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An Interdisciplinary Study of Natural Disasters

Article · September 2011

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 An Interdisciplinary Study of Natural Disasters
Tuhin K Das
Department of Economics, Jadavpur University
Kolkata 700032, India
Email: tuhin22@hotmail.com

Introduction

Natural disasters are destructive and tragic events that harm society, economy
and environment. Cyclone Aila hit West Bengal, a State of India, in the year 2009,
flooding villages and forcing thousands of people from their homes. The cyclone,
accompanied by heavy rain, hit the coastal areas of West Bengal, leaving at least 18
people dead and around 0.1 million affected. A large part of the state of West Bengal
is exposed to frequent natural catastrophes like floods, cyclones, droughts and
landslides that often turn into disasters causing significant disruption of
socioeconomic life of communities and loss of human lives and properties.
Global consequences of natural disasters for the survival and livelihoods of
individuals and communities are increasing over time. It has been observed that the
number of natural disasters occurring now is more than four times than that occurred
two decades ago. But at the same time there has been a paradigm shift in the attitude
of the global community towards natural hazards, from a relief-centric approach to a
holistic and integrated approach that emphasizes prevention, mitigation, and
preparedness of extreme events.
It is felt, therefore, in West Bengal too there should be an increasing importance
of disaster risk reduction and increased disaster-response capacities towards building
disaster resilient societies. Consequently, this demands an interdisciplinary study on
natural disasters in this state. The book on “Disasters in West Bengal: An
Interdisciplinary Study” is such an attempt to accomplish the above requirements.1
Experts from different fields have contributed articles, starting from meteorology to
management and geomorphology to economics, on the basis of which this book has
been edited.

An Interdisciplinary Study

The interdisciplinary approach in this book to study natural disasters can be

illustrated by the flow diagram in figure 1.2 Most of the boxes in this diagram have
been discussed. But some questions still remain unresolved. The discussion below
gives an overview of the book. The unresolved questions have been raised in the
discussion where they are relevant.
A large part of West Bengal is exposed to natural hazards like cyclone, flood,
drought, landslide, subsidence and occasional earthquake which often turn into
disasters causing significant disruption of socioeconomic life of communities and loss
of human lives and properties. Floods and cyclonic storms occur almost every year in
different parts of the state and cause huge loss of life and property. Approximately,
fifty-six per cent of the total land area of the state is prone to flood. Past history of
cyclone in West Bengal reveals that the state especially the coastal region has been
one of the most cyclone affected territory in India. The hilly terrains of Darjeeling

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1933446

district in West Bengal are vulnerable to landslide. The state experienced earthquakes
at a relatively moderate frequency. Subsidence hazards occurred in underground coal
mining areas of West Bengal.

Natural Hazard
[Discussed in CH 2]

Early Warning Vulnerable Population

(Reduces the risk of disaster) (Natural hazard converts
[Discussed in CH 2] to Natural Disaster)
[Discussed in CH 3]

Physical, Social and

Economical Impact
[Discussed in CH 4]

Ex-ante Preparedness Losses

(Reduces Losses) [Discussed in CH 4]
[Discussed in CH 5]

Ex-post Assistance Recovery

(Helps to recover from disaster
impacts)
[Discussed in CH 5]

Fig. 1 An interdisciplinary study of natural disasters

The natural disaster is disruption in the balance of the environment. The

disruption may occur in different temporal and spatial scales. Therefore natural
disasters are not bounded by any political boundary. Still, the unique geography of an
area in connection with large scale synoptic situation favour typical weather
disturbances in that area. West Bengal is considered to be an area where most of the
weather disturbances either get generated or pass through, leaving behind huge loss of
property and human lives. In Chapter 2 of the book, meteorological disasters of West
Bengal have been described spatially and temporally highlighting their causes in
addition to a brief discussion on the geomorphology of the state.3 Early warning
system, an emerging tool for reducing the risk of disaster, has also been discussed.4

