconomic variables are the best measure of disaster impacts, as I discuss further
below.
Direct and Indirect Impacts from a Disaster
Indirect losses include business interruption costs to those businesses that did not sustain
direct damage but may not be able to operate because, for example, their supplier was
damaged, their workers evacuated, or they lost power. It also includes the multiplier
effects from reductions in demand or supply (more on these below). In addition to
causing business interruption, loss of infrastructure or other lifelines (e.g., power, sewage,
or water) can lead to utility loss to households in terms of a diminished quality of life or
could cause both households and businesses to adopt costly measures (such as increased
commuting time as a result of damaged roads or the extra costs of running a private
generator when the electricity is out).

Direct Damages
The economic cost that usually first comes to mind when thinking about natural disasters
is damage to buildings and contents. Though seemingly straightforward to measure,
getting the precise economic costs of this impact is not theoretically trivial. Consider a
house that is completely destroyed. The economic loss could be measured as either the
market value of the house right before the disaster hit or the replacement cost to rebuild
it. The most appropriate measure is the market value at the time of disaster impact. The
replacement cost could be higher or lower for several reasons. Post-disaster, some
materials may be in short supply and more expensive substitutes used or higher prices
charged, for example, or labour may be in short supply and thus wages higher, driving the
cost of rebuilding above what it would have been before the disaster (Olsen and Porter
2008). This is often referred to as demand surge. Although these higher costs are a loss to
the homeowner, they are a gain to the suppliers and builders; therefore, from the point of
view of society as a whole, they are :- just transfers. On the flip side, if business
interruption is severe and more labourers are looking for temporary work, rebuilding
costs could be lower. This again would be a savings to the homeowner that, from the
perspective of society as a whole, would offset the loss to the worker.
This picture is complicated by government disaster aid payments. For the individual, aid
will lessen the economic impact of a disaster. From the point of view of society, the
government aid is a transfer from one taxpayer to another, as stated above. The dead eight
loss of taxation is positive, however, and the marginal opportunity cost of a dollar of
government spending is in most cases likely to be greater than $1; therefore, one might
want to include this cost of government spending. However, it is not necessarily the case
that disaster aid will require new taxation because funds may instead be diverted from
another use. In such a case, it is possible that this diversion could lessen the dead eight
loss of taxation if the aid was less distortionary than the funds in their non disaster use. If
the funds were from increased government borrowing, this cost of federal borrowing
would need to be included.
The homeowner could also receive insurance payouts if he or she had disaster insurance.
This would again lessen the negative wealth shock to the homeowner. Assuming riskbased pricing of insurance and well-diversified companies, claims payouts should not be

considered a cost of a disaster. They are often used as a proxy for economic costs,
however, as they should theoretically be closely correlated with the lost value of the
homes and structuresat least in areas with high take-up rates of insurance. Further,
insurance companies usually keep extremely good records and so are an excellent data
source.
In addition to the cost of the lost home, other direct losses to the homeowner include the
time lost to the rebuilding effort, emotional trauma or stress, and loss of nonmarket items
of value, such as baby photographs or family keepsakes. These losses are rarely included
in disaster damage estimates.
Destruction to the buildings, contents, inventory, and capital of firms can be similarly
analyzed. For destroyed capital, depreciation must also be considered, and the correct
measure of economic loss is the depreciated value of the lost asset. If production is lost
from the delay in replacing damaged capital, then the lost production from delay should
also be counted as an economic loss. The literature examining possible positive impacts
of disasters is premised on the notion that replaced capital could be more productive than
the capital destroyed if there has been technological change (discussed in Section 5
below). This productivity bump could not be so high as to make the firm better off, or
else they would have already upgraded the capital. Still, the productivity increase will
offset some of the economic loss. If the firm receives disaster aid such that the upgrade is,
in a sense, free to the firm, then it could, in theory, be better off post-disaster if the
productivity bump is great enough. Again, though, from the point of view of society, the
aid is simply a transfer.
Infrastructure damage is another category of direct loss from a natural disaster. Again, the
depreciated value is the correct measure of economic loss. Delays in repair and rebuilding
can trigger indirect costs, discussed next, through an interruption in use or service.
Especially in the developing world, loss of life and injury from disasters can be large, and
these are direct costs of a disaster. An enormous debate centres on how to value loss of
life and injury, and I will not rehash that here, except to note that a value-of-a-statistical
life (VSL) estimate based on disaster risk explicitly would be the best measure. To my
knowledge, very few, if any, VSL estimates have looked explicitly at natural disaster risk,
although one comparative stated preference study finds that willingness to pay (WTP) to

reduce mortality risk is greater for terrorism than for natural disasters and that reducing
the mortality risk from natural disasters is valued about the same as that from traffic
accidents, even though the latter is a much higher risk (Viscusi 2009). Injury and illness
can be measured in quality-adjusted life-years or similar measures.
Direct damages can also include environmental degradation. For such nonmarket losses,
an estimate of societys total WTP to have avoided the loss ex ante is a measure of the
economic loss. Again, a large literature addresses nonmarket valuation techniques that
can be applied to obtain such estimates, which will not be discussed here (see, for
example, Freeman 2003).
Finally, emergency response and debris clean-up could also be considered direct costs of
a disaster. This would include the opportunity cost of peoples time spent hauling away
debris, for example, or the costs of evacuation. Many of these costs are borne by
governments, and if the interest is in total economic impacts to society as a whole, care
must be taken in correctly estimating these costs. Issues that must be considered include
whether new taxation was required, if government indebtedness increased, and/or what
the funds would have been spent on in the absence of a disaster.
Although this paper is focused exclusively on economic impacts, previous work has
examined broader impacts, including demographic shifts post-disaster. For example, it
was found that after Hurricane Andrew, low-income groups moved into areas that had
been damaged (potentially because these areas were cheaper), the proportion of middleincome groups in damaged areas declined, and the wealthy remained (perhaps because
insurance and self-protection were more affordable for this group; (Smith et al. 2006).
Such changes could have welfare effects.

