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DISASTER RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT SERIES
ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH
SERIES EDITOR: AMITA SINGH

Development in
Coastal Zones and
Disaster Management
Edited by
Amita Singh
R. Lalitha S. Fernando
Nivedita P. Haran
Disaster Research and Management Series
on the Global South

Series Editor
Amita Singh
Centre for the Study of Law and Governance
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi, India
Disaster Research and Management Series on the Global South is a series
coming out of Special Centre for Disaster Research (SCDR) at Jawaharlal
Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. SCDR is the first in Asia
Pacific to start a course on disaster research within a social science perspec-
tive. The series follows and publishes pedagogical and methodological
change within the subject. The new direction of teaching, research and
training turns from ‘hazard based’ to ‘resilience building’. The series taps
such research for the benefit of institutes and higher education bodies of
the global south. It also suggests that much of the western literature based
upon rescue, relief and rehabilitation which is also being taught in the
Asian institutes is not directly relevant to managing disasters in the region.
It provides reading and study material for the developing field of disaster
research and management.

1. Generates a non-west transdisciplinary literature on disaster research

and studies
2. Strengthens disaster governance and improves its legal framework
3. Sensitizes disaster management authorities towards key priorities and
attention areas
4. Focus on preparedness is strongly proposed and revisited
5. Highlights changes in pedagogy and methodology of disaster
research and teaching
6. Mainstream vulnerable communities of differently abled, elderly,
women, children
7. Indicate strategies needed to protect city animals, birds and wildlife
during disasters

More information about this series at

http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/16402
 Amita Singh
R. Lalitha. S. Fernando • Nivedita P. Haran
Editors

Development in
Coastal Zones and
Disaster Management
Editors
Amita Singh R. Lalitha. S. Fernando
Center for the Study of Law & Department of Public Administration
Governance University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Jawaharlal Nehru University Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
New Delhi, India

Nivedita P. Haran
Additional Chief Secretary, 3rd Floor
Government of Kerala, South Block
Trivandrum, Kerala, India

ISSN 2662-4176     ISSN 2662-4184 (electronic)

Disaster Research and Management Series on the Global South
ISBN 978-981-15-4293-0    ISBN 978-981-15-4294-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4294-7

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
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The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
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189721, Singapore
 Foreword: A Message from the Coast

Was it time for Mother Earth to take a break? Is this one of the many ways? Has
she sent a message to all of 8 billion+? Did she not send messages earlier which
we did not heed? Or resisted? Will we learn the lessons? For those fortunate?
(Hon’ble Lt. Governor Puducherry, Dr Kiran Bedi on the recent outbreak
of COVID-19, March 2020)

Coasts have always been fascinating for me both for their pristine purity of
an infinite spiritual universe which they offer and for the challenge which
grips me as I stand over a fragile, floating landmass against a mighty, tem-
pestuous and endless spread of turquoise ocean. There is so much to write
and feel about the coast which valiantly stands between the two un-­equals
to protect the enormous biodiversity that adorns her throughout the year.
Its ironical that mankind in its miniscule size inhabits the tenuous coast to
only weaken it further and make it more vulnerable against the turbulence
and fury of the ocean. Coasts need special protection, care and consider-
ation from citizens as much as from governments which control activities
over it.
India has a long coastline of 7516.6 km, out of which mainland coast-
line consists of 6100 km and islands’ coastline consists of 1197 km. Around
nine states and four union territories fall in the coastal area which estab-
lishes that Indian economy has a huge share of these coastal goods, man-
power and natural resources. No government can afford to ignore coastal
health in terms of natural resources, its culture and its people. My experi-
ence of managing disasters at Andaman and Nicobar islands and then as
the Lt. Governor at Puducherry has opened me to a deepening

v
vi FOREWORD: A MESSAGE FROM THE COAST

understanding about the nature of an ocean and about responsibilities of

citizens and administration who inhabit the coast. The manner in which
consumerism, ostentatiousness and greed have overtaken mankind has
caused the erstwhile serenity of coasts to be somewhat disturbed and disas-
ters to become more frequent, more impactful and more unpredictable.
This has only increased as one looks into the scattering of coastal commu-
nities and nonhuman wildlife which provided the best early warning sys-
tem against disasters.
I would prefer to highlight the three most important areas where habit-
ual governmental lethargy and apathy have weakened the coasts; and by
mentioning them here, I would like the readers of this work to give a
thought to it as they participate in policy planning processes.
First is reinstating participatory governance in coastal cities and vil-
lages so that they can protect and conserve their own local resources. I
tried to arrange a community meeting at Allankuppam village and the
experience was so rewarding for environmental awakening that with the
help of these communities I could set up a forum which also included
some officials including the area’s Junior Engineer. This monthly meet-
ing is now instituted as a regular governance practice. Sometimes, apa-
thetic public servants perceive participatory governance as interference
in their day to day affairs because it creates public vigilance and watch-
fulness. In a recent 11 March judgement in which the Madras High
Court dismissed this perception of ‘interference’ presented as a problem
by the Chief Minister against my involvement with communities and
local administration revives hope that people are powerful and their rise
to vigilance does create ripples across bureaucracy. The judgement has
established the need for collaborative, participatory and pro-people
governance in the coastal Union Territory of Puducherry. I would like
to suggest that this should be the guiding principle of participatory
governance on the coasts so that these areas become clean, green and
water rich. Notwithstanding the acts and laws through which states and
union territories are governed (e.g., Puducherry Village and Commune
Panchayats Act of 1973), there is a pressing need for some serious
incorporations and changes in the Disaster Management Act 2005,
which has so far not attempted to elaborate the responsibilities of deci-
sion makers too intricately with a vision for sustainable participation
and administrative accountability in managing a disaster.
 FOREWORD: A MESSAGE FROM THE COAST vii

Second is the building of true leadership which can keep the coasts
prepared to prevent a hazard from escalating into a disaster. This may
entail a responsibility of keeping all ministries coordinated and not just
the State Disaster Management Authority. That would be over-expecta-
tion from a single department for action which takes place in other
departments. I have been a great advocate of building a grassroots
women leadership which brings immense resilience to local community
action. I even instituted a Puduvai Pengal Award to encourage women
leaders of local communities. The first awardee of this honour is Mrs
Allimuthu of Villianur who maintains 51 women Self-Help Groups, and
has spearheaded the construction of 100 toilets I also suggest that
police force at the rank of Sub-Inspectors should be trained to be more
community oriented to prevent land grabbing in coastal areas by power-
ful interests.
Third, that governance should be ‘conservation oriented’ – conser-
vation of everything which is local such as culture, people, livelihood
choices, plants, trees, animals, birds, mountains, hills and agricultural
practices. A combination of conservation knowledge which is indige-
nous wisdom and modern technology would definitely help in sustain-
ing coastal wetlands for all forms of life that inhabits it. Conservation
also has a spiritual element which I experienced while walking by an ‘old
reborn tree’ collectively conserved near the police station at
Puducherry(see the photograph).Such old trees have been preserved
through titles of ‘sacred groves’ or the ‘abode of deities’. In reality, they
are the greatest insurance for the local communities against scarcity of
water, livelihood, food and ecosystem. The Forest Rights Act of 2006
has given community rights to manage these pristine environmental
conservation spaces. Those belonging to the coasts are the biggest
stakeholders in conservation but plans undertaken by coastal govern-
ments have not trusted their participation and sharing of knowledge.
The energy of college youth and children in schools ought to be tapped
to achieve a two sided goal of sustainable development and sustainable
economy at the coasts. It had been a worthwhile experience to organize
college level Science Exhibitions and open to them a world of relevant
and appropriate scientific solutions for their surroundings. Many bigger
institutions of Science in the neighbourhood such as the National
Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management at Chennai should play a
more involved community role to tap young talent of local students. An
viii FOREWORD: A MESSAGE FROM THE COAST

experience of conservation of water bodies and tanks has generated

much responsibility. When Puducherry youth undertook desilting of
Bahour Lake, much support arrived from Club Mahindra and Sri
Aurobindo Society for undertaking the work. One sixth standard girl
promised that she and her friends would take care of it. The Aurobindo
Society has decided to adopt her to be an engineer. Another experience
of recharging local people was the Clean Kanagan Lake. However, the
most promising effort was the revival of a huge water body next to the
Puducherry Medical College which was dead under the loads of gar-
bage dumps and sewerage discharge of drains. Its revival into a tourist
spot now is a result of a combined and collaborative effort of many
government departments, local communities, Resident Welfare
Associations, children and college students. This was part of a Green
Puducherry Initiative.
In conclusion, I found that four steps definitely lead to achievement;
Plan purposefully, Prepare prayerfully, Proceed positively and Pursue
persistently. I applied these principles during my directives to disaster
management departments at Puducherry. I also found that the Karaikal
administration had undertaken a meticulous preparation and planning
as a result of which no life was lost. In encountering disasters at the
coasts, mankind is merely a dot before the might and prowess of the
ocean. What it can do is to change ways to live and use coastal attributes
and resources. An attitude of conservation and co-existence is indis-
pensable. I wish to recall the passion of Dr Jane M.Goodall, an English
primatologist and anthropologist. At the age of 26, carrying just her
notebook and binoculars, she travelled from England to an unknown
tropical forest of Tanzania to protect, save and conserve Chimpanzees
and to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest
relatives. What if she had not dared to do this? Chimpanzees would
have gone extinct and with them a deep history of the evolution of
human beings. It is passion which drives exceptional leaders and the
coasts need these leaders to train mankind to face oceans, save plank-
tons and enrich carbon sequestration to obviate climate change and
disasters waiting to devour our sinking coasts.

What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference
you want to make, The greatest danger to our future is apathy (Dr Jane
M. Goodall)
 FOREWORD: A MESSAGE FROM THE COAST ix

(This is an invited ‘Foreword’ from Dr Kiran Bedi, a legendary Indian

Police Service (IPS) Officer, currently the Lt. Governor of the Union
Territory of Puducherry. She is one of the most brilliant and dedicated
citizen of mother earth, a Magsaysay Award winner, a governance reformer,
the Asian Tennis Champion and a versatile grassroots social worker head-
ing NGOs ‘Navjyoti’ and IV Foundation. She has courageously withstood
anyone who misused power against a common citizen in every way. Her
contributions to coastal Puducherry have brought a transformation in
many ways. Coasts have always needed someone like her to decide on how
to protect them)

Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Dr. Kiran Bedi, IPS (Rtd)

Puducherry, India
 Acknowledgments

Our deepest gratitude to the former Executive Director of the National

Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) Mr. Anil Kumar and to the
current Executive Director Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal for
enabling wholesome participation, providing an atmosphere of academic
freedom and encouraging empirical research in the NIDM faculty. The
faculty of the Special Centre for Disaster Research (SCDR) at JNU and
the NIDM collectively encountered challenges in the field and contrib-
uted to a variety of curriculum building events at JNU.
SCDR is equally appreciative of Lt. Gen. N.C. Marwah, Member of the
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), who consistently
provided the required backup support during field surveys and data collec-
tion in disaster-affected areas. Sometimes the victims of disasters became
his mission and brightened studies on administrative leadership in manag-
ing disasters.
The JNU Central Library deserves a special mention. The readiness to
help in exploring and providing rare literature and data on disasters came
in handy to many of the authors. The former librarian Dr Ramesh C. Gaur
and after him Dr Manorama Tripathy understood and appreciated our
search for literature on transdisciplinary disaster studies in law, gover-
nance, public policy and sciences. We will never forget the vibrancy and
intellectual energy of a younger librarian, Azmi Khan, of a smaller library
at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance at JNU. She always
waited to hear from the research team about their next search and joined
them in loud youthful discourses.

xi
xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Our office staff of the Special Centre for Disaster Research, Deepak
Kumar, Hemchand Pandey, Darakshan, Jhuman and Narinder, brightened
the work with their secretarial assistance and coordination support, which
helped us immensely in meeting the deadline.
This section also acknowledges the unforgettably versatile contribution
of the research team of Gaurika Chugh, Vualzhong Mung, Chetana Attri
and Natasha Goyal. The long-distance support of Dr Manika Kamthan
and Dr Binod Kumar was always available like disciplined soldiers of
the team.
The most enlightened support arrived from the Springer-Palgrave pub-
lishing team guided by the visionary Editorial Director for Springer
Singapore William Achauer, Associate Editor for Palgrave Macmillan
Sandeep Kaur and Editor for Springer-Nature Nupoor Singh, who man-
aged discussions and coordination in an unfailing manner. Their collabo-
ration goes beyond mere publication, as they absorbed themselves in the
research teams including many workshops, symposiums and debates.
Publishing these volumes of non-western literature has led the SCDR
research team to look for many new authors from local administrations,
affected communities and implementers. The editors acknowledge the
shared contribution of many who, despite the motivation, could not write
due to their intensive work responsibilities in the Chennai floods, Cyclone
Gaja and the Kolkata Bridge collapse. The Indian Council of Social Science
Research (ICSSR) has empowered many of these implementers who
remain knowledge repositories for original literature in disaster studies.
The editors appreciate the supportive role of ICSSR in bringing about
this volume.
Last but not the least, NAPSIPAG (Network of Asia Pacific Schools
and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance) stands with this
initiative, as strong and determined as ever before. This is one big Asia-­
Pacific family of policy experts which is always passionate to celebrate col-
laborations in generating knowledge from their homelands.
 Contents

