KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA

N T P C BADARPUR
New Delhi 44

Name : Rahul Kumar

Roll No. : 28

Class : 11th

Section : B

Subject : Geography

Project Name : Natural Disaster in

India (1901-2009)
 Natural Disasters in India

Natural disasters in India, many of them related to the climate of

India, cause massive losses of Indian life and property. Droughts,
flash, cyclones, avalanches, landslides brought on by torrential
rains, and snowstorms pose the greatest threats. Other dangers
include frequent summer dust storms, which usually track from
north to south; they cause extensive property damage in North
India and deposit large amounts of dust from arid regions. Hail is
also common in parts of India, causing severe damage to standing
crops such as rice and wheat.
Landslides are common in the Lower Himalayas. The young age of
the region's hills result in labile rock formations, which are
susceptible to slippages. Rising population and development
pressures, particularly from logging and tourism, cause
deforestation. The result is denuded hillsides which exacerbate the
severity of landslides, since tree cover impedes the downhill flow of
water. Parts of the Western Ghats also suffer from low-intensity
landslides. Avalanches occurrences are common in Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

Floods
Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heavy
southwest monsoon rains cause the Brahmaputra and other rivers to
distend their banks, often flooding surrounding areas. Though they
provide rice paddy farmers with a largely dependable source of
natural irrigation and fertilization, the floods can kill thousands and
displace millions. Excess, erratic, or untimely monsoon rainfall may
also wash away or otherwise ruin crops almost all of India is flood-
prone, and extreme precipitation events, such as flash floods and
torrential rains, have become increasingly common in central India
over the past several decades, coinciding with rising temperatures.
Mean annual precipitation totals have remained steady due to the
declining frequency of weather systems that generate moderate
amounts of rain.

Cyclones
Tropical cyclones, which are severe storms spun off from
the Intertropical Convergence Zone, may affect thousands of Indians
living in coastal regions. Tropical cyclogenesis is particularly
common in the northern reaches of the Indian Ocean in and around
the Bay of Bengal. Cyclones bring with them heavy rains, storm
surges, and winds that often cut affected areas off from relief and
supplies. In the North Indian Ocean Basin, the cyclone season runs
from April to December, with peak activity between May and
November. Each year, an average of eight storms with sustained
wind speeds greater than 63 kilometers per hour (39 mph) form; of
these, two strengthen into true tropical cyclones, which have
sustained gusts greater than 117 kilometers per hour (73 mph). On
average, a major (Category 3 or higher) cyclone develops every
other year.
During summer, the Bay of Bengal is subject to intense heating,
giving rise to humid and unstable air masses that produce cyclones.
Many powerful cyclones, including the 1737 Calcutta cyclone,
the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, have led
to widespread devastation along parts of the eastern coast of India
and neighboring Bangladesh. Widespread death and property
destruction are reported every year in exposed coastal states such
as Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. India's
western coast, bordering the more placid Arabian Sea, experiences
cyclones only rarely; these mainly strike Gujarat and, less
frequently, Kerala.
In terms of damage and loss of life, Cyclone 05B, a super cyclone
that struck Orissa on 29 October 1999, was the worst in more than a
quarter-century. With peak winds of 160 miles per hour (257 km/h),
it was the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Almost two million
people were left homeless; other 20 million people lives were
disrupted by the cyclone. Officially, 9,803 people died from the
storm; unofficial estimates place the death toll at over 10,100.

