DISASTERS are the result of an immediate situation or the result of a long-set process which disrupts normal human life in its established social, traditional and economic life systems, due to the destruction of environment and assets caused by extraordinary natural destructive phenomenon or human-induced (or human-made) hazards resulting in human hardship and suffering beyond recovery, unless an external aid is brought in.
There are many definitions for Disasters. Each organisation has evolved a definition based on their activities and experiences in the disaster mitigation process. However, the above definition is only an effort to contain all the aspects in-built into it.
Every year, both Natural and Man-made disasters cause misery and hardships to millions of people in India. The Industrial hazards are increasing day by day. The more advanced we become scientifically and technically, the more we experience the incidents of disasters. Probably it is the price we are paying for the advancement in science. However, if we maintain the balance wherever necessary, we might reduce the effects of the disasters.
There is a lot of misunderstanding between the two terms “Disaster” and “Hazard”. Many people think that both are the same. But it is not so and both have different meanings. It will be appropriate if we can differentiate the meaning of these terms before we go further.
A Hazard is a potential for a disaster. A hazard develops into a disaster when it hits an area affecting the normal life system. If a hazard like a cyclone hits a sparsely populated area, say a desert, it need not be considered as a disaster since the human population is not affected. However, to a certain extend it may be considered a disaster if the environment and nature is affected.
Disasters are classified into two main groups:
1- Natural disasters and
2- Human induced disasters or (Man-made disasters).
And into four main categories:
1- Natural: sudden impact disasters caused by cyclones, floods, earthquakes, etc.
2- Natural: slow onset disasters caused by drought or famine, etc.
3- Unnatural: sudden impact disasters such as war
4- Unnatural: slow onset or creeping disasters developed over a period of time like chronic political problems which results in build-up of dispersed people, etc.
1- NATURAL DISASTERS
Natural Disasters cause great losses to human life and property every year in India and other parts of the world. All the natural disasters cause extensive damage to crops, livestock, houses, communication network and other infrastructure and is a great strain on the economy of a developing country like India. Some of the major natural disasters that manifest in Indian and other South East Asian countries are:
01- Drought
02- Floods 03- Cyclones
04- Earthquakes
05- Tsunamies
06 -Fires (in the villages and forests)
07- Landslides (in hilly areas)
08- Avalanches (in mountainous areas)
09- Sea erosion (coastal belts)
10- Volcanic activities
11- Epidemics (both as primary and secondary disasters)
Natural Disasters have detrimental and destructive impact on human beings and the environment. However, some natural disasters have beneficial effects also, though it is very much less than the destructive effects.
BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS :
1- Tropical Cyclones lift and evaporate thousands of millions of tons of sea water and deposit it as salt free rain on the land. Besides, the up-wells in the sea bring nutrient rich water along or near the storm track whereby the photoplankton mass increases at the surface. Photoplankton is a feed for the fish and the fish catch is very high immediately after the cyclones.
2- Volcanic Activity in many cases leads to the formation of highly fertile soil within a short period. Most of the volcanic areas are exploited to the maximum for agriculture. The island of Java is an example.
3- Floods bring in silt to the alluvial plains prone to periodic or seasonal flooding. These areas are very fertile and agricultural activities are more compared to the other regions. Density of population in these areas is high due to the increased agricultural activity. The Indus and Gangetic river basins are examples.
DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS:
The destructive or harmful effects of natural disasters are more than the beneficial effects. Some of the harmful effects or impacts of natural disasters usually are:
01- Human or animal deaths
01- Human or animal deaths
02- Human and animal injuries
03- Degradation / loss of agricultural lands
04- Loss of personal and public property
05- Shortage of food supplies
06- Destruction of vital life-line systems
07- Destruction of communication facilities and infrastructure
08- Deterioration of health conditions -> both physical and mental
09- Distribution of epidemics
10- Famine followed by
11- Migration and displacement of people
Epidemics are usually considered as a secondary disaster. However, in certain cases epidemics could manifest as the primary disaster itself (the plague: Surat incident). Any reports of outbreak of specific disease must be immediately investigated. The investigation is easier if it is co-ordinated with the government health department. If necessary the assistance of specialists or medical institutions capable to deal with the specific disease should be brought into the scene. Even if the epidemic is of the nature of primary or secondary disaster, control of disease-carrying insects and rodents are important.
Vector Control : The “Vectors” are the carriers of diseases, which are usually the insects and the rodents. The most common vectors which spread diseases are mosquitoes, flies, rodents (rats), lice, fleas. ticks and bed-bugs. The following actions can be taken up for vector control:
1- Spraying stagnant water with specific insecticides.