 isaster Management in Coastal Areas: An Introduction  1

D
Nivedita P. Haran

Part I Policies, Law and Regulations for the Mitigation

of Coastal Disasters   7

 oastal Conservation in Sri Lanka: Problems and Prospects  9

C
R. Lalitha S. Fernando, H. M. I. U. P. Herath, and
R. B. P. M. Rathnayake

 he Coastal Zone Policy in Bangladesh: An Appraisal 39

T
N. Nabila Hoque

 isaster Mitigation & Planning for Tsunami in Coastal Areas 49

D
Mehul Padharia

Part II Land, Agriculture and Food at the Coastal Rim  59

 oastal Agriculture and Future Challenges 61

C
Anurudh K. Singh

xiii
xiv Contents

 and Mismanagement and Coastal Disasters 87

L
Gaurika Chugh

 armers, Climate and Disaster Management in a Coastal

F
Region101
Swarnamayee Tripathy

Part III Conserving Marine Flora and Fauna 119

 arine Animals and Coastal Disasters121

M
Amita Singh

 rotecting the Non-Human Animals of Coastal Ecosystems

P
from Disasters139
Surinder Verma and Shalini

Part IV Tackling Vulnerability and Resilience in Coastal

Ecosystems 157

 uilding Resilience in Coastal Ecosystems: Problems and

B
Prospects159
Akanchha Singh

 ustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Risks to Coastal

S
Communities171
Sushma Guleria

 isasters and Climate Change Adaptability at Odisha Coast185

D
Niranjan Sahoo and Maheswar Satpathy

 omen in 2018 Kerala Floods: A Sociological Narrative201

W
Nisha Jose and Sony Kunjappan
 Contents  xv

 limate Change and Coastal Disasters of Bangladesh215

C
Nasim Banu

 ole of Insurance in Building Resilience for Coastal Zones:

R
Market Versus the State225
Shubhalaxmi Sircar

Part V Case Studies 233

 oastal Flooding by Dam Mismanagement: Investigative

C
Post-Disaster Study on Criminal Negligence or An Act of God235
N. R. Joseph

 oastal Ballads and Conservation Ironic: Understanding

C
Implementation Slippages of the CRZ Law255
Amita Singh

 nvironmental Sociology of Floods in the Colombo District

E
of Sri Lanka271
Dinushika M. Yapa Abeywardhana

 oss and Damages from Cyclone: A Case Study from

L
Odisha, a Coastal State281
Trupti Mishra and Krishna Malakar

 ownstream Impact of Melting Glaciers: Climate Change in

D
Nepal and Beyond293
Meen B. Poudyal Chhetri

Part VI Preparedness and EWS Technology 303

 rtificial Intelligence Based Early Warning System for

A
Coastal Disasters305
Rabindra Lamsal and T. V. Vijay Kumar
xvi Contents

Part VII Path Ahead 321

 ritical Coastal Planning to Prevent Coastal Elegy323

C
Amita Singh
 List of Figures

Disaster Mitigation & Planning for Tsunami in Coastal Areas

Fig. 1 Five steps towards Tsunami preparedness. (Source: Tsunami
preparedness: information guide for disaster planners, 2008) 51
Fig. 2 Inundation area of Mandvi Taluka from Kutch district due to
1945 Makran trench earthquake and tsunami. (Source: Ministry
of Earth Sciences, March 2009) 54

Coastal Agriculture and Future Challenges

Fig. 1 Coastal agriculture and future challenges. (Source: A
restructured version of “Map of India displaying geographic
regions as effecting its bio-diversity” available on public domain
under slideshare.net)63

Marine Animals and Coastal Disasters

Fig. 1 Five transformations to relate to nature (bracketed content is
interpretative of the UNEP’s suggested transformation). (Source:
UNEP https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/) 122

Protecting the Non-Human Animals of Coastal Ecosystems

from Disasters
Fig.1 A Tweet from a public twitter account on rescue operations for
companion animals from homes and streets 149
Fig. 2 Some of the rescued animals by a good community Samaritan
Johnson V. Edicula in Upper Kuttunad village of Kerala’s
Alappuzha district 150

xvii
xviii List of Figures

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Risks to Coastal

Communities
Fig. 1 Parameters of coastal community resilience (ADPC 2007) 173

Disasters and Climate Change Adaptability at Odisha Coast

Fig. 1 Preparing communities for cyclonic disasters. (Odisha
Government)189
Fig. 2 Messages displayed on All India Radio and tweeted @
AkashwaniAIR for preparing communities for cyclonic disasters.
(Odisha Government) (30 May 2017) when 4 districts were put
on alert 190
Fig. 3 Wind and cyclone hazard map of Orissa. (Source: Vulnerability
Atlas, Published by BMTPC, Government of India) 191

Women in 2018 Kerala Floods: A Sociological Narrative

Fig. 1  205

Coastal Flooding by Dam Mismanagement: Investigative

Post-Disaster Study on Criminal Negligence or An Act of God
Fig. 1 Illustration in BIS guideline shows Flood Control Zone below
FRL and not above it as mentioned in KSEBL affidavit 240
Fig. 2 The image shows the eye of storm of August 15–17 over Idukki
(dark kidney-shaped area) where the storm was the strongest.
((Image Source: Study Report Kerala Floods of August 2018.
Central Water Commission/Hydrological Studies Organization
Hydrology (S) Directorate, Government of India) And yet,
Idukki was not flooded while many towns far from Idukki where
the storm was not as heavy were flooded: Chalakudy—under
10ft. water Kuttanand—under 8 ft. water Aluva—under 10 ft.
water Chengannur—under 8 ft. water 243
Fig. 3 An analysis of the IMD Rain Chart 2018. (Source: IMD,
https://www.imdtvm.gov.in)244
Fig. 4 Discharge data on Periyar River at Neeleshwaram G&D site.
(Source: Study Report Kerala Floods of August 2018. Central
Water Commission/Hydrological Studies Organization
Hydrology (S) Directorate, Government of India) 246
Fig. 5 CWC graph depicts struggle to keep water level that was just 1 m
below FRL from overflow during storm in Idukki Dam. (Source:
Study Report Kerala Floods of August 2018. Central Water
 List of Figures  xix

Commission/Hydrological Studies Organization Hydrology (S)

Directorate, Government of India) 247
Fig. 6 Study Report Kerala Floods of August 2018. Central Water
Commission/Hydrological Studies Organization Hydrology (S)
Directorate, Government of India) 249
Fig. 7 Chief Minister’s Office Kerala appeal, Report: https://twitter.
com/cmokerala/status/1028576388352110592?lang=en249
Fig. 8 Flooded Aluwa/Kochi area due to Idukki Dam release on August
10 when the rain was just 20 mm (low) (aerial view) The water
level at Idukki Dam was 2398 at 8 am, against the FRL of 2403
feet. Idukki Dam gates in Kerala were opened after 26 years.
(Source: DD News, YouTube retrieved from site https://youtu.
be/-YBbAfw1Ka4)251

Loss and Damages from Cyclone: A Case Study from Odisha,

a Coastal State
Fig. 1 Track of Cyclone Phailin (IMD 2014) 285

Artificial Intelligence Based Early Warning System for Coastal

Disasters
Fig. 1 Illustration of the proposed EWS 310
 List of Tables

Coastal Agriculture and Future Challenges

Table 1 List of vegetable crops grown in coastal regions of Oregon,
USA, for direct salea73
Table 2 Summary of challenges/constraints to coastal agriculture:
causes and solutions 80