Droughts
Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoon as a source
of water. In some parts of India, the failure of the monsoons result
in water shortages, resulting in below-average crop yields. This is
particularly true of major drought-prone regions such as southern
and eastern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. In the past, droughts have
periodically led to major Indian famines, including the Bengal
famine of 1770, in which up to one third of the population in
affected areas died; the 1876–1877 famine, in which over five
million people died; the 1899 famine, in which over 4.5 million
died; and the Bengal famine of 1943, in which over five million died
from starvation and famine-related illnesses.
All such episodes of severe drought correlate with El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) events.El Niño-related droughts have also been
implicated in periodic declines in Indian agricultural
output. Nevertheless, ENSO events that have coincided with
abnormally high sea surfaces temperatures in the Indian Ocean—in
one instance during 1997 and 1998 by up to 3 °C (5 °F)—have
resulted in increased oceanic evaporation, resulting in unusually wet
weather across India. Such anomalies have occurred during a
sustained warm spell that began in the 1990s. A contrasting
phenomenon is that, instead of the usual high pressure air mass over
the southern Indian Ocean, an ENSO-related oceanic low pressure
convergence center forms; it then continually pulls dry air from
Central Asia, desiccating India during what should have been the
humid summer monsoon season. This reversed air flow causes India's
droughts. The extent that an ENSO event raises sea surface
temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean influences the degree of
drought.
 Earthquakes
It has been two years since the January 26, 2001, earthquake in
India that left death and devastation in its wake. As one of the first
humanitarian organizations to respond, CARE began providing
lifesaving emergency supplies and services to four of the hardest-hit
areas of Kutch District. Yet, even after basic needs were met -- and
the television crews went home, CARE stayed on the scene to help
survivors recover and rebuild. CARE partnered with The Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on the long-
term recovery, including reconstruction of homes, schools, health
clinics and community centers. CARE and FICCI also supported
people's ability to earn a living by providing training and support for
agriculture and small businesses. Substantial progress has been
made in the past 24 months. Now, as the construction of homes and
community infrastructure nears completion, CARE work in close
collaboration with communities, governments and local
organizations to ensure these changes are effective and sustainable.

The Earthquake

As India commemorated its 51st Republic Day on Saturday January

26, a tremendous earthquake struck Gujarat State in the western
part of the country. The quake's epicenter was near the town of
Bhuj in Kutch District, but tremors from the quake, which registered
7.7 on the Richter scale, was felt deep into Pakistan and as far away
as Nepal.

Estimates for the death toll ranged as high as 100,000 people, and
buildings and infrastructure in many areas were completely
destroyed.

After traveling to Bhuj's worst hit areas, CARE worker Renu Suri
described the trauma of survivors immediately following the quake:
"Life has come to a complete standstill. There are people roaming
about on the roads, so stunned by events that they cannot
participate in a discussion about what they need."
The words of Dawood Ismail, an earthquake survivor in Kutch, echo
those of Dr. Suri. "There is nothing left between the sky and the
earth anymore. Everything has been demolished."

Tsunami

Almost all the countries situated around the Bay of Bengal were
affected by the tsunami waves in the morning hours of 26 December
2004 (between 0900 – 1030 hrs IST). The killer waves were triggered
by an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale that had an
epicenter near the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The first
recorded tsunami in India dates back to 31 December 1881. An
earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter
believed to have been under the sea off the coast of Car Nicobar
Island, caused the tsunami. The last recorded tsunami in India
occurred on 26 June 1941, caused by an earthquake with magnitude
exceeding 8.5. This caused extensive damage to the Andaman
Islands. There are no other well-documented records of Tsunami in
India.

It was all quiet on the waterfront on the Sunday morning after

Christmas in 2004 at Kanyakumari, the famous Marina Beach in
Chennai and elsewhere on the Kerala coast and Andaman Nicober
Islands. There was the excitement of a holyday with an offbeat
mood with swarms of people on the sea front: children playing
cricket and man and women on their morning work at the Marina.
Elsewhere, fishermen were putting out to sea for the day’s catch.
Then all on a sudden, a curious thing happened. The holidaymakers
at Kanyakumari were awestruck when the sea receded from the
shores.

In the present tsunami, India was the third country severely

battered after Indonesia and Srilanka. In India the State severely
affected by tsunami are Tamilnadu, Pondicheri, Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala and Andaman and Nicober Island. The following Table.1
shows the average scenario of tsunami devastation in the respective
areas.