Indirect Damages
Disasters can be viewed as a negative capital shock to a region. This has follow-on
economic consequences in addition to the value of the lost assets. First, economic losses
are not exclusive to firms or households that sustain direct physical damage. If electricity
or water is lost, for instance, it can cause business interruption to even firms that are not
themselves directly damaged. This is a widely recognized disaster cost. Similarly, the loss
of such services can lead to a decline in the quality of life for households, and thus a
utility loss, and could also lead to the need for costly measures to compensate, although
this is rarely discussed in the literature. Such compensating actions could involve longer
travel times due to a road outage or the purchase of battery-powered lighting in response
to a loss of electricity, for instance. These are indirect damages to include in estimates of
total costs.
Attention in the literature has focused on possible multiplier effects post-disaster.
Consumer demand post-disaster may be higher for some sectorssuch as construction,
particularly if aid or insurance is funneled to rebuildingand lower for others as
consumers forgo some expenditures to use their funds for rebuilding. These types of
expenditure changes could have economic multiplier effects within the community
(positive or negative). A similar story can be told for business interruption. This could
decrease demand for inputs and reduce outputs, having negative ripple effects in the
supply chain; although here, aid and insurance could mute these impacts if such funds
allow for a faster resumption of normal business activity.
From the perspective of the whole economy, however, multiplier effects may well be
zero, with positive and negative impacts canceling out (National Research Council 1999).
For instance, if a firm fails to produce an output, its customer may simply purchase the
good elsewhere. This is a loss for the disaster-impacted firm but a gain for a competitor,
and thus a wash from the point of view of the whole economy. As another example,
tourists may avoid a hurricane-stricken coast, but instead of not travelling, they may just
frequent another area. Again, this may be a wash from the point of view of the entire
economy, but clearly the distributional impacts could be quite large and could have
significant consequences for individuals, firms, or communities.

10

If a government does make changes to taxation or resource allocation post-disaster, this

could have indirect economic effects. For hard-hit countries, particularly small or poor
countries, this is a distinct possibility and would need to be evaluated. Countries can also
receive international assistance (which, again, would be a transfer from a global
perspective). Case study evidence suggests that donors do not necessarily provide
additional aid after a disaster, but simply reallocate aid budgets (Benson and Clay 2004).
Mortality or illness could also occur, as a result not of the hazard but of the initial
damage. For instance, if water becomes contaminated as a result of the shutdown of a
treatment plant and this leads to illness, it would be an indirect cost of the disaster. After
hurricane Katrina, an increase in mortality rates was observed because the storm
destroyed much of the health infrastructure of the city (Stephens 2007). These would be
deaths classified as an indirect cost.
Finally, disasters could cause people to alter their risk perceptions. This could then induce
behavioural responses and a reallocation of resources. These could have economic
consequences, such as workers requiring a risk premium post-disaster (on this point in the
context of terrorism, see: Rose 2012), but are not further considered in this review.
Similarly, utility functions may be state dependent and may change after a disaster, such
that ex ante valuations are not the same as ex post valuations.1 A complete welfare
assessment would need to consider these possibilities. Notably, positive utility gains
could occur via public aid post-disaster if people feel good about helping those in need
and reassured that if they are victims, aid will be forthcoming. Likewise, utility losses
could be associated with any increases in fear (or other negative emotions), which Adler
(2004) argues should be measured and included in regulatory costbenefit analysis when
relevant.
Economists exhibit some hesitancy regarding estimations of higher-order effects, and the
complications discussed above hint at why. Rose (2004) notes the following concerns:
indirect effects are hard to verify, modelling them can be difficult, the size of the impacts
can vary substantially depending on the resiliency of the economy and pace of recovery,
and the modelling of such effects could be manipulated for political purposes (e.g.,
inflating the multiplier). Still, when calculated carefully, they are a true cost of the
disaster and should be included in any complete accounting. Most estimates of their

11

magnitude have been done through modelling rather than empirical analysis.
Macroeconomic Approaches
The majority of economic studies, instead of attempting to estimate direct or indirect
costs, evaluate the impact of natural disasters on macroeconomic indicators, primarily
gross domestic product (GDP). It is thus worth saying a word about how these estimates
of disaster impacts relate to estimates of direct and indirect economic effects.
It is possible that the direct and indirect effects of a disaster could be large enough to
have macroeconomic effects, including impacts on economic growth, balance of
payments, fiscal revenues, levels of indebtedness, and investment rates (ECLAC 2003). If
damages are severe, output could decline. Output could also increase from post-disaster
reconstruction. It is unclear, on net, how these effects would balance out. Damages to
firms could alter imports and exports. Government spending for emergency response, if
high enough, could change indebtedness. Tax revenue could be impacted. If serious price
increases result from the disaster, this could fuel inflation. Foreign direct investment
could fall if companies see too great a risk or too much damage.
Some of these impacts are essentially indirect economic impacts that should be counted
in total economic impact estimates. More often, however, macroeconomic variables are
used as a proxy for the direct and indirect impacts just discussed. For example,
government spending is often used as a measure of the damages from a disaster but need
not be directly related to economic losses. Similarly, GDP is often used to capture total
economic impacts.

It is worth stressing, however, that GDP is simply a measure of

economic activity, not of wealth or welfare. The usual arguments on this point extend to
the case of natural disasters. The literature on the GDP impacts of disasters is reported
here, but with this strong note of caution that it is a poor proxy for either total economic
costs or welfare impacts of a disaster event.
Measurement Problems
The thorny theoretical problems involved in estimating the economic consequences of
disasters are coupled with extreme data limitations that make actual estimates far from
what would be the hypothetical - true disaster costs. Many scholars have stressed the need