Farmers, Climate and Disaster Management in a Coastal Region

Table 1 Farmers in India, 2016 107

Marine Animals and Coastal Disasters

Table 1 Total mangrove cover since 1987 126
Table 2 Total mangrove cover 2017 127

Protecting the Non-Human Animals of Coastal Ecosystems

from Disasters
Table 1 State-wise Details of Damage due to Cyclonic Storm/Flash
Floods/Floods/Landslides/Cloudburst etc. during the years
2013–14 to 2017–18 145

Women in 2018 Kerala Floods: A Sociological Narrative

Table. 1  209

xxi
xxii List of Tables

Role of Insurance in Building Resilience for Coastal Zones:

Market Versus the State
Table 1 Cost effectiveness of DRR investments in selected cases 227

Environmental Sociology of Floods in the Colombo District

of Sri Lanka
Table 1 Awareness about environmental issues in the country 275
Table 2 People’s view on the impact of flooding to their life 277

Loss and Damages from Cyclone: A Case Study from Odisha,

a Coastal State
Table 1 Percentage of households experiencing various damages 285
Table 2 Time taken and costs incurred by the households to recover
after the cyclone 287

Artificial Intelligence Based Early Warning System for Coastal

Disasters
Table 1 Most powerful tsunamis sorted based on event magnitude
and casualty 307
Table 2 Features considered in the proposed EWS 311
Table 3 Categorization of in-city flooding 314
Table 4 Performance of various classifiers 317

Critical Coastal Planning to Prevent Coastal Elegy

Table 1 Outcome of study of 6632 kms shoreline distributed in nine
states during 1990–2016 324
 Disaster Management in Coastal Areas:
An Introduction

Nivedita P. Haran

Introduction
The coastal regions are five times more vulnerable to disasters than the
hinterlands. About 80% of disasters are linked to water and the coastal
areas are most exposed to water. More than 80% of the earth’s surface is
water and now humans are in search of water on the moon. The majority
of countries in Asia have are near the sea. India, a sub-continent in itself,
has a 10,000 km coastline. Sri Lanka, an island country, is situated at the
confluence of two seas and an ocean. Bangladesh is considered one of the
most vulnerable countries in terms of the vagaries of disasters that are con-
nected to the sea; its geo-morphological features are such that a large part
of its coastline lies at a level lower than the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP).
The coastal areas are exposed to a number of disasters that emanate
from water: cyclones, storms, floods, high tidal waves and tsunamis. Due
to easy access to water coastal areas are more densely populated. River-­
mouths are also the location for some of the larger urban agglomerations:

N. P. Haran (*)
Government of Kerala, South Block, Trivandrum, India

© The Author(s) 2020 1

A. Singh et al. (eds.), Development in Coastal Zones and Disaster
Management, Disaster Research and Management Series on the
Global South, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4294-7_1
2 N. P. HARAN

ports attract trade that leads to human settlement. Recent times have seen
some of the most severe urban floods in these cities. Urban flood brings
with it destruction of life and property, homelessness, damage to infra-
structure and break-down of public civil service. Urban floods bring life to
a standstill causing huge loss in commercial activities. It is estimated that
each day Mumbai suffers floods causes a loss of over $ 300 million to its
economy. In the aftermath of floods, issues such as the lack of potable
water, outbreak of water-borne diseases and work days lost are alarming.
Surely no country can afford such loss.
The coastal zone also provides some of the most precious and priceless
resources: marine and aquatic life, rare metals mined from the sand, veg-
etation and fruits, thorium from the sparkling sands in Kerala, and gour-
met seafood.
Nature is a generous giver. But when it is mindlessly and selfishly
exploited, nature’s fury can also be so overpowering that the impact can
be unendurable. Humans are the only species that seem to grab and
destroy as if there will be no consequences. It is ironic that humans are
identified as occupying the apex of the evolutionary pyramid in terms of
rationality, as the damage done to coastal areas in most developing coun-
tries has reached a stage where it is now almost irreparable. True, poverty
can be a reason behind the destruction of coastal areas: mangroves
uprooted for firewood, unlimited harvesting of marine products, fish, sea-
weed and even coral, and encroachment into the sea. Hence ‘Eradication
of poverty’, as SDG 1 reminds us, remains the primary responsibility and
the goal of any government, and indeed any society. The issue that needs
to be raised here is the systematic destruction of the coastal areas through
governmental mismanagement and human greed. In order to protect the
long coastline along the Indian subcontinent a number of legislations are
in progress: regulating construction, harvesting of marine products and
use of marine transport. Yet in blatant disregard for and violation of these
statutes and their poor enforcement, commercial construction has been
allowed. The Coastal Regulation Zone norms, for instance, lay down strict
guidelines on the nature of permissible construction and at what distance
from the coastline. But the norms have been amended and made more lax
each time, allowing more and more construction. Waste from these con-
struction projects is released into the sea. A visit to any beach exposes one
to a pathetic sight: solid waste including non-biodegradable waste is seen
lining the beach area or floating as flotsam.
 DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN COASTAL AREAS: AN INTRODUCTION 3

Areas that are declared as protected as ecologically sensitive zones or

biologically sensitive or as a protected site based on the Ramsar declaration
are not left unexposed. Land has always been the most acutely impacted
asset that has suffered at the hands of the unholy nexus between crooked
realtors, unscrupulous politicians and mendacious public servants. It is
this unholy trinity that forms the basis for crony capitalism. So, even
though the blame is placed on the poor and vulnerable, it is the rich and
privileged that form the bulk of the land-grabbers. The coastal areas fall
within their radar for three reasons: the coastline anywhere is geographi-
cally one of the most scenic by far, with the presence of water, vegetation
and salubrious climate. Second, due to the above reason these lands are
also the most high-priced and their location is considered the most upmar-
ket. Third, most of the coastal lands are of low gradient, and hence easier
to construct. They are also easily reachable by good access routes. Taking
advantage of these factors, construction in violation of norms is clearly
visible: posh hotels, high-end residences, even highly-rated and coveted
commercial premises.
The disregard shown towards the Western Ghats, for instance, that run
parallel to the west coast of India is a case in point. The report of the
expert committee that recommended caution was ignored. Whether there
is a causal link between the systematic destruction of the ghats and the
severe climatological changes that have occurred in this area in the last few
years could be the subject of debate and further research. But the fact that
such destruction is irreversible is undeniable. The frequency of high rain-
fall incidents in Mumbai has increased. The extraordinarily intense rainfall
over the state of Kerala in August 2019 is another case in point. The
coastal regions are extremely sensitive and tampering with their natural
features is indeed very risky.
Yet, mankind does not seem to learn these lessons. Cases of building
collapse consequent to heavy rainfall and floods are reported with alarm-
ing frequency. Some of these constructions are either buildings declared
unsafe or are constructed in violation of coastal zone or building norms.
There was the case in Kochi, Kerala where a realtor had constructed cot-
tages and even high-rises destroying virgin forests off the coastline. Of
course, such extensive construction could not happen without the conniv-
ance of the administration. Based on a public interest litigation, the court
had registered a prima facie case, but such cases get dragged on for years,
if not decades. Citizens need to take matters into their hands. If clients
refuse to buy properties that are constructed in violation of the building
4 N. P. HARAN

by-laws, that ignore environmental considerations, and that destroy the

ecology and pollute the environment, such agencies, corporations, author-
ities and even officials will be socially ostracized. Punitive action should be
prompt and effective to act as a glaring deterrent so that the economic loss
is also clear and accountability fixed unequivocally.
It is high time that the policy-makers and law-makers are made con-
scious of the concept of ‘public trust’. The coastal areas and water bodies
are part of public assets that are to be protected for future generations. It
is the duty of public servants to hold public assets in public trust and to
protect, conserve and maintain them. Unfortunately, over the years ‘pub-
lic trust’ has been diluted and public assets are either ignored or treated as
bureaucrats’ or the elected representatives’ personal assets. As a result
coastal land is allowed to be grabbed haphazardly and construction is car-
ried out with no consideration for the environment or ecology, and all to
bestow favors and illegal gratification.
The chapters selected for this anthology have been researched and writ-
ten by erudite scholars. The scholar’s or academic’s duty does not end
with the publication of a paper; it goes far beyond it. Scholars hold the
intellectual authority that can argue and establish a hypothesis through
cogent debate and logical deduction. It is their duty to present and dis-
seminate their theses to the citizens who are also the stakeholders. If they
are truly committed and passionate about their ideas they need to present
them to those who can make a difference: the policy-makers. There is a
need to bridge the gap between thought and action, cognition and opera-
tion. In a perfect world such a gap should not exist, but in most countries
it does, to a lesser or greater extent. It is as much the duty of academics as
of administrators to close this gap to ensure that there is a synergetic out-
come to improve the world.
The coastal regions of South Asia have faced some devastating disasters:
the tsunami of 2004 left the southern coast of India and many parts of Sri
Lanka reeling. Cyclones of varying intensity hit coastal areas of India and
Bangladesh with unerring regularity. Storms and high tidal waves can be
frighteningly destructive; when occurring in unison heavy rainfall and
high tides have brought Mumbai to a standstill. Water bodies can be
unforgiving agents of destruction. The movement of the sea leads to
coastal erosion. Interference with the water in one area through construc-
tion and landfills can have ramifications for another area quite unknown to
technical experts.
 DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN COASTAL AREAS: AN INTRODUCTION 5

In this age of information explosion it is important to collate relevant

data for use in research and policy-making and to make it available to
those concerned. With the help of AI, data analysis is child’s play.
Vulnerability maps of the coastline can help identify the areas prone to
erosion and accretion, which would provide basic data for development
activities: road alignment, bridge location, areas requiring vegetative pro-
tection, or engineering interventions through sea-walls, gabion boxes or
groins. Engineering interventions can be used sparingly and only where
unavoidable. With reliable and accurate maps that are geo-referenced, it is
possible to manage coastal disasters more effectively. There are also sys-
tems in place to monitor tremors that occur due to shifts in tectonic plates
under water, tremors that can result in tsunamis; such tremors are now
being monitored round the clock. With the use of technology the occur-
rence and arrival of storm surges can be forecast with precision.
The impact of climate change can be significant in the coastal areas. In
some countries there are special statutes to manage coastal-linked disas-
ters. Perhaps it is time for a discussion in this direction to commence in the
South Asian countries. After all, adaptation to climate change is also very
important in the coastal areas. The impact could range from rise in sea-­
level, thus inundating coastal areas, to disappearance of marine species and
alteration in mangroves and other vegetation. Similarly, specially trained
forces are needed to face such disasters. The example set by the state of
Odisha in facing cyclones and the systemic changes made has borne fruits:
the loss in human life and property has decreased considerably. There is a
lesson in this for other areas similarly placed. It is possible to be better
prepared to face coastal disasters with dedication. There is no reason why
with modern technology and communication systems human life and all
life and property should be placed in danger.

Nivedita P. Haran Additional Chief Secretary (Rtd), Government of Kerala. Led

the constitution of the first State Disaster Management Authority after the Disaster
Management Act 2005. Currently based in Delhi
 PART I

Policies, Law and Regulations for the

Mitigation of Coastal Disasters
Coastal Conservation in Sri Lanka: Problems
and Prospects

R. Lalitha S. Fernando, H. M. I. U. P. Herath,

and R. B. P. M. Rathnayake

Human Onslaught Over the Coasts

A coastal zone is considered as the seaside terrain and it is the interface
between the mainland and the sea. Coasts are unique, valuable and often
threatened areas where the sea meets the land (Goodwin 2015). Coastal
zones are continually changing due to the dynamic interaction between
the oceans and the land (Nelson 2018).
Sri Lanka is an island enriched with various kinds of coastal resources
which consist of a 1620 km long coastline all around the country (Lakmali
et al. 2016). Due to rapid increase of population and developmental proj-
ects near coasts, these areas have particularly become more vulnerable.
Due to various development activities in relation to various sectors such as
construction, engineering, tourism, fishery and cultivation, coasts are
degraded; some are able to be mitigated while some are not.

R. L. S. Fernando (*) • H. M. I. U. P. Herath • R. B. P. M. Rathnayake

Department of Public Administration, University of Sri Jayewardenepura,
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
e-mail: rlsf@sjp.ac.lk; isharaherath@sjp.ac.lk

© The Author(s) 2020 9

A. Singh et al. (eds.), Development in Coastal Zones and Disaster
Management, Disaster Research and Management Series on the
Global South, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4294-7_2
10 R. L. S. FERNANDO ET AL.

Coastal line in Sri Lanka is nowadays being threatened by different

causes including increasing population pressure. The natural environment
is being converted into artificial ports, tourist beaches and residential
places. The result is severe erosion of beaches and excessive sedimentation
(United Nations Environment Programme n.d.). Rising sea levels, topo-
logical disasters, soil erosion by water and degradation of the natural sea-
scape are identified as broader problems which may influence coasts
(Encyclopedia 2018).
Sri Lanka has a nearly 1700 km long coastline and a 30,000 km2 conti-
nental shelf area up to 120 m deep (Koralagama 2008). As Prasada et al.
(2015) cited from the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Development, the coastal zone contains 26 major fisheries harbors; 58
boat anchorages; 193 improved landing centres; 890 minor fish landing
centres; a fishing fleet of 51,127 boats of different sizes; a marine fishing
household population of 824,680; and five seaports. The above statistical
data shows the nature of activities in the relevant area and the extent of
responsibility coming under the scope of marine environment protection
in the country. Thus, maintaining coastal environment protection becomes
paramount.
Population growth threatens the coastal zone (Samaranayake 1997).
Once the population starts to increase, resources fall short with respect
to population growth, therefore overutilization, overexploitation and
overextraction is justified for survival. Coastal erosion has become a
severe problem that results in damaging or destroying buildings, coastal
structures and other infrastructure of the country. It also causes loss or
degradation of valuable land and disrupts fishing, navigation, recreation
and other activities (Coast Conservation Department 1997). A coastal
departure, due to erosion by the sea, caused the loss of several square
miles of the coast, especially in the southwestern region in Sri Lanka
(Amarasinghe and Gerritsen 1976). Prasada et al. (2015) noted that
threats are still prevalent in the sustainability of a healthy marine envi-
ronment in Sri Lanka. The National Report of Sri Lanka has identified
many threats to the coastal and marine environment and its living
resources, coastal and marine habitats, shoreline stability, coastal and
marine fisheries, brackish water fisheries and culture, coastal and marine
biodiversity (Prasada et al. 2015).
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 VIII
MIRA,
THE WONDERFUL STAR

