UNIT 3

Seismic zones
• Zone V (very severe intensity zone): Parts of Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir valley);
Western part of Himachal Pradesh; Eastern part of Uttarakhand, Kutch in Gujarat; part of
Northern Bihar; all north-eastern states of India and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• Zone IV (severe intensity zone): Ladakh; Remaining parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand; Some parts of Haryana, Parts of Punjab; Delhi; Sikkim; the
northern part of Uttar Pradesh; small portions of Bihar and West Bengal; parts of Gujarat
and small portions of Maharashtra near the west coast and small part of western
Rajasthan.
• Zone III (moderate intensity zone): Kerala; Goa; Lakshadweep islands; parts of Uttar
Pradesh and Haryana; remaining parts of Gujarat and Punjab; parts of West Bengal,
western Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh; remaining part of Bihar; northern parts of
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; parts of Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• Zone II (low intensity zone): Remaining parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu.
Methods of reducing earthquake hazards

• Constructing seismic hazard maps

• Developing resistant structures
• Emergency planning
• Scientific programs-studies
 Areas prone to floods
• Punjab, Haryana, the majority of the Gangetic
plains, including Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar, and
West Bengal, the Brahmaputra valley, coastal
Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, and southern Gujarat
are the primary flood zone in India.
How flood damage can be controlled

• Some methods of flood control have been practiced since ancient times. These
methods include planting vegetation to retain extra water, terracing hillsides to
slow flow downhill, and the construction of floodways (man-made channels to
divert floodwater). Other techniques include the construction of levees, lakes,
dams, reservoirs, retention ponds to hold extra water during times of flooding.
Types of Drought
Droughts are categorized into 4 different categories:
Meteorological Drought
• Meteorological Drought is a situation when there is a prolonged period of inadequate rainfall
marked with uneven distribution of the same over time and space. In this, there is a significant
decrease from normal precipitation over an area (i.e. more than 10 %).
Agricultural Drought
• Agricultural Drought is also known as soil moisture drought and is characterized by low soil
moisture that is necessary to support the crops, thereby resulting in crop failures and soil
degradation and thus loss of agricultural soil.
Hydrological Drought
• Hydrological Drought results when the availability of water in different storages and reservoirs like
lakes, reservoirs, and aquifers falls much below what the precipitation/rainfall can replenish and
thus causing a lowering of groundwater levels and drought conditions.
Ecological Drought
• Ecological Drought is when the productivity of a natural ecosystem fails due to a shortage of
water and as a consequence of ecological distress, damages are induced in the ecosystem.
Drought Prone Areas in India
• On the basis of the severity of droughts, India can be
divided into the following regions:
• Extreme Drought Affected Areas
• Most parts of Rajasthan, areas to the west of the Aravali
hills, that is, Marusthali and Kachchh regions of Gujarat fall
in this category. Also, the districts like Jaisalmer and Barmer
from the Indian desert that receive less than 90 mm
average annual rainfall are included in this category.
• Severe Drought Prone Areas
• Some areas of eastern Rajasthan, most regions in Madhya
Pradesh, eastern regions of Maharashtra, interior parts of
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Plateau, northern parts of
interior Tamil Nadu, and southern parts of Jharkhand and
interior Odisha are included in this category.
• Moderate Drought Affected Areas
• Northern regions of Rajasthan, Haryana, southern districts
of Uttar Pradesh, and the remaining regions of Gujarat,
Maharashtra except Konkan, Jharkhand, and Coimbatore
plateau of Tamil Nadu and interior Karnataka are included
in this category.
How drought hazard can be prevented

• Some of the measures that can be taken to control or solve the problem of
drought are listed below.
• Desalination of water
• Rainwater harvesting
• Drip irrigation
• Harvesting water from air – technology has been developed by MIT.
• Genetically modified crops
• Plant more trees
• Recycle organic waste
Areas prone to Landslides

• Himalayas of Northwest and Northeast India and the

Western Ghats are two regions of high vulnerability
and are landslide prone.
Avalanches prone areas

The higher reaches of the Himalayan region are prone to attack by avalanches. The
snowy region of the Western Himalayas is particularly prone to avalanches. It
includes higher areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
The details are as under:
• 1. Jammu and Kashmir – Higher reaches of Kashmir and Gurez valleys, Kargil and
Ladakh and some of the major roads.
• 2. Himachal Pradesh – Chamba, Kullu-Spiti and Kinnaur are vulnerable areas.
• 3. Uttaranchal – Parts of Tehri Garhwal and Chamoli districts are vulnerable areas.
Mitigation Strategies
• Hazard mapping will locate areas prone to slope failures.
• This will permit to identify avoidance of areas for building settlements.
• These maps will serve as a tool for mitigation planning.
• Proper land use practices may mitigate the landsliding. The land use
practices are discussed below:
• Areas covered by degraded natural vegetation in upper slopes are to be
afforested with suitable species. Existing patches of natural vegetation
(forest and natural grass land) in good condition should be preserved.
• Any developmental activity initiated in the area should be taken up only
after a detailed study of the region and slope protection should be carried
out if necessary.
• In construction of roads, irrigation canals etc. proper care is to be taken to
avoid blockage of natural drainage.
• Total avoidance of settlement in the risk zone should be made mandatory.
• Relocate settlements and infrastructure that fall in the possible path of
the landslide
• No construction of buildings in areas beyond a certain degree of slope.
Cyclone prone areas

