DISASTER IMPACTS
By :
Er. Pushpinder Singh
Assistant Professor (Civil, GNDEC Ludhiana)
Vulnerability profile of India
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India has been vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large number of natural, as well as,
human-made disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic and socioeconomic conditions.
It is highly vulnerable to floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and
forest fires.
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Almost 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high
intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of land) are prone to floods and river
erosion; of the 7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is prone to cyclones and
tsunamis; 68 per cent of the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and hilly areas are
at risk from landslides and avalanches.
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India is one of the ten most disaster prone countries of the world. The country is prone to
disasters due to a number of factors; both natural and human induced, including adverse
Geo- climatic conditions, topographic features, environmental degradation, population
growth, urbanization, industrialization, non scientific development practices, etc.
•
While on one hand the Himalayan region is prone to disasters like earthquakes and
landslides, the plain is affected by floods almost every year. The desert part of the country
is affected by droughts and famine while the coastal zone susceptible to cyclones and storms.
• The geo-tectonic features of the Himalayan region and adjacent alluvial plains make the
region susceptible to earthquakes, landslides, water erosion, etc.
• As a result of various major river systems flowing from Himalaya and huge quantity of
sediment brought by them, the area is also suffering from river channel siltation, resulting
into frequent floods, especially in the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• The western part of the country, including Rajasthan, Gujarat and some parts of
Maharashtra are hit very frequently by drought situation .
• The disturbance in the pressure conditions over oceans, results into cyclones in coastal
regions. The Geo-tectonic movements going on in the ocean floor make the coastal region
prone to tsunami disaster too.
• Along with the natural factors discussed in the preceding text, various human induced
activities like increasing demographic pressure, deteriorating environmental conditions,
deforestation, unscientific development, faulty agricultural practices and grazing,
unplanned urbanisation etc. are also responsible for accelerated impact and increase in
frequency of disasters in the country.
Various Disasters in India
 Jabalpur earthquake: The 1997 Jabalpur earthquake
occurred on May 22, 1997 in Jabalpur District in the Indian
state of Madhya Pradesh. The epicentre of the earthquake
was located at 23.18°N 80.02°E near Koshamghat village.
 On 11 and 17 August 1998 at village Malpa in Uttarakhand
state about 380 people were killed when massive landslides
washed away the entire village. The dead included 60 Hindu
pilgrims on their way to Kailash Man Sarovar lake in Tibet.
 Orissa cyclone: The 1999 Orissa cyclone, also known as
Cyclone 05B, and Paradip cyclone, was the deadliest
Indian Ocean tropical cyclone. The storm made landfall
just weeks after a Category 4 storm hit the same general
area. A tropical depression formed over the Malay Peninsula
on October 25. It moved to the northwest and became a
tropical storm on October 26. It continued to strengthen into
a cyclone on the 27th. On October 28, it became a severe
cyclone with a peak of 160 mph (260 km/h) winds. It hit
India the next day as a 155 mph (250 km/h) cyclone. It
caused the deaths of 15,000 people, and heavy to extreme
damage in its path of destruction.
Orissa cyclone
Landslide in Malpa, Uttarakhand
 Mumbai landslide: 2000 Mumbai
landslide is the landslide in Ghatkopar
suburbs of Mumbai in July 2000 that
killed 67 people and injured many. The
landslide was the result of land erosion
following heavy rains.
 Gujarat
earthquake:
The 2001
Gujarat earthquake occurred on January
26, 2001,at 08:46 AM. The epicentre was
Bhuj (23.6° N 69.8° E) Gujarat, India.
With a magnitude of between 7.6 and 8.1
on the Richter scale, the quake killed
around 20,000 people, injured another
167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000
homes. This was an intraplate earthquake,
one that occurred at a distance from any
plate boundary where plate tectonics
create most earthquakes, so the area was
not well prepared.
 Indian Ocean earthquake: The 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake
that occurred at 00:58:53 on December 26, 2004, with
an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia..
The earthquake was caused by subduction (the
sideways and downward movement of the edge of a
plate of the earth's crust into the mantle beneath
another plate) and triggered a series of devastating
tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses
bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000
people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal
communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet)
high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in
recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest hit,
followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. With a
magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the third largest
earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This
earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever
observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the
entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.4 inches)
and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.
Its hypocenter was between Simeulue and mainland
Indonesia.
 Kashmir Earthquake: The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake
was a major earthquake centred in Pakistan-administered
Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of
Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and KhyberPakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at
08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 UTC) on 8
October 2005. It registered a moment magnitude of 7.6
making it similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake, the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat
earthquake, and the 2009 Sumatra earthquakes. The death
toll was 75,000. The tremors were felt in Tajikistan,
western China.