The head of Cetus, the Sea-Monster, is formed of three stars in a crooked

line (α, γ, δ); and a little beyond them, as far from δ as that is from α, you
may sometimes see another star, marked on the map by the name “Mira,”
which means “Wonderful.” Watch it carefully, and if it is on the upward grade
you will see it slowly brighten until it equals δ, then γ, and if you are lucky it
may even approach α in brightness; and meanwhile it will pass from red to a
clear orange-yellow; then it will wane once more and gradually be lost to
view, though you can follow it much longer in even a small opera-glass, and
you will notice that as it grows fainter the colour becomes deeper and deeper
crimson.
Unlike η Argūs with its one brilliant phase in two centuries, Mira waxes
and wanes once in every eleven months, although there is a capricious
uncertainty in both the period and the brightness which makes her a most
fascinating object to observe. Sometimes the maximum brightness is several
days earlier, sometimes later, than the average; sometimes she only equals
δ, she has been seen to excel α; and no one can foretell exactly what and
when her maximum will be.
Quite a number of other stars have been discovered which behave like
Mira, and anyone who wishes to contribute something to astronomical
research without having to buy large and expensive instruments, or to study
difficult problems, cannot do better than observe some of these stars,
carefully comparing them night after night with stars in the neighbourhood.
Here is a list of a few southern “variable stars of long period,” as they are
called, all of which are easily visible at maximum brightness with a binocular,
and some even without. A map should be made of the surrounding stars, and
a list drawn up of those which are of the different magnitudes through which
the variable passes. Every fine night the star should be compared with these,
and recorded in a note-book as brighter than one, fainter than others,
perhaps equal to another, and so on, several comparisons being made to
check each other. When the variable passes out of the range of the
binocular, this should be noted. The British Astronomical Association, which
has a branch in Australia, has a Variable-star Section, and anyone who
becomes a member will receive ready help and advice, and may have the
pleasure of feeling that he is doing useful work in astronomy.
Most long-period variables are red stars of the Antarian or of the carbon
star classes with banded spectra, but they differ from ordinary red stars by
occasionally showing bright lines, which indicate an uprush of intensely hot
hydrogen gas in their atmospheres. These bright lines always appear at
times of maximum, and prove that the star periodically undergoes some
physical change: but what is the nature and the cause of this change? It can
scarcely be due to the near approach of a satellite, because of the
irregularity in the time of maximum. There is a certain resemblance between
the way in which the light waxes and wanes and the waxing and waning in
the number of sunspots on the sun, and spectra of these Mira stars also
somewhat resemble sunspot spectra: can it be that our sun is an incipient
variable star with a period of about eleven years? It is true that sunspots
seem to be cooler rather than hotter regions on the sun, but a time of
maximum spots is also a time of maximum activity; slightly more heat is
actually radiating, the corona is brighter and larger, and the bright scarlet
flames of hydrogen and calcium which we call prominences are larger and
more abundant. Possibly it is a tremendous display of these on Mira which
makes the hydrogen lines bright at maximum.

Some Southern Variable Stars

of Long Period
Maximum Minimum
Name. Period. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
Days.
Mira 1.7 9.6 331½ Discovered
in 1596.
Large

irregularities
in period
and max.
brightness.
 Maximum Minimum
Name. Period. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
R 8.8 376½ A red
6.2
Sculptoris “carbonstar.”
R Leporis 6.1 9.7 436 Crimson. A
“carbon
star.”
Oserved
from 1852 to
1883,
but very
few
observations
published
since, so
new
work would
be valuable.
T Centauri 6.5 8.0 90¼ Period
unusually
short for
this class
of variables.
R 5.3 13.0 568 An Antarian
Centauri star.Double
max. and
min. The
secondary
min. about
mag. 8½.
 Maximum Minimum
Name. Period. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
R Scuti 4.8 7.8 ? Bright and
faint minima,
usually
alternative.
Period
perhaps
irregular.
S 11.8? 366
5.8
Sculptoris
R 12.0 405
5.9
Horologii
L² Puppis 3.4 6.2 140
or
longer
R Carinae 10.0 309 Antarian
4.5 stars.
Spectra
S Carinae 9.0 148 very similar
5.8 to that of
Mira.
R Hydrae 4.0 9.8 425
S Virginis 5.6 12.3 379½
R Aquarii 6.2 11.0 387

Against this suggestion we must set the fact that no stars have been
found to link together the slow and slight change represented by the sunspot
period with the rapid and violent change suffered by Mira variables. Their
periods, though never less than three months, are never more than two
years, and the light radiated by Mira at maximum sometimes amounts to five
thousand times as much as at a faint minimum.
 Nevertheless, the fact that these perplexing stars are a link in an
unbroken chain of which our sun also forms part suggests that research on
the sun, our nearest star, will some day help us to understand more about
Mira and stars like Mira.
 IX
ECLIPSING STARS

There is another type of variables quite distinct from the Mira

stars. These run through smaller light-changes in much shorter
periods, also they change abruptly with clockwork regularity, and the
spectrum shows no bright lines at maximum, indicative of physical
change.
The first known was Algol, the Ghoul or Demon Star in Perseus,
and the brightest southern star of the Algol type is δ Librae. It shines
steadily for a little more than two days as a fifth-magnitude star, then
in a few hours drops suddenly to below sixth magnitude, becoming
invisible to the naked eye, and as quickly recovers its usual
brightness. The entire change takes place regularly in less than two
and a half days.
A few bright Algol stars in the south are:

Southern Algol Variables

Maximum Minimum
Name. Period.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
Days. Hours.
RS
5.9 6.3 2 9
Sagittarii
R Canis
5.8 6.4 1 2
majoris
δ Librae 4.8 6.2 2 7
 Maximum Minimum
Name. Period.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
Days. Hours.
R Arae 6.8 7.9 4 9

Altogether nearly a hundred Algol stars are now known, and

seventy-four of these lie in or near the Milky Way.
Unlike the mysterious Mira stars, the variation of Algol stars has
been explained. The sudden drop in the light is a partial eclipse,
caused by a dark or partly dark companion which for a time hides the
bright star from us. When a source of light is coming towards us, the
lines in its spectrum are shifted towards the violet, when going away
they are shifted towards the red, exactly as the whistle of an engine
becomes more shrill when approaching us, and falls to a lower pitch
when going away. In this way it has been discovered that an Algol
star is revolving round an invisible companion, for it alternately
approaches and recedes, and these movements correspond with its
light-changes. It is, in fact, a spectroscopic binary which happens to
have an orbit whose plane lies just in our line of sight, so that at
every revolution one star passes behind the other.
The speed of the star in its orbit can be accurately determined
(by the amount of shift in the spectrum lines) in miles per second,
even when we do not know its distance from us; hence the size of its
orbit can be calculated, since we know the period in which it is
completed; and, further, the size of the orbit gives us the mass of the
stars, for their movements depend upon the attraction they exercise
over one another, and this is proportional to their mass; and so we
are able to picture the system, although the eclipsing star is never
seen and the distance from us may never be known. Here is indeed
a triumph of modern astronomy.
Very curious are the systems thus discovered. Algol stars are
extraordinarily light for their size, their density being always less, and
sometimes immensely less, than that of water, and the companions
are usually extraordinarily close together. In some pairs they seem to
be actually touching. Nearly all are Sirian stars; a few are of Orion
and solar types.
Sometimes the companion star gives light also, instead of being
dark, and then we have a different type of variation. There are two
eclipses in one revolution, each star passing alternately behind the
other, but neither is a very dark eclipse, only a lessening of light. β
Lyrae was the first star of this kind to be discovered; its southern
counterpart is U Scuti, which varies from magnitude 9.1 to 9.6, and
runs through its two maxima and two minima in less than twenty-
three hours! It is a Sirian star.
 X
SHORT-PERIOD VARIABLE STARS

Another extremely interesting class of variable stars runs through

the periods as punctually as the Algol stars, but the light is varying
up and down the whole time without any period of steadiness. The
length, too, is often much greater, though not nearly so great as that
of the Mira variables.
Here are a few stars of this class bright enough to be observed
with a binocular, at least at maximum:

Southern Short-period Variables

Maximum Minimum
Name. Period.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
Days.
W Sagittarii 4.3 5.1 7½
κ Pavonis 4.3 5.2 9
l Carinae 3.6 5.0 35½
S Crucis 6.5 7.6 4½
V Centaurii 6.4 7.8 5½
S Trianguli
6.4 7.4 6½
australi
S Normae 6.6 7.6 9½
 The three first on the list have been discovered to be
spectroscopic binaries, the motions varying with the light, and as this
is found to be the case with all those whose motions are known,
there can be little doubt that all variables of this class are binaries.
Their orbits, however, are somewhat larger than those of the Algol
variables, and are tilted towards us so that neither star can be seen
to pass in front of the other. For the gradual and continual change of
light cannot possibly be caused by an eclipse. Yet it seems clear that
it is in some way connected with the revolution of two stars about
one another.
Various suggestions have been made, such as that the revolving
star is unequally bright over its surface, and shows us now its
brighter and now its duller face; that the two pull one another out of
shape when they approach most nearly; that they are permanently
elliptical, and turn to us first the broad and then the narrow face. Any
or all of these may play some part in the variations of the light. But
the most hopeful theory takes into account a very strange fact lately
established, viz. that the variable is at its brightest not when
approaching its fellow but when coming directly toward us, and at its
faintest when receding directly from us.
This theory is that a dark and bright star are involved in a kind of
thin nebulous cloud, and that the bright revolving star has an
enveloping atmosphere. As it moves through the cloud this
atmosphere is continually brushed back from its advancing face, and
therefore we shall see it when coming straight towards us through a
less thickness of atmosphere, and it will look brighter than when it is
retreating from us.
There are grave difficulties in accepting this view, but it receives
some support from the case of β Scorpii, in which, as we saw, a
double star is suspected, for quite a different reason, of being
surrounded by a thin cloud. And the atmosphere supposed to be
surrounding the bright star may resemble the “smoky veil” which we
know envelops our own sun, and causes a considerable absorption
of light, for these variables are solar stars. The resistance of the
cloud to the motion of the revolving star ought in time to shorten its
period, and some variables have been found to be shortening their
periods.
Short-period variables are found chiefly in the Milky Way.
 XI
IRREGULAR AND DOUBTFUL VARIABLES

Besides these well-marked classes of long-period, short-period,

and Algol variables, there are some stars which seem to vary
spasmodically, remaining sometimes for months or even for years
without any change; and there are others whose variability is
suspected but has never been confirmed. Useful work might be done
by amateurs in trying to decide the status of these doubtful stars.
It must be borne in mind that red stars are notoriously difficult
objects. Two observers comparing one at the same time with the
same star will often come to opposite conclusions, showing how
difficult it is to compare stars which differ much in colour. Whenever
possible, red comparison stars should be selected to avoid this
uncertainty.
The second star on the list below has a very peculiar type of
variation, unlike any other except a northern star, R Coronae, and a
third recently discovered. The spectra of RY Sagittarii and R
Coronae are also peculiar and resemble one another.
The following are bright southern variables suspected to vary, or
known to vary without recognised laws:
Southern Irregular and Suspected Variables

Maximum Minimum
Name. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
Z Period
6 8
Sculptoris unknown.
 Maximum Minimum
Name. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
RY 6.5 Fainter Usually
Sagittarii than 11.5 steady, but
subject
to a sudden
drop at
irregular
intervals.
Worth
watching.
RT 6.5 About 8 Period
Capricorni probably
irregular.
Very few
observations
published.
S Observers
7.2 8.7
Phoenicis differ.
or or
Period
6.8 8.4
irregular.
W Ceti Period
6.5 12 perhaps 366
days
T Ceti 5.4 6.9 Irregular.
S Leporis 6.5 7.5 Irregular.
 Maximum Minimum
Name. Remarks.
Magnitude. Magnitude.
U Hydrae Irregular. Red
4.5 6.3
“carbon star.”
θ Apodis Period
5,5 6.6 probably
irregular.
R Apodis 5.5 6.2 Suspected.
T Indi No regular
7.2 8.9
period found
 XII
STAR-CLUSTERS