12

for reliable, comprehensive, systematically collected disaster loss data (e.g., Thomas
2001). Good data on disaster losses are needed for a range of purposes, including cost
benefit analysis of mitigation measures, government preparedness planning, calibration of
loss models, and risk analysis for insurers and other entities. Even in highly developed
countries with generally good record-keeping, comprehensive disaster loss data are
difficult to come by. The United States does not keep systematic records in one location
of losses associated with natural hazards. Many experts have called for such a database to
be developed and maintained by the federal government (e.g., National Research Council
1999), but thus far it has not occurred.
In general, the data available on disaster impacts are on those things that are easily
observable ex post. For instance, depreciated replacement value is the best estimate of
damage to structures and assets, but is not available in most data sets (Mileti 1999);
replacement cost is more likely to be observed. Because public expenditures are fairly
easy to observe and often are already measured in some form in most countries, they are
frequently used as a proxy for losses; but, as already mentioned, public expenditures on
reconstruction may not match the magnitude of losses to capital (Cavallo and Noy 2010).
Most disaster data sets do not include indirect losses or damages to nonmarket goods and
services; therefore, most disaster loss data probably underestimate the full economic
impact of disasters (Mileti 1999; Mitchell and Thomas 2001).
Another difficulty with disaster data is that many high-magnitude events are complex,
with multiple interrelated perils (Kronetal. 2012). For instance, strong hurricanes bring
with them high winds, torrential rain, and storm surge; these could further trigger
landslides. Severe storms could include damage from wind, hail, flooding, lightening, and
tornadoes. Earthquakes can trigger tsunamis or fires. This makes classifying disasters for
comparison across events difficult.
Finally, some countries have much better record-keeping than others. Some countries
may not have institutions that are tasked with damage estimation, and in some places
post-disaster assessments may be difficult. Further, developing countries may have an
incentive to exaggerate damages to gain international aid and, regardless, obtaining good
damage estimates in developing countries can be a challenge because insurance
penetration is low, book keeping is often poor, and much economic activity occurs in

13

informal sectors (Toya and Skidmore 2007). Very little is known empirically about
disaster impacts on informal sectors of the economy.
Thus, all disaster numbers should be interpreted with some degree of caution. In addition,
the nature of the database can influence the conclusions drawn about disaster losses, as
noted by Gall et al. (2009). For instance, different databases include different items in the
estimate of damages (e.g., just direct damages, or both direct and indirect), which can
cause differences in rankings of events. In their comparison of disaster damage estimates
in the United States across three different databases, Gall et al. (2009) find that, although
all three databases agree that hurricanes and tropical storms are the most damaging
hazard in the United States, they differ on which hazard is ranked secondearthquakes,
severe weather, or floods.
Finally, EM-DAT data are compiled from multiple sources and are only as good as those
sources. Sources include the United Nations, governmental and nongovernmental
organizations, insurance companies, research institutes, and the press. The sources are
ranked according to their trustworthiness in providing accurate and complete data.
Collecting disaster data is a difficult process, and CRED should be commended on the
work done to create and maintain this database. It is the best source for consistent, multicountry natural disaster data available. That said, we would be more confident in our
estimates of the economic impacts of natural disasters if multiple data sources all found
the same results. With so much of the literature relying on this one data source, any
problems with the data will propagate through all analyses.

1.3 TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTERS

14

As already mentioned in section 1.1 above, India's unique geo-climatic position makes
the country particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. a

vast

peninsula

of

sub-

continental size and is surrounded by sea on three sides and has the Himalayan range on
the fourth side, which has some of the tallest mountains of the world. That is why India
has to face large variety of disastrous events of geological, oceanic or climatic origin.
Thus we can list the natural disasters expected in India on the basis of their origin as
follows:
Wind, and Water related natural disasters
Cyclone
Flood
Drought
Climate related disasters
Waves and cold waves
Global Warming
Sea level rise
Ozone depletion
Mountain area disasters Geological disasters
Landslides
Snow avalanches
Earthquakes
Volcanic eruptions
Tsunami
Wind, and Water related natural disasters
Cyclone
Tropical cyclones are characterized by destructive winds and copious rainfall, which
causes flooding. In such storms, winds can exceed speeds of over 120 kph. Due to such
strong wind forcing, sea-water accumulates ahead of cyclone as it moves towards the
coast. When a cyclone hits the coast, the accumulated enormous mass of sea- water
strikes the coast as a giant sea wave called s surge which can have heights of the order of

15

tens of meters. The storm surge with torrential rains and very strong winds brings
widespread devastation to coastlines and islands lying in paths. Cyclones pose a major
threat to life and property. These storms are called cyclones in India. In other parts of the
world they have different nomenclature, like hurricanes in America and in Japan.
Tropical cyclones are weather systems with strong winds that circulate anti-clockwise
around a low-pressure area in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern
hemisphere. They form in certain tropical areas over the open seas where the sea surface
temperature is around The necessary atmospheric and oceanic conditions for the
formation of cyclone are a sea temperature, high relative humidity, atmospheric
instability and a location around at least 4-5 degree latitude away from the equator.
In India, there are two cyclone seasons viz., Pre-monsoon (April and May) and Postmonsoon (October and November). More cyclones form in the Bay of than in the Arabian
Sea. As cyclones move generally westwards or north-westwards, the east coast of India is
more vulnerable to than the west coast.
Flood
Flood denotes inundation or accumulation of water. In other words, it results from an
imbalance between inflow and outflow of Floods can occur through heavy rains, dam
failures, rapid snow melts, river blockages or even bursting of water mains. Floods result
in damage, deaths and injuries, create in drinking water supply and food shortages. In
India, 40 million hectare area is vulnerable to floods, and about 8 hectare area is affected
by floods annually. Thus India is highly prone to floods especially in the monsoon and
cyclone seasons. The flood disaster of July 2005 is fresh in memory.
There are three types of floods flash floods, river floods, and coastal floods. Flash floods
are generally events of hill areas where sudden very heavy rain over a limited area can
cause strong flow. Flash floods also occur when a temporary blockage in hilly areas
impounds water, which when released suddenly creates the havoc. River floods occur due
to heavy inflow of water from heavy rainfall, snowmelt, and short intense storms.
Hooding in rivers is also caused by inadequate capacity within the banks of river to
contain high flows, river bank erosion and silting of riverbeds, synchronization of flood
in the main and tributary rivers, flow retardation due to tidal and backwater effects.

