ASSIGNMENT NO.

1 (a reflection on the natural disaster situation in INDIA) INDIA

TOTAL AREA COVERED : 3,287,590 sq.km TOTAL POPULATION: 1,150,000,000 (in 2010) LITERACY RATE : 56.5% LIFE EXPECTANCY: 63.23 yrs GDP GROWTH: 8.2% (in 2010)

MAIN HAZARDS INDIA IS EXPOSED :

a) FLOOD : Most frequently occurring natural disaster due to irregularities in monsoon season. About 75% of the rainfall is concentrated in 3-4 months due to which there is heavy discharge from the rivers causing rivers to flood. Major floods occur in Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. b) CYCLONES: India has a coastline of 5700 km which is exposed to cyclones arising in Indian ocean and bay of Bengal. Cyclones mainly occurs in April to may & also October -December months. Eastern cost is more prone to cyclones. c) DRAUGHT: 16% of total area of India is draught prone. It is caused by a lower than average rain fall over a long period of time. d) EARTHQUAKES: It is most destructive natural disaster. About 50-60% of countrys area is prone to earthquakes. Most vulnerable locations are Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions. e) TSUNAMI: A tsunami can be generated by any disturbance that can displace a large mass of water like underwater earthquake, volcanic eruption. The wave travels in ocean around the speed of 500-1000 km/h and on land it compresses to height of up to 30 meters.

RECENT NATURAL DISASTER (Bihar flood, 2008)

On 18th august in 2008, heavy monsoon rains and poor maintenance caused a breach in embankments near Indo-Nepal border. Water passed through the breach infiltrating hundred of villages in northern Bihar .

HOW IT AFFECTS BIHAR (INDIA):

a) 1000 people died and 2.5 million affected due to this tragedy. b) Crop losses approx. Rs 3,963.7 million c) Public property loss approx. Rs 2914.6 million d) Road, Power and Communication system got dysfunctional for a period of time. e) Many people lost their shelters and animals leading them into poverty state.

ACTIONS RECOMMENDED TO MINIMIZE THE LOSSES:

a) PLANT MORE TREES: more trees should be planted in urban and village areas. These trees will definitely help to minimize the effect of floods. b) AWARENESS IN MASS: Government and NGOS together should work to tell people what to do in emergency situations.

c) WATER HARVESTING: Each house should a proper water harvesting system which will not only stops flood due to rainfall but also helps to conserve water. d) QUICK RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER : a quick response command center should be formed by government which is efficient in dealing with these kind of situations. Its main focus should be evacuation of people and to save people life in critical situations. e) HABITAT CENTERS: hygiene and proper habitat centers should be made by government agencies so that in critical times like these, people can evacuated and habitat centers can be their second home. f) PROPER MAINTANANCE OF DAMS: Proper maintenance and good material should be used while building a dam.

DEFINATION:
a) PREVENTION : it is sum up of method/activities that seek to reduce the predictable disasters. b) MITIGATION : mitigation is the act by which authorities deal with a disaster that it causes minimum loss. c) PREPAREDNESS: It is the planning of a individual or a organization to deal with disasters. d) RESPONSE/RELIEF: it is the quick action taken against the disasters. e) RECOVERY/REHABILATION : recovery is the process of bringing back the situation of a area/individual back to normalcy .

Submitted by - Amit Deswal