Endlessly varied is the grouping of the stars. We find solitary

stars, twin stars, large stars with small companions, bright stars with
faint companions, stars alike in colour and type, stars in strongly
contrasted colours, one young, the other aged, stars with invisible
companions, couples close enough to touch one another, and
couples so distant that the satellite takes more than a century to
revolve round its primary. One or even both components of a bright
pair may be themselves divisible into a closer pair, sometimes into a
whole group of stars.
More beautiful and wonderful still are the clusters of stars of
various tints and magnitudes, where scores, even hundreds, are
gathered together in what to the eye is a tiny patch, though it may in
fact take light many years to cross from one side of it to the other.
The finest example in the heavens of this kind of cluster is Kappa
Crucis, near β in the Southern Cross.[8] It is just visible to the naked
eye as a small star, and in a binocular the main star is seen to be
surrounded by a number of others; in a telescope it is a glorious
sight. Orange and red stars are easily distinguished in the brilliant
throng, even if we have not Herschel’s eye for colour and fail to
discriminate the “greenish-white, green, red, blue-green, and ruddy”
which made up what he likened to “a superb piece of fancy
jewellery.” He charted over a hundred stars of all magnitudes from 7
to 17. Herschel’s observations at the Cape were made between
1834 and 1838. When Mr. Russell charted the stars of Kappa Crucis
at the Sydney Observatory in 1872, he found 25 that had not been
recorded by Herschel, although the great reflector was much larger
than the Sydney instrument; many of Herschel’s stars had drifted,
and five could not be found at all. If changes so striking as this take
place in less than forty years, “it is evident,” as Russell observed,
“that more attention should be bestowed on clusters.”
Quite a dozen star-clusters of this kind are visible to the naked
eye in the southern hemisphere, the most striking being in Scorpio,
where it shines as a conspicuous silvery spot just beyond the
Scorpion’s tail, midway between κ Scorpii and γ Sagittarii. It is
named M 7, which means the seventh in Messier’s list of clusters
and nebulae. In a binocular it is seen to be a group of very many
stars, some close together, others scattered. Lacaille, with his little
half-inch telescope, counted from 15 to 20 stars, and Herschel, with
his large reflector, estimated the number at 60. At Cordoba
Observatory no less than 139 were catalogued.
M 6, a little north and west of M 7, is also visible to the naked eye
as a nebulous patch, and is a fine cluster. About 50 stars between
magnitudes eight and twelve have been photographed, and there
are doubtless many more of lesser brightness.
Look also just above the naked-eye double ζ in Scorpio, and see
what appears to be a hazy star. A binocular separates this into a
number of small stars, and 150 have been photographed, of
magnitudes seven to twelve. It is known as h 3652 or N.G.C. 6231,
the former being the number in Sir John Herschel’s catalogue, the
latter in Dreyer’s New General Catalogue of star-clusters and
nebulae.
A little south of Sirius is a patch of nebulous light which shows as
stars in a binocular. This was registered by Messier in 1764 as a
“mass of small stars,” and is known as M 41. Webb saw the brighter
stars arranged in curves and a ruddy star near the centre. One
hundred and forty-four stars were registered by Gould, of which only
five are as bright as eighth magnitude.
In the neighbourhood of the Cross there are quite a number of
large bright clusters, for they must be large and bright above the
average to be seen by the naked eye. A line passing through the
shorter arm of the False Cross—i.e. from δ Velorum to ι Carinae, the
naked-eye double—and continued for an equal distance beyond,
leads to a white oval patch which is plainly visible to the naked eye,
and in the binocular appears like a few stars sparkling on a nebulous
background. With higher powers the background also is resolved
into stars, of which there are some two hundred of the fifteenth
magnitude and brighter up to the eighth. This is N.G.C. 3114.
In the same direction is θ Carinae, a bright Orion-type star with
numerous small stars crowding close to it. This is a very lovely group
in a good binocular. It contains about twenty stars of magnitudes
between three and eight, and with high powers appears as a brilliant,
loosely scattered cluster covering a portion of sky equal in breadth to
twice the sun’s apparent diameter.
Very similar is a cluster close to the bright and richly coloured star
X Carinae. It looks like an elliptical nebula in a binocular, with a few
stars scattered over it. Two hundred have been photographed.
Near ε Carinae, the beautiful ruddy star at the foot of the False
Cross, is yet another most beautiful cluster, which contains about
fifty stars of the ninth magnitude and brighter. It is visible to the
naked eye, but when a telescope is turned upon it the brilliancy is
startling. Radiant stars are scattered all over the field.
Just east of π Puppis, the top of the poop of Argo, is a fourth-
magnitude star C of a bright orange colour, and round it is a cluster
which Gould describes as “extremely impressive to the naked eye.”
Ninety-two stars show on his photograph.
Close to δ Velorum (in the False Cross) is the star ο Velorum.
Even to the naked eye the bright star (3½ mag.) is seen to be
surrounded by a cluster of faint stars, and in a binocular it is a
splendid sight. The number of stars is small, but they are bright, ten
being above the ninth magnitude.
Lastly we may mention a remarkably fine cluster which is visible
in a binocular though not to the naked eye, in the Centaur, among a
stream of small stars between the Cross and η Argūs. Dunlop called
it “a pretty large cluster of stars of mixt magnitudes”; Brisbane, “a
prodigious number of small stars very close together.”[9] There are at
least a hundred above the sixteenth magnitude.
 It should be noticed that nearly all these clusters are in the Milky
Way, and the rest are very near it, for this is characteristic of star-
clusters like these, viz. irregular groups containing mixed magnitudes
of stars. In a list of all bright objects of this kind, only two are found
as far as 30° away from the middle line of the Galaxy, while 89 are
within 30° north or south of it. There are besides 38 in the Clouds of
Magellan, which resemble the Milky Way in constitution. Many
clusters are simply unusually dense portions of the Milky Way, and
we may almost say that this type forms part of it and of the Magellan
Clouds.
 XIII
GLOBULAR STAR-CLUSTERS

If Kappa Crucis is the finest irregular star-cluster in the sky,

Omega Centauri is undoubtedly the largest and most splendid of all
the globular star-clusters, for its diameter is more than twice the
diameter of the famous northern cluster in Hercules. It is easily
found, being nearly in line with δ and γ Centauri (the two
conspicuous stars just north of the Cross) and a little further from γ
than γ is from δ. The cluster looks to the naked eye just like a tailless
comet, and was mistaken for one by the author when first seen. In a
binocular it is quite round, the soft milky light growing gradually
brighter towards the centre, but without the slightest suggestion of
irregularity, and no appearance of stars. It must have been seen by
the early navigators who named the southern constellations, but it
was first discovered as a star-cluster by Halley in the island of St.
Helena. Most amazing is its appearance in a telescope, for the milky
disc breaks up into thousands of tiny points of light, densely
crowded, all alike, innumerable.
“This most glorious object,” as Herschel calls it, “the noble
globular cluster ω Centauri, beyond all comparison the richest and
largest object of the kind in the heavens,” is evidently quite distinct
from κ Crucis and clusters like those described in the last chapter. In
form it is circular, and the condensation towards the centre suggests
that it is spherical. There are some scattered members of the group
lying outside the bright crowded sphere. The stars are also
immensely more numerous and more closely packed than in the
irregular clusters, their total number being estimated at 10,000, and
6000 have been actually counted on photographs, and all these in a
space which looks little larger than that occupied by the sun in the
sky. Another striking difference is that, instead of bright and faint
stars mingled together, here they are all nearly alike and very
minute. Curiously enough, it is found that they belong to two
magnitudes, and two only, the thirteenth and fifteenth, and this
seems to be a feature of all globular clusters, as well as the form and
the dense crowding of the stars. Herschel at first thought the stars in
ω Centauri “singularly equal, and distributed with the most exact
equality, the condensation being that of a sphere equally filled.” But
he immediately adds: “Looking attentively, I retract what is said about
the equal scattering and equal sizes of the stars. There are two sizes
... without greater or less, and the larger stars form rings like lace-
work on it.” In his later notes he is again doubtful, for he thinks that
the effect may be optical, and the larger stars only knots of faint
stars; but photography has settled the question in our day.
Yet another point of difference between globular and irregular
clusters is that the latter often have wisps of nebulosity clinging
about them, but globular clusters are entirely free from it.