16

Coastal floods are caused due to or heavy rainfall cyclones and the storm surge associated
with a cyclone. The situation could be aggravated due to high tide. Tidal flooding is
saline from the of sea-water into rivers at high tides. Flood to surge is also saline and
therefore, more corrosive.
Drought
Drought is a temporary reduction in water availability on an area for unusually long
period. Depending on the resulting water scarcity, a drought has disastrous and long-term
impacts, which may last for months and in some cases years.
It is onset phenomenon Three types of droughts are recognised:
Meteorological drought: When the monthly or seasonal rainfall over an area is
appreciably below normal.
Hydrological drought: The water scarcity over results in reduction in the available water
in surface water bodies and the water table also recedes. Needless to state, prolonged
meteorological drought leads to hydrological drought.
Agricultural drought: When the water scarcity results in partial or total loss of crops and
affects agricultural activity adversely. Drought is caused by adverse water balance, or
scarcity of water to satisfy the normal needs of agriculture, livestock or human
population. It can also occur in areas normally enjoy adequate rainfall levels, Drought
may be caused due to excessive evapo-transpiration losses, high temperature and low soil
holding capacity.
Climate related disasters
Wave and Cold Wave
As the name implies, these are spells of extreme surface air temperatures over a region
for rather prolonged periods of several days or few weeks. When the maximum
temperature in the day over an area over shoots in the hot weather months (March to
June), it leads to heat wave. Similarly, when the temperature falls appreciably below
normal in the winter months, it is called cold wave. Both the phenomena are extreme
weather events and lead to very considerable discomfort, illness, epidemics and deaths
due to exposure.

17

Global Warming
Increase in greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and others) retards
cooling of the earth's surface at nights and this tends to increase the minimum
temperature (the morning temperature) almost all over the globe resulting in the
phenomenon called Global Warming. Even though the increase in greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere is due mostly to human activities, it is advisable to study Global as a
natural it involves the atmosphere in general and is global in nature and its impacts are
global even if the human activity is local or regional. (The same argument applies in
treating Sea level rise Ozone depletion under the category of natural disasters). It be
noted that there would not only be less cooling of the earth's surface at night but the
atmosphere will also get warmer due to trapping of the heat on account of green-house
effect. All these aspects will be discussed in detail in Unit 18 later.
Sea level rise
Any increase in the average temperature of the earth is bound to have two impacts.
Firstly, the glaciers, ice caps on the poles and mountain peaks will witness increased
melting and consequent increase in the waters in rivers and oceans. Secondly, the large
body of water in the seas will expand in volume due to increased temperature. Both these
factors will create arise in the level of water in the seas and oceans, which eventually
poses serious problems to the inhabitants of coastal and island areas and affects their
socio-economic wellbeing. In fact, sea-level rise threatens the very existence of numerous
islands and coastal zones.
Ozone Depletion
Ozone, which is an isotope of oxygen, is created in the lower stratosphere where under
conditions of I ow atmospheric pressure, the ultraviolet radiation in the sun's rays breaks
the oxygen molecule into atomic oxygen, which combines with oxygen molecule to form
ozone. The ultraviolet radiation up the ozone molecule into a normal oxygen molecule
and atomic oxygen. Thus the process goes on and creates a layer of ozone in the upper
atmosphere with maximum density of ozone 20 km or so above the earth. This process

18

also consumes a large of the harmful ultraviolet radiation in the sun's rays and thus saves
human, animal, and plant life on the earth from the effects of ultraviolet radiation.
However, certain chemicals, in use on earth, send chlorine up in the upper atmosphere
where under certain conditions of low temperature and darkness, chlorine consumes
atomic oxygen in a reaction with result that ozone is reduced thus lowering the ozone
density in so-called ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. This process of ozone depletion
ensures that less amount of the ultraviolet radiation in the sun's rays gets consumed in the
ozone and more ultraviolet radiation reaches the earth's surface to create harm.
The entire process of ozone depletion its effects are more complicated than the simple
description above. Moreover, significant success has been made in combating ozone
depletion through international cooperation. All these aspects will be discussed in detail
in Unit 20, which is entirely devoted to ozone depletion.

Mountain area disasters Geological disasters

This is a broad classification, although one can suggest a different categorization. For
example, tsunami can be considered to be of geological origin but it has been put under
the water related category in the above classification because the disastrous effect is
caused by the giant sea waves.

Each of these phenomena are explained and discussed

in detail in the subsequent Units of this course. However, at this introductory stage, brief
descriptions are given here beginning with disasters of geological origin.
Landslides
Landslides are defined as the mass movement of rock debris or mud down a slope and
have come to include a broad range of motions, whereby falling, sliding and flowing
under the influence of gravity dislodges earth material. They also occur as secondary
effects of heavy rainstorms, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In almost all cases,
landslides occur as a consequence of changes, either sudden or gradual, in the
composition and structure of rocks or vegetation on a slope, which loosens the soil or
rocks which slide on a trigger as heavy rains or vibrations in the earth's surface.
Landslide can be caused by poor ground conditions, geomorphic phenomena, heavy

19

rainfall, earthquakes or undercutting of the base of slopes by rivers and quite often due to
heavy spells of rainfall with impeded drainage. They are common in mountainous areas,
such as Himalayas and the Western Ghats where they frequently destroy the
infrastructure, agriculture, and dwellings, resulting in considerable loss of life and
property besides blocking vital roads in the inaccessible areas.
Snow Avalanches
An avalanche is defined as the event in which a large mass of snow, ice, rock or other
material swiftly down a side or over a precipice and crushes everything in its path. An
avalanche when the large of snow, ice and rock overcomes the frictional resistance of the
sloping surface, either due to rain, melting of ice base or vibrations of any kind.
It will be seen that landslides and avalanches are events of mountain regions and are
rather similar in nature and impact. The basic difference is that landslide involves
movement of rock, soil and whereas avalanche comprises, snow, ice and rock. Landslides
can occur in smaller hills or rocky slopes but avalanches occur in high mountains with
snow in abundance.