2- Draining away stagnant water
3- Spreading bleaching powder all around the community dwellings after clearing the shrubs and bushes.
4- Proper disposal of organic wastes.
5- Fumigation of the warehouse
6- Improvement of personal hygiene
7- Use of insect repellents
2- HUMAN INDUCED (or man-made) DISASTERS
Human Induced (or man-made disasters) are mainly due to the indiscriminate development of industries backed by over population without a strict control in the environmental protection, community safety and plant safety measures. Negligence on the part of professionals as well as the public and ignorance increase the possibilities of human-induced disasters. The major human-induced disasters could be:
1- Fire accidents
2- Road/Air/Rail accidents
3- Chemical and industrial accidents
5- Communal violence and Riots
6- Environmental degradation due to destruction of natural resources.
The more the country becomes industrialised the more the chances for industrial disasters. Therefore it is important that the already existing laws and legislation be strictly implemented by the enforcing authorities.
Communal violence: Is usually the result of unrealistic religious and political demands for selfish gains, using the common man as the tool. The remedy for communal disturbances would be only a prolonged awareness programme, whereby the public, especially the uneducated and economically weaker sections of the society are made to understand the values of life and to distinguish the intention of the religious and political background.
However, the manifestation of natural disasters like drought and flood could also be related to indiscriminate human activities, leading to environmental degradation, where by the delicate infrastructure of the nature is damaged. Therefore these disasters can be considered to a certain extend as human induced disasters.
SOME OF THE MAJOR TYPES OF DISASTERS IN INDIA:
1- Drought
2- Floods
3- Cyclones
4- Earthquakes
5- Landslides
6- Avalanches
3- Cyclones
4- Earthquakes
5- Landslides
6- Avalanches
7- Tsunamis
8- Sea-erosion
9- Fire (both natural and accidental)
10- Chemical and Industrial accidents.
11- Road-Rail-Air-Water transport accidents
8- Sea-erosion
9- Fire (both natural and accidental)
10- Chemical and Industrial accidents.
11- Road-Rail-Air-Water transport accidents
DROUGHT :
Out of all the disasters, DROUGHT could be considered as the most devastating with a very high destructive potentiality. It is devastating because of its nature of very slow onset. Drought is primarily a deficiency in rainfall over a certain period of time. It results because of the change in environmental pattern resulting in poor water-retention capacity of the soil. Drought conditions are long onset disasters. It is also the result of poor water management strategy, deforestation and indiscriminate industrial explosion and exploitation. The earth we live in is the result of a natural growth and is held in a position by ecological balance. Interference with any species will have repercussions on the other. Such interference has been in the increase during this century.
We realise the magnitude of the damage to nature very late and the situation passes beyond the stage of repair and recovery. One such damage due to this interference is the manifestation of a drought situation leading to famine and severe hardship to the population. Drought have been defined as an imbalance between available soil moisture and evapo-transpiration needs in a particular region. Evapo-transpiration is the loss of soil moisture through the process of evaporation and transpiration. This imbalance is caused by the fluctuations in climatic factors mainly due to inadequate rainfall.
FLOODS :
Floods are an annual feature in most parts of India, especially in the river basins. Approximately 7.8 million hectares, out of which 5 million hectares under cultivation are affected by floods every year causing a loss of millions of rupees. Floods are caused due to inadequate capacity within the banks of the rivers due to accentuated erosion and silting of river beds. Besides, indiscriminate encroachments into river beds for farming and settlement have also aggravated the problem. Deforestation also contributes to floods, since the soil erosion from the hills would silt the rivers. Though considered as a natural disaster, people have contributed to its manifestation to a greater extend. The main regions affected by the floods are:
1- The Brahmaputhra region
2- The Ganga region
3- The North-west river region
4- Central India
5- The Deccan river region
6- The Coastal river regions
However, very heavy rains in the cities and towns cause flood situation in low-lying areas and this is mainly due to poor drainage system and people living in vulnerable areas. Indiscriminate expansion of towns and cities contribute to flooding. In all the developing cities and towns we see that more and more low lying areas are being occupied for the construction of houses and development of squatter settlements.
CYCLONES :
Cyclones are a regular natural disaster occurring during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods. It affects the eastern (Bay of Bengal) coastline of India, the coastal belts on the eastern states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Cyclones are usually caused due to the development of a depression in the Bay of Bengal and take place in the months of May/June and October/November. The western coastline is also susceptible to cyclones, though not very frequent. Heavy flooding is also caused by cyclonic rains.