• According to the meteorological

department, there are 13 coastal
states and Union Territories in India
that are Cyclone-prone regions. Four
states like West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu-and
one UT Puducherry on the east coast
and Gujarat on the west coast are
more vulnerable.
Mitigation Strategies
• Meteorological records of the wind speed and the directions give the
probability of the winds in the region
• Cyclones can be predicted several days in advance.
• The onset is extensive and often very destructive.
• Past records and paths can give the pattern of occurrence for particular wind
speeds.
• A hazard map will illustrate the areas vulnerable to the cyclone in any given
year.
• It will be useful to estimate the severity of the cyclone and various damage
intensities in the region.
• The map is prepared with data inputs of past climatological records, history of
wind speed, frequency of flooding etc.
Mitigation Strategies (contd….)
• Land use control should be designed so that least critical activities are placed in
vulnerable areas.
• Location of settlements in the flood plains is at utmost risk.
• Setting of key facilities must be marked in the land use.
• Policies should be in place to regulate land use and enforcement of building
codes.
• Vulnerable areas should be kept for parks, grazing or play grounds.
• Engineered structures need to be built to withstand wind forces. Good site
selection is also important.
• Majority of the buildings in coastal areas are built with locally available
materials and have no engineering inputs
Mitigation Strategies (contd….)
Good construction practice should be adopted such as
• Cyclonic wind storms inundate the coastal areas. It is advised to construct on
stilts or on earth mound
• Houses can be strengthened to resist wind and flood damage. All elements
holding the structures need to be properly anchored to resist the uplift or
flying off of the objects.
• Buildings should be wind and water resistant
• Buildings storing food supplies must be protected against the winds and water.
• Protect river embankments. Communication lines should be installed
underground.
• Provide strong halls for community shelter in vulnerable locations.
Tsunami

• Tsunamis haven't struck the Indian coastal area in a long time. However,
earthquake activity in the North Bay of Bengal has been accompanied by waves.
• The government has compiled a list of tsunami-prone regions along India's
eastern coast. Puri, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam-Vetapalem,
Chennai, Cuddalore-Pondicherry, Rameshwaram, Thoothukudi, Alappuzha-
Chavara, Kochi
• INCOIS, Hyderabad, created and operates the Indian Tsunami Early Warning
System (ITEWS).
• It is the result of a collaborative effort by several institutions, including
the Department of Space (DOS), the Department of Science and
Technology (DST), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
the Survey of India (SOI), and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
Tsunami affected regions
Post Disaster disease and epidemics

• The risk for communicable disease transmission after disasters is associated

primarily with the size and characteristics of the population displaced, specifically
the proximity of safe water and functioning latrines, the nutritional status of the
displaced population, the level of immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases such
as measles, and the access to healthcare services
Water-related Communicable Diseases
• Access to safe water can be jeopardized by a natural disaster. Diarrheal disease
outbreaks can occur after drinking water has been contaminated and have been
reported after flooding and related displacement.
• Hepatitis A and E are also transmitted by the fecal-oral route, in association with
lack of access to safe water and sanitation
• Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone zoonotic bacterial disease that can be
transmitted by direct contact with contaminated water.
Other Diseases Associated with Natural Disasters
• Tetanus is not transmitted person to person but is caused by a toxin released by
the anaerobic tetanus bacillus Clostridium tetani. Contaminated wounds,
particularly in populations where vaccination coverage levels are low, are
associated with illness and death from tetanus.
Diseases Associated with Crowding
• Crowding is common in populations displaced by natural disasters and can
facilitate the transmission of communicable diseases. Measles and the risk for
transmission after a natural disaster are dependent on baseline immunization
coverage among the affected population, and in particular among children <15
years of age

Vector borne Diseases

• Natural disasters, particularly meteorological events such as cyclones, hurricanes,
and flooding, can affect vector-breeding sites and vector borne disease
transmission. While initial flooding may wash away existing mosquito-breeding
sites, standing water caused by heavy rainfall or overflow of rivers can create new
breeding sites.