Earthquake
A sudden geological event below the surface of the earth results in generation of waves
that travel far and wide and cause vertical and horizontal vibrations. The consequential
motion causes destruction. The severity of the impact depends on the magnitude of the
earthquake, which in turn depends on the amount of energy released at the spot where the
geological event took place below the surface of the earth. occur suddenly, and thus there
is no dependable technique for prediction of earthquakes as yet. India is highly vulnerable
to earthquakes and has been visited by some very severe earthquakes.
Volcanic eruptions
Volcano can be described as a vent or chimney, to the earth's surface, from a reservoir of
molten rock, called magma, deep in the crust of the earth. is not that volcanoes are always
emitting lava, steam or smoke. Many volcanoes have been "sleeping" for decades or even

20

longer. In the context of forecasting of volcanic eruptions, it can be stated that short-term
forecasts hours or days may be made through volcano techniques. In the Indian territory,
there are only two volcanoes viz., Nicobar and Barren Island- both in the Andaman s.
Both are 'sleeping volcanoes' although the Island volcano emits some heat and smoke
occasionally and goes to sleep again. In any case, there is no evidence of any serious by
these volcanoes in the known past. Thus, India is not much affected due to volcanoes.
However, other countries like Italy, Japan, Mexico, Indonesia and worst affected.
Tsunami
Tsunami is a Japanese for sea waves generated by undersea earthquakes. These waves
may originate from undersea or coastal seismic activity, or volcanic eruption. Whatever
may be the seawater is displaced into a violent and sudden motion ultimately breaking
over land even at very long with great destructive power. It is to be noted that while the
coasts are hit by very high waves of water, there is hardly any appreciable wave on the
high seas. Therefore, ships on the high seas are not affected.
In most cases, tsunami could be the after-effect of undersea earthquake due to which the
abrupt vertical movement of ocean floor generates waves, which travel at high speed in
the ocean. As they approach land, their speed decreases while their height increases. It
can be highly destructive to coastal areas as was witnessed during the catastrophic
tsunami event in December 2004.

CHAPTER 2
2.1 ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO DISASTER

21

In May 2013, the United Nations cautioned that economic losses linked to natural disaster
are out of control, soaring past US $100 billion annually for three consecutive years. The
warning came as the UN released the third edition of its Global Assessment Report
Disaster Risk Reduction in May 2013. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
warned that economic losses from floods, earthquakes and drought will continue to
escalate unless business firms take action to reduce their exposure to disaster risks.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the report saying the review of disaster
losses in 56 countries clearly demonstrates that economic losses from disaster are out of
control and can only be reduced in partnership with the private sector.
Our starling finding is that direct losses from flood, earthquakes and drought have been
underestimated by at least 50 percent, Ban said So far this century, direct losses from
disaster are in the range of US$ 2.5 trillion (US$2500billion). This is unacceptable when
we have the knowledge to reduce the losses and benefit from the gains.
For too many years, the secretary-general said, financial markets have placed greater
value on short-term returns than on sustainability and resilience, which in the long-term
are far more attractive and can save million of dollars.
In the years ahead, trillion of dollars will be invested in hazard-exposed regions, Ban
said, If that money fails to account for natural hazards and vulnerabilities, risk will
increase. Where such spending does address underlying risk factors, risk will go down.
The report said recent major disaster such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the 2011 Floods
in Thailand and the 2011 Japanese earthquakes and Tsunami put a spotlight on the
growing impact of disasters on the private sector.
The report says increasing globalization, the search for lower costs and higher
productivity, and quick delivery are driving business into hazard-prone locations with
little or no consideration of the consequences on global supply chains.
For example, it said Toyota lost US$ 1.2 billion in product revenue from the Japanese
earthquakes in 2011 due to the parts shortages that caused 150,000 fewer cars to be
manufactured in the United States and a 70 percent reduction in production in India and a
50 percent reduction in China.
On the other hand, Orion which owns and operates own of the largest electricity

22

distribution networks in New Zealand, invested US $6 million in seismic protection that

saved the company US$65 million in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the report said. And
preventive investments by fishermen in Mexico saved each individual entrepreneur US$
35,000 during Hurricane Wilma in 2005, the report said.
A global risk model developed by the U.N. Office demonstrates that average losses just
from earthquakes and cyclonic wind damage are expected to be $180 billion per year
throughout this century ---- and this figure doest include damage floods landslides, fires
and storms, the report said.
Small and Medium enterprises are particularly at risk. The 2013 report, which surveyed
1,300 small and medium-sized businesses in six disaster-prone cities in the Americas,
found three-quarter have suffered disruptions related to damage or destroy power,
telecommunication and water utilities, illustrating the interdependence between the
private and public sector when it come to disaster risk management.
Yet only a minority of those surveyed - about 14 percent of companies with fewer than
100 employees - had even a basic approach crisis management from of business
continuity planning, the report says.
The report argues stronger disaster risk management reduces uncertainty and strengthens
confidence, opens the door to cost saving and provides an avenue for value creation.
Business that have invested the most in risk management may financially out perform
their peers, the report says.
Governments reported significant progress in developing more effective disaster response
and preparedness strategies and are investing more to address risk, according to the
report. However, government are still falling short of anticipating risks in public and
private and partnership. For example, the number of export-oriented Special Economic
Zone has expanded to 3,500 zones in 130 countries as 2006. Many of these zones are
located in hazard-exposed areas increasing diaster risks.

2.2 Types of Economic Costs of Disaster:

The types of economic costs can be broadly divided into two groups

23

 Direct Costs
Indirect Costs
Direct Costs:
The costs are due to physical damage to agricultural crops, industrial plants, inventories,
etc.
It also includes economic losses on account of damage and destruction of economic
infrastructure such as roads, bridges, dams, electricity supplies, and social infrastructure
such as residential houses and building, hospitals, and educational institutions.
Indirect Costs:
Disasters result in disruption to the flow of goods and services- lower output on account
of disruption in supplies, and damage to productive assets and infrastructure. Economic
losses take place on account of disruption of income generating opportunities. Indirect
costs also include medical expenses and lost productivity arising from the increased
incidence of injury and disease. The indirect costs to the Governments include
compensation to the victims, and the cost of relief and rescue operations as well as the
costs relating to recovery and reconstruction.