EARTHQUAKES:
Earthquake is a natural disaster which used to manifest in the northern and west-central parts of India. Recent occurrences and the subsequent scientific studies which followed indicate that the whole of Indian sub-continent is earthquake prone. It has not occurred on a regular frequency as in certain parts of the middle-east, China and Japan, but have proved to be very devastating whenever it has occurred. Earthquake is very unpredictable and is caused by the fault and plate movements under the surface of the earth. The foot hills of the Himalayan mountain range, the whole of Indian sub-continent and parts of central India comes under the confirmed Earthquake zone. The earthquake affected population of the ‘Lattur’ area in Maharashtra are yet to recover completely from the devastating earthquake of September 1993. It is also the same for the people of other areas affected by earthquakes. The secondary disasters that can follow an earthquake are fires, landslides, epidemics etc.
LANDSLIDES :
Landslides are very common on hilly and mountainous areas, especially in the state of Kerala and Himalayan regions. They usually happen during the monsoon months of heavy rainfall. Land slides are considered to be a natural disaster in certain cases, but the deforestation process and other activities like quarrying, mining and road constructions contributes to its regular feature in the recent years. Soil degradation and conversion of forests into mono-culture plantations in the hills also could be considered as a cause for the land slides. The incidents of Land Slides are increasing every year in the hilly and mountainous areas. Unless a concentrated effort is taken up by both the community as well as the Government, the incidence of this disaster would also affect the climatic condition of the area. Land slides are also caused as a secondary disaster followed by a major disaster like Earthquakes.
AVALANCHES:
Avalanches are very common in the Himalayan regions during the winter season due to heavy snowfall, mainly blocking the roads and destroying habitats in the months of December and January. One probable reason for avalanches is the global warming-up, which is still being debated upon. Tectonic activities in high mountain ranges also can trigger avalanches.
TSUNAMIES:
A tsunami can be generated by any disturbance that displaces a large mass of water, such as an earthquake, landslide or meteor impact. It is generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crust deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. Waves are formed as the displaced water mass moves under the influence of gravity to regain its equilibrium. When large areas of the sea floor elevate or subside, a tsunami can be created. Large vertical movements of the earth's crust can occur at plate boundaries. Plates interact along these boundaries called "faults".
SEA EROSION:
Sea Erosion is very common in the western coast of India, especially the Arabian Sea coastline of the state of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Specific reasons have not been found out, though it is assumed that the flow of the ocean currents during the monsoon periods influence the incident. However, sea erosions destroy habitats on the shore-line and cause immense difficulties to the population living there. Besides they reduce the land mass to a considerable degree.
FIRE ACCIDENTS:
When we consider fire accidents in India, they can be grouped into more than one type and they are:
1- Fire accidents in the rural villages.
2- Fire accidents in squatter settlements in the cities and towns.
3- Industrial fires accidents.
4- General fire accidents in cities and towns.
5- Forest fires (both accidental, natural and human induced)
Fire Accidents in villages and squatter settlements usually happen during the dry season, when a whole village or the settlement gets wiped out. The main reason is that in most of the villages the houses are constructed with mud walls with bamboo and leaf partitions and roofs. Such fire accidents in the villages can be considered either natural or accidental. In the extreme summer temperature, the bamboo poles explode and the resultant friction causes fire, in which case it could be classified as a natural phenomenon. It would remain a natural phenomenon until the housing condition in the vulnerable areas improve. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the two states which report maximum number of village fire accidents every year. Both the State Governments are very much involved in welfare programmes for the poor by constructing good houses, thus reducing the chances for such fires. However, it would take years to eliminate fire hazardous houses from all the rural districts. Incidents of village fires usually happen during the dry months of March/April/May and June.
CHEMICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS :
A higher frequency of Chemical and Industrial accidents cannot be ruled out in the highly industrialised cities and towns of India. The Bhopal incident, which cannot be forgotten for years to come, itself is an example of this type of disasters. The chances of chemical and industrial disasters in India are day-by-day increasing in correlation with the increase of various types of industrial units mushrooming in the country. Such disasters would be the real threat to human lives and property in our country in the next century. Only a very strict legislation in environment-safe safety measures will control the out break of industrial disasters. It is important that both the industry and the community living around are made aware of the safety measures towards the probable accidents that may occur. The environmental degradation from effluents of the industries also can be considered to contribute to man-made secondary disasters.
TO BE CONTINUED :::::::::::::::