 Gujarat Flood: The 2005 Gujarat Flood was a bout of
major flooding affecting many parts of Gujarat and was
caused by heavy monsoon rains in June 2005. Many of
the southern districts of Gujarat were on flood alert. About
15,000 people were evacuated from the coastal regions.
On June 30, the state was put on high alert and the army
was asked to stand-by for rescue and relief operations.
Most of the airports and trains in the state were not
operational. As of July 2 the death toll was about 123
people state wide and more than 250,000 evacuated.
Kashmir Earthquake
• Bihar flood: The 2008 Bihar flood, which started in the month of August 2007, It is believed to be
the worst flood in Bihar in last 30 years. By August 3, the estimated death toll was 41 people, and 48
schoolgirls were marooned in a school in the Darbhanga district. By August 8, an estimated 10
million people in Bihar had been affected by flooding. Till August 11, flood deaths were still
occurring.
• Cyclone Aila: Cyclone Aila was the second tropical cyclone to form within the Northern Indian
Ocean during 2009. The disturbance that was to become Cyclone Aila formed on 21 May 2009 about
950 kilometres (590 mi) to the south of Kolkata, in India. Over the next couple of days the
disturbance slowly developed before a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued by the Joint
Typhoon Warning Center early on 23 May 2009 and being designated as a depression by RSMC New
Delhi. As of 27 May 2009, 330 people have been killed by Aila and at least 8,208 more are missing,
while about 1 million are homeless.
• Leh floods: The 2010 Leh floods occurred on August 6, 2010 in Leh in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir, India. At least 193 people died, and thousands were injured as heavy rains overnight caused
flash floods and mudslides. Thousands more were rendered homeless according to government
officials.200 people were still missing following the floods.
• Other disasters in India post 2010: 2011 North Indian cold wave; 2016 Siachen Glacier avalanche;
2016 Uttarakhand forest fires; 2018 Indian dust storms; 2018 Indian dust storms; 2019 Bandipur
forest fires; 2019 South Asia floods; 2019 Vadodara flood etc.
Environmental Impacts of Disasters
The impacts of disasters on environment
and development are manifold. Disasters
create
substantial
environmental
degradation and ecological imbalance,
hinder socioeconomic development and
retard the process of improving the
quality of life of the people. The
interaction of disasters and environment
has both short-term and long-term
effects.
 Natural resource depletion
 Resource degradation
 Reduced access to clean air, safe
water and sanitation
 Problems
related
to
waste
management
 Degradation of agricultural land
 Ecological imbalance
Physical Impacts of Disasters
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Injuries
Death
Physical disability
Burns
Epidemic
Weakness/uneasiness
Physical illness
Miscarriage
Reproductive health
Fatigue, Loss of Sleep
Loss of Appetite
Economical Impacts of Disasters
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Loss of life
Unemployment
Loss of Livelihood
Loss of property/Land
Loss of household articles
Loss of crops
Loss of Public Infrastructure
Social Impacts of Disasters
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Disruption of social fabric
Isolation
Change in marital status
Sexual abuse & domestic
violence
Family & social disorganization
Migration
Life style changes
Breakdown of traditional Social
Status
Psychological Impacts of Disasters
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Distress
Flash backs
Hatred/Revenge
Dependence/Insecurity
Grief/Withdrawn/Isolation
Guilt feeling
Lack of trust
Helplessness
Hopelessness
Demographic aspects of Disasters
Differential impacts on Women:
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Deteoriation of health (lack of food and nutrition)
Restricted mobility prevents from taking Early Warnings and evacuation
Greater stress
Increased cases of complications and premature delivery amongst women (children born
are weak)
• feeding of infants (stress interferes with the release of milk in mothers and it weakens the
immune system of child)
Differential impacts on children:
• Health: Undernourishment, malnutrition, inadequate hygiene and sanitation
• Psychological: Fear, anxiety, Childish or regressive behaviour, difficulty in sleeping and
concentrating etc
• Education: Studies discontinued, schools being used as shelters etc.
Differential impacts on aged people:
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Unable to hear danger signals, alarms, etc.
Difficulty in evacuation
Difficulty in protection
Difficulty in getting access to relief and compensation money
Difficulty locating avenues of escape
Have to face the shock of losing all that they had attained in life
• Home
• Family
• Security
Differential impacts on people with critical needs:
 Dependent on life sustaining medications such as with HIV/AIDS, on dialysis, epileptic,
diabetes, or are dependent on medications to control conditions and maintain quality of
life such as pain medications, seizure control medications etc.
 Dependency upon health care facilities & health care professionals
 loss of health care venues (hospitals, dialysis centres, pharmacies) and
 loss of power to access home for oxygen therapy, suction devices, injections etc.