2.3 Economic losses of Disaster

Disaster can to adverse economic effects on humans. The economic effects are:
a) Economic loss due to Unemployment: Disaster result in economic loss to survivors

24

on account of unemployment may be short term or long term. In the short term,
people may remain unemployed due to the destruction of infrastructure, or damage to
factories, fields, vehicles, etc. In the long-term, people may remain unemployed due
to physical injuries which may not permit individuals to work. For instance, loss of
limbs, hands, eye sight, and so on may make the injured persons less employable or
not employable at all. during the disasters, the most affected are the people who work
in the unorganized sectors such as fields, self-employed people like auto rickshaw
drivers, people whose livelihood depends on livestock, etc. people who work in
organized sector may not be affected as they may be adequately compensated even if
they may not work during the disaster period.
b) Economic Loss due to Loss of Assets: people suffer economic loss on account of
loss of property. Disasters such as earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, etc. results in
loss to property, which may be difficult to recover. For instance, the soil fertility,
which may be difficult to recover. For instance, the soil fertility may get adversely
affected on account of earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., and therefore, the fertile land
may become useless for cultivation. Also, due to disasters people may lose their
valuables such as gold, cash, and other assets.
c) Economic Loss due to Injury: people may suffer economic loss due to physical
injury. Lot of money may be spent on recovery. The Govt compensation may be
limited and at times may not be received at all. For instance, over 5 lakh victims of
Bhopal Gas Tragedy are left out of the compensation announced by Govt of India in
2010-( as stated by Madhya Pradesh relief and rehab minister on 4th December 2010).
d) Economic loss due to Death of Earning Family Members: Surviving members
may suffer economic loss on account of death of earning family member(s). In
several cases, the surviving members are left without any earning members in the
survive in the post disaster period.
e) Economic Losses due to disruption of Infrastructure: -Economic losses also take
place due to damage and disruption of infrastructure the income generating opportunities
get hampered on account of economic infrastructure such as electricity supplies, damage
to roads, bridges telecommunications, etc Therefore, business firms are adversely
affected as the production gets hampered. As mentioned earlier, Toyota lost US $1.2

25

billion (US $1200million) in2011 Japanese earthquake on account of shortage of parts to

manufacture cars. Not only production firms get affected, but also there is direct effect on
employment.
f) Effect on poverty Alleviation projects: There is adverse effect on poverty alleviation
projects on account of disasters. Funds or resources allocated for poverty alleviation
projects may be diverted by Government authorities for reconstruction rather than
spending on poverty alleviation projects. Disasters therefore, induce poverty, by making
median households poorer and the poor households destitute, due to their vulnerability
and inability to mitigate the losses.
g) Effect on GDP of affected Nations: Major disasters lower economic growth of the
affected nations. Lot of funds and resources are divided for relief and reconstruction
efforts, which as infrastructure. Lack of infrastructure development demotivates industrial
investment, which in turn leads to lower production. Therefore, disaster have an adverse
effect on GDP growth of affected nations, at least in the short run.

2.4 India Disaster Context Analysis

India is the seventh largest country in the world by geographical area with an extent of
32,62,263 sq.km and is the second largest populated country in the world. India stands

26

unique in its rich cultural heritage, diversified geographical and climatic conditions, with
the snow covered mountains (Himalayas) in the northern side and rain forests in the
south, the Indo-Gangetic Plains ,the Deccan Plateau, the major life-giving Rivers which
make the areas fertile, deserts on the western side, drought prone areas and long
stretches of coastal areas.
India, due to its physio- geographic conditions, land characteristics and climatic
conditions, is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, exposed to different
kinds of natural hazards. India has witnessed a number of disasters which claimed several
thousands of human lives, rendering millions of people homeless and causing immense
loss to properties of the people.

Natural Disasters from 1980 2010 - An Overview

Over View
No of events
No of people killed:
Average killed per year:
No of people affected:
Average affected per year:
Economic Damage (US$ X 1,000):
Economic Damage per year (US$ X 1,000):

431
143,039
4,614
1,521,726,127
49,087,940
48,063,830
1,550,446

Major Disasters that struck the country in the recent decades:

Years
2014

Disaster
10/14 India relieved at low cyclone death toll
10/12 Huge cyclone batters eastern India
10/12 Massive Indian cyclone races inland

2013

06/19 Pilgrims stranded by

09/26 Dozens feared trapped in Mumbai building
floods in India, deaths could
collapse
rise
08/18 India express train kills people crossing 06/21
Death
toll
in
track
Uttarakhand 'passes 500'
08/13 Indian submarine hit by explosion
07/16 School meal kills 22 in India

27

Flood

2012

2011

2010

2009

04/05 Mumbai building collapse toll rises

11/01 Cyclone tears into south Indian coast
07/31 Half of India left without power
07/29 Massive power outage hits India
04/07 135 Pakistani soldiers trapped in avalanche
12/08 At least 89 died in fire in Calcutta hospital
fire
09/18 16 dead in India, Nepal after 6.9 quake
Thane Cyclone in Tamil Naidu and Puducerry in
2011
01/14 Stampede kills 100
07/18 At least 45 dead in train collision
05/27 100 dead after 'sabotage' derails train
05/23 Cockpit voice recorder found at crash site
05/21 Plane crash leaves about 160 dead
Cloudburst in Leh in 2010
12/28 300 migrants missing off Andamans
Cyclone Laila in Andhra Pradesh in 2009
Cyclone Aila in West Bengal in 2009
08/31 Floods cut off
thousands
08/27 Flooding kills dozens,
ruins 225,000 homes

09/30 Temple stampede kills 147

2008

2004
2001
1999
1997
1993
1991

08/31 Floods cut off thousands

Kosi Floods in Bihar in 2008
08/27 Flooding kills dozens, ruins 225,000 homes
Barmer Floods in Rajasthan in 2006
Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004
12/29 Wave toll 'could exceed 100,000'
12/26 9.0 Quake leaves 212,000 dead
Bhuj Earthquake in 2001
Super Cyclone in Orissa in 1999
Chamoli Earthquake in Uttarakhand in 1999
Koyama Earthquake in 1997
Latur Earthquake in Maharashtra in 1993
Killani Earthquake in 1993
Uttarkashi Earthquake in 1991

2.5 Susceptibility of India to Natural Disasters:

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Earthquakes: During the last 20 years, India has experienced 10 major earthquakes that
have claimed more than 35,000 lives. Almost 58% of our total land mass is prone to
earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. The Himalayan mountain range is
undergoing constant geological changes (crustal movements) resulting in frequent
earthquakes and landslides.

Floods: Floods in the Indo-Gangetic Brahmaputra plains are an annual feature. Several
thousands of lives have been lost, millions have been rendered homeless and 8 million
hectares of crops are damaged every year. India receives 75% of rains during the
monsoon season (June September). As a result almost all the rivers carry heavy waters
during this time resulting in sediment deposition, drainage congestion, invading into the
main land. 40 million hectares of land is vulnerable to floods with about 30 million
people affected by flood every year. Floods brought severe drought in arid and semi arid
areas. About 12% of the total land mass is flood prone.
Cyclones: India has a long coastline running 7,516 km long and the entire coastal stretch
is exposed to Tsunami, cyclone, Tidal waves and storm surges. On an average, five to six
tropical cyclones strike every year, of which two or three are very severe. More cyclones
occur in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1.
Every year the eastern coast is affected by cyclones and Tsunami. The Orissa Super
Cyclone (1999) and the India Tsunami 2004 claimed thousands and thousands of human
lives devastating agricultural crops and rendering lakhs and lakhs of people homeless.
Drought: The Desert which is located in the western region of the country and the
Deccan Plateau face recurring droughts due to acute shortage of rainfall. About 50
million people are affected annually by drought and 40 million hectares of land are prone
to scanty or no rain.
Landslides: Landslides are yet another recurrent phenomenon in the hilly regions of
India such as Himalayas, North-East India and Eastern and Western Ghat regions. The

29

major Landslide disaster that took place was at Malpa Uttarkhand (UP) in the year 1998
when nearly 380 people were killed when massive landslides washed away the entire
village. The 2010 Leh cloudburst led to flash mudslides and flash floods that killed 196
people swept away a number of houses and public buildings.

CHAPTER 3
DISASTER ISSUES AND STRATGIES

30

3.1 PHASES OF DISASTERS MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Disaster management involve policy decisions and operational activities relating to
various stages of disaster. Pre-disaster stages, disaster occurrence stage and post-disaster
stage. Disaster management aims at avoiding and minimizing the potential losses,
ensuring prompt and reasonable assistance to disaster victims, and achieving effect
recovery. The disaster management cycle include the shaping of public policy and plan
that either modify the causes of disaster or mitigate their on people, property and
infrastructure. The process of disaster involves the following phases:
Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness and response.
I. PREVENTION
Prevention involve all those activities that are required to prevent the disaster or prevent
the gravity of loss, if the disaster occurs. The prevention phases involve active
participation of all groups of the society - Government, non-government organizations,
and other institutions. The following are the different elements of the prevention phase:1. The state Disaster Management Action Plan (DMAP) has been prepared for it
operationalisation by various departments and agencies of the Government of
Maharashtra and other non-Government agencies expected to participate in disaster
management. This plan provide for institutional arrangements roles and responsibilities of
the various agencies, interlinks in disaster management and the scope of their activities.
An elaborate inventory of resources has also been formalized.
The purpose of this plan is to evolve a system to: Asses the status of existing resources and facilities available with the various
departments and agencies involved in disaster management in the state.
Asses their adequacies in dealing with the disaster;
Identify the requirement for institutional strengthening, technological support, up
gradation of information system and data management for improving the quality of
administrative response to disaster at the state level;
Make the state DMAP an effective response mechanism as well as a policy and
planning tool.
The state DMAP addresses the state response to demand from the district administration

31

and in extra ordinary emergency situation multi district levels. It is associated with
disaster like road accidents, major fires, earthquake, floods, cyclone, epidemics and offsite industrial accidents. the present plan is a multi-disaster response plan for the disaster
which outlines the institutional frameworks required for managing such situations.
The state DMAP specifically focuses on the role of various governmental departments
and agencies like the Emergency Operations Centre in case of any of the above
mentioned disasters. This plan concentrates primarily on the response strategy.
2. Disaster Warning :
The disaster management authorities need to plan for early warning of impending
disasters and its effect. For instance, storm or hurricane warning provide advance notice
to citizens, thereby, giving them to protect property, safe guard family members and move
to safer places.
A warning system is essential to indicate the on set of a disaster. This may range from
alarms (e.g. For fires) and sirens (e.g. For industrial accidents) to public announcements
through radio, television etc. (e.g. For cyclone, flood) and other traditional mode of
communication (e.g. Beating of drums, ringing of bells, hoisting of flags).
Important Elements of Warning :
Communities in disaster prone areas are made aware of the warning system.
Alternate Warning Systems must be kept in readiness in case of technical failures
(such as power failure)
All available warning system should be used.
The warning should, to the extent possible be clear about the severity, the duration
and the areas that may be affected.
Warnings should be conveyed in a simple, direct and non-technical language to
incorporate day-to-day usage patterns.
The dos and donts should be clearly communicated to the community to ensure
appropriate responses.
Warning statement should not evoke curiosity or panic behaviour. This should be
in professional language devoid of emotion.
Spread of rumors should be controlled.
32

 All relevant agencies and organizations should be altered.

Wherever possible, assistance of community leaders and organized groups should
be sought in explaining the threat.
Once a warning is issued it should be followed up by subsequent warning in order
to keep the people in formed of the latest situations.
In the event of a disaster threat receding, an all-clear signal must be given.
3. Education and Training :
There is a need to educate the various sections of the society on disaster management.
Involvement of educational and training institutions, corporate sector and nongovernment organization in order to generate knowledge on disaster management by
conducting various training and awareness program are long term key factors for the
prevention and preparedness relating to disaster management.
II. MITIGATION
Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disaster altogether, or
to reduce the effects of disaster when they occur. Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of
life and property by reducing the impact of disaster.
The mitigation phase differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term
measures for reducing or eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies
can be considered a part of the recovery process, if applied after the occurrence of a
disasters.
Risk analysis : Risk analysis needs to be conducted to generate information that provides
a foundation for instance, insurance can be obtained to protect financial losses.

Structural and Non-structural Measures : Mitigation involves structural and nonstructural measures, which limit the impact of disaster. The measures can be taken at
individual level or at Government level.
The structural measures may include the changes in the structure of a building (such

33

as retrofitting for earthquakes to make the building resistant to earthquakes) or

changing the surroundings.
Non-structural mitigation measures may include obtaining property or building
insurance or building the house at a safer place. The non-structural measures may
include legislation or regulation regarding evacuation, sanctions against those who
and communication of risk to the public.
3.2 Relief and Rehabilitation Measures :
The relief and rehab measures are important elements of mitigation. Government, NGOs
and other can undertake various relief and rehabilitation measures. The measures can be
short term as well as long term measures :
1. Immediate Relief Measures : The government authorities need to undertake
immediate relief measures, which include :
Relief camps in case of major disaster such as earthquakes or floods, for
instance, during the Tsunami of December 2004, about 207 relief camps were
opened in Andaman and Nicobar Islands that sheltered around 46,000 people.
Ex-gratia payment to the next of kin all dead or missing of the disaster.
Intermediate shelters may be provided within ceratin months of disaster.
Compensation for crop and livestock loss.
Special relief ration need to be provided to the affected people.
Drinking water facilities need to be provided wherever necessary.
2. Social Services
Timely, preventive measures can be taken to ensure any outbreak of
communicable disease.
Health centres to be made functional at the earliest to provide medical care and
treatment.
Free medicines need to be supplied especially those with injuries.
Schools need to be opened at the earliest even with temporary structures.
Schools children need to be provided with learning kids. Schools may help to
reduce post traumatic stress disorder of school children.

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3. Long Term Measures :

There are following long term measures are as follows:
A special package for reconstruction work to rehabilitate the damaged
infrastructure.
Reconstruction of permanent houses and community halls or centres, religious
structures such as community halls or centres, religious structures, panchayat,
offices, etc.
Restoring the livelihood of self-employed, fishermen, artisans and others. The
self-employed and micro units may be provided with processing and marketing
facilities.
Reclamation of land affected by salinity and inundation as well as replacing lost
livestock, if compensation is not adequately paid earlier.
Reconstruction of local transport facilities such as jetties railways stations, etc.
Which were damaged by the disaster.
Restoration of damaged power and information communication technology
infrastructure.
Upgrading drinking water supply and drainage system in affected areas.
Construction of social infrastructure such as schools, primary health centres etc.
3 . DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
At this stage, plan of action are developed to deal with the situation when the disaster
strikes. Disaster preparedness is an effective way of reducing the impact of disaster which
link emergency response and rehabilitation.
The following are the activities under disaster preparedness :
a.

Communication plans : Proper communication plan must be put into place not only
to warn the people about the possible threat of disaster, but also to carry out relief
and rehabilitation operations more effectively.

b.

Training : Adequate training must be provided for disaster preparedness. Emergency

preparedness and capacity development in terms of adequately trained human
resources and infrastructure are the basic issues in the pre-event planing.
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c.

Casualty prediction : An important aspect of preparedness is casualty prediction,

the study of how many deaths or injured persons to expect for a given kind of
disaster. This gives planners an idea of what resources need to be in place to response
to a particular kind of event.

d.

Stockpiling : There is a need for stockpiling of food supplies and maintaining of

other disaster supplies and equipment.

e.

Evacuation Plan : Disaster by their very nature will be different and may require
evacuation of communities. There must be an evacuation plan depending on the type
of disaster.

IV. RESPONSE PHASE

The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services.
Response phase includes events like setting up control room, putting the contingency plan
in action, issue warning actions for evacuation, taking people to safer shelters, providing
medical aid to the injured, situation assessment and resources mobilization.
Response includes three phases :- pre, during and post response phase :
Pre-disaster response plan intended to reduce the impact of disaster on the life and
property of the society by setting control room, evacuation of people, etc.
Response phase during disaster is to ensure that steps are being taken to alleviate
and minimize the loss of life and property.
Post response phase is to achieve rapid and effective recovery from disaster.
V. RECOVERY PHASE
The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs
from the response phase in its focus. Recovery effort are concerned wit issues and
decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed.
The activities under recovery phase are carried out in two stages :
a) Short term recovery activities that aim to return life supporting systems (such as
shelter, food and water, clothing, medicines) to a minimum operating status for the
time being
b) Long term recovery activities may take several months or years to return life to

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normal or better levels (provision of financial assistance for redevelopment, legal

assistance, if required, livelihood support, community planning and development,
counseling and psychological assistance, etc.)

CHAPTER- 4
SUMMARY OF STUDY
4.1 CONCLUSION
The websters dictionary defines a disaster as A grave occurrence having ruinous
results
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines disaster as any event concentrated in
time and space in which a society or a relatively self-sufficient sub-division if a

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society, undergoes sever danger and incurs such losses to its member and physical
appurtenances, that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfillment of all or
some of the essential functions of the society is prevented
There are the following thing which explain the disaster are as follows : Borderless Certain natural disaster are not bound by the borders or nation or state.
Loss disaster result the death of several people apart form loss of huma n lives loss
of livestock infrastructure and other valuable assets.
Unsual Event disaster by their nature, are distinct from emergencies because do not
happen all the time. Unusual but not unexpected.
In the time of disaster is always seen that the is a issues of communication failure
like

Frequency

overdue,

Battery

Failure,

Incorrect

Information,

Misunderstanding.
Thing will much longer than one expects.

4.2 SUMMARY OF DISTER LOSES IN AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Disaster management occupies an important place in this countrys policy
framework as it is the poor and the under-privileged who are worst affected on
account of calamities/disasters.
There are the following strategies for coping up the disaster :It is important for the affected persons to focus on taking good care of them- physically ,
mentally , and emotionally. One can make the choice to act constructively rather than
reacting to what has happened.

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Physical Coping strategies

Rest
Exercise
Eat
Relax
Avoid alcohol and drugs
Mental coping strategies
Get the facts
Prepare a schedule
Develop an action plan
Focus on your strengths
Rely on your spirituality
Emotional coping strategies
Connect with social support
Release emotions and tension
Spend time with friends and family
Recognize anger as a secondary emotion
Do not take out your anger on relatives and friend

4.3 BIBLIOGHARPHY
There are the following book are:

Strategic Management ( Published by Manan Prakashan Mumbai) Michael vaz.

Strategic Management Published by Tata McGraw Hill Bern Banerjee.

Disaster Management Strategies A global perspective deolankar vivek published

by common wealth publisher new delhi.

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Disaster and development cuny Fred.c. published by Oxford University Press

Oxford.

WEBLIOGHARPHY
www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/countries/india.html
www.wunderground.com
www.google.com
www.scribd.com

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