HISTORY OF DISASTERS IN INDIA

Presentation by : Shruti Dandawate

India’s Vulnerability to Disasters

• 57% land is vulnerable to earthquakes. Of these, 12% is vulnerable to severe earthquakes.

• 68% land is vulnerable to drought.• 12% land is vulnerable to floods.• 8% land is vulnerable to cyclones.• Apart from natural disasters, some cities in India are

also vulnerable to chemical and industrial disasters and man-made disasters.

Distribution of epicenters of earthquakes greater than magnitude 5.0 for the period 1976-2000, South East Asia and Indian Ocean

Seismic Activity in India 180 AD - 2004

Deccan famine of 1632-33

• One of the most severe famines to be affected in 1632-33.

Almost 20 lakh people died in the natural disaster. According to historians, the famine was caused as a result of three successive staple crop failures which led to starvation and diseases that were incurable then

1737 Calcutta cyclone

• It was a catastrophe in terms of property and lives lost. It was a devastating cyclone that killed nearly 3.2 lakh people and also destroyed about 25,000 ships and vessels in the harbour city.

1770 Bengal famine

The Great Bengal Famine was a large famine in Bengal during the British rule in the period of 1769-

1773. Bengal famine was caused the deaths of 10 million people in Bengal, Bihar and some parts of

Odisha.

1839 Coringa cyclone

• The Coringa Cyclone was one of the 10 big disasters that shook India, struck at a tiny village of Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. The Great Coringa Cyclone killed around 20,000 people in the ancient city of Coringa

1894 Third Plague Pandemic

• The major plague pandemic came to British India in 1894, killing more than 12 million people in India and China alone. Third Plague Pandemic was initially seen in port cities such as Bombay and Kolkata then spread to small towns and rural areas of many regions of India.

Bengal famine of 1943

• The Bengal famine of 1943 struck the Bengal province of pre-partition British India during World War II.

Between 1.5 million and 4 million people died of starvation, malnutrition and disease, out of Bengal's 60.3 million population, half of them dying from disease after food became available in December 1943.

1979Lahaul Valley Avalanche

• Lahaul Spiti valley receives heavy snowfall during the winter season, causes Avalanches. The LaHaul Valley disaster in March of 1979 buried 200 people under 20 feet of snow, the only avalanche in the Himalayas and one of the 10 deadliest Avalanches in History of world.

1984 Bhopal gas tragedy

Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered the world's worst industrial disaster.[1] It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicalsThe government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release

1993 Latur earthquake

• The deadliest earthquake rocked Maharashtra on September 30, 1993. It was measured 6.4 on the Richter scale.

The death toll was more than 20,000 while almost 30,000 were injured. 52 villages were devastated in the intraplate earthquake

1998Malpa Landslide

• Heavy rainfall caused, Malpa landslide was one of worst landslides in India, at village Malpa in Pithoragarh of Uttarkhand. Around 380 people were killed when massive landslides washed the entire village along with Hindu pilgrims of Kailash Mansarovar yatra.

1999Odisha Cyclone

• The 1999 Odisha cyclone also known as super cyclone was the most deadliest tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean and most destructive Indian storm since 1971. It caused almost deaths of 15,000 people and made heavy to extreme damage.

2001 Gujrat earthquake

• The massive earthquake occurred on India’s 51st Republic Day on January 26, 2001 at Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat. Gujarat earthquake had a magnitude of between 7.6 and 7.7 and killed around 20,000 people while 167,000 were injured

• Nearly, 400,000 homes were demolished

2002 Indian Heat Wave

• India’s heat wave in 2002 at south region killed more than 1000 people, Most of the deaths occurred in state of Andhra Pradesh. The heat was so intense that birds fell from the sky, ponds and rivers dried up.

New Delhi, May 15 2002Temperature- hitting 104-113 degrees

Bhopal, India, Sunday, June 9, 2002.

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

• With the magnitude of 9.1–9.3, it was the third largest earthquake of the world recorded ever. Almost 227,898 people died.

The earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes.

Experts say the earthquake that caused tsunami was so powerful that its impact can be equated to the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.

The huge waves of tsunami killed lakhs of people in South India, Sri Lanka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

2007 Bihar Flood

• The 2007- 2008 Bihar flood are listed as the worst hit flood in the living memory of Bihar in last 30 years. Bihar is India’s most flood-prone State, a recurring disaster appears annual basis and destroys thousands of human lives apart from livestock and assets worth millions.

2005 MUMBAI CATASROPHE

The 2005 Maharashtra floods was occurred just one month after the June 2005 Gujarat floods, Mumbai the capital city was most badly affected and witnessed one of its worst catastrophes in the history of India, killing at least 5,000 people

2010Eastern Indian Storm

The Eastern Indian storm was a severe storm struck parts of eastern Indian states spanning for 30–40 minutes. At least 91 people died in Indian states and Over 91,000 dwellings were destroyed and partially damaged

2013 Maharashtra draught

• Maharashtra state was affected by the region’s worst drought in 40 years,worst-hit areas are Jalna, Jalgaon and Dhule are also affected by the famine. Millions of people in Maharashtra are at serious risk of hunger after two years of low rainfall in the region.

2013 Uttarakhand

• On June 2013 Uttarakhand received heavy rainfall,massive Landslides due to the large flashfloods, it suffered maximum damage of houses and structures, killing more than 1000 people, sources claimed the death toll could be rise up to 5000. Uttarakhand Flash Floods is the most disastrous floods in the history of India

Malin landslide 2014

On 30 July 2014, a landslide occurred in the village of Malin in the Ambegaon taluka of the Pune district in Maharashtra, India. The landslide, which hit early in the morning while residents were asleep, was believed to have been caused by a burst of heavy rainfall, and killed at least 134 people

New Directions for Disaster Management in India

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been set up as the apex body for Disaster Management in India, with the Prime Minister as its Chairman.

• Disaster Management Authorities will be set up at the State and District Levels to be headed by the Chief Ministers and Collectors/Zilla Parishad Chairmen respectively.

Best Practices• On 12 November, 1970 a major cyclone hit the coastal

belt of Bangladesh at 223 km/hr. with a storm surge of six to nine meters height, killing an estimated 500,000 people.

• Due to the Cyclone Preparedness Program, the April 1991 cyclone with wind speed of 225 km/hr. killed only 138,000 people even though the coastal population had doubled by that time.

• In May 1994, in a similar cyclone with a wind speed of 250 km/hr. only 127 people lost their lives.

• In May 1997, in a cyclone with wind speed of 200 km/hr. only 111 people lost their lives.

Thank you