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1933446

Finally, a micro-level case study of flood at lower reach of the Silabati River reveals
that a rational approach for selecting site, embankment height, and volume of storage
and that for planning of an operational mechanism is necessary for managing the
problem of flood and water logging at the concerned study area.5
Natural disasters bring about physical, social and economic effects in the state.
Physical effects involve structural and non-structural damage and infrastructure
deterioration. Social effects include fatalities, injuries, homelessness, disease and
secondary effects like psychological impact such as trauma, or loss of social cohesion.
Economic effects on the other hand include business disruption; disruption to the
supply of power, water and telecommunications; loss of income and also the cost of
response and relief operations.
Against this backdrop it is highly needed to assess the vulnerabilities well in
advance to mitigate the risk of natural disasters. There is nowadays the international
acknowledgement of reducing the disaster risk (ex-ante preparedness) rather than the
efforts needed in the post disaster phase (ex-post disaster management). In West
Bengal, too, there is increasing importance of disaster risk reduction and increased
disaster-response capacities towards building disaster-resilient state. Here recognition
and identification of social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities are primarily
required to build a disaster resilient state.
In Chapter 3 of this book, a vulnerability index using certain dimension indices
of socioeconomic, climatic, agricultural, occupational, and infrastructural
vulnerability from a set of proxy indicators has been developed.6 This index has been
applied to select flood-prone and cyclone-prone districts in West Bengal. The districts
of Medinipur, Murshidabad, Bardhaman, Koch Bihar, Jalpaiguri, Nadia, and Hooghly
have been identified as vulnerable to flood in West Bengal. The identified cyclone-
prone districts in West Bengal are Medinipur and South 24 Parganas.
Impacts of disaster in these vulnerable districts are multifarious. They include
direct damage to physical assets, indirect losses in the production of goods and
services, alterations to macroeconomic variables, and cross-sector effects such as
impacts on environmental and psychosocial conditions. In general, a natural disaster
causes three main types of impact:
 Direct impacts caused by a natural hazard during the actual event
 Indirect impacts as flows of effects that occur over time after the event
 Repercussions for macroeconomic variables
A monetary value needs to be placed on disaster impacts once they have been
identified and quantified. There are a number of alternative methods for valuing direct
physical damage, which vary in how accurately they represent the real value of the
damage. It may be desirable to use more than one alternative for disaster impact
valuation to allow assessment results to be used in different ways. For example, the
scarcity of drinking water in a flooded area is generally valued by the market price of
bottled water. In this case, however, shadow price may be used to obtain a close
approximation of the value of damage to society. A shadow price is a “price” used in
economic analysis to represent a cost or benefit from a good when the market price is
a poor indicator of economic value or there is no market at all for that good. Shadow
prices correct for distortions such as subsidies and taxes, which affect market prices
so that they do not reflect the true value of a resource.
In West Bengal, flood causes untold misery to affected households. Flood
affects them from all fronts. It destroys their houses, belongings, both movable and
unmovable, livestock, and crops at house and in the field. Flood affects households

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1933446

economically as working days are lost, crops are damaged, prices of essential
commodities go up, and saleable items are to be sold at lower prices. Flood also
adversely affects human capital. Many water borne diseases break out during and
after flood. The worst suffers are their children and elderly people who are physically
weak and not smart enough to move in floodwater.
A case study of flood in Ghatal Block in Medinipur district has been presented
in Chapter 4 of the book.7 The different categories of direct disaster impact in this
area are:
 Increase in monthly household expenditure
 Cost of repairing house
 Damage to household goods
 Damage to crops
 Loss of Livestock or medical expenditure for treatment
 Damage to household industry
 Medical expenditure due to illness during flood
 Loss of income due to damage to public utility
 Cost of displacement
Monetary value of these direct impacts shows that income of the households is
mostly affected by flood. “Loss of income” during flood is nearly forty-one percent of
the total cost. Second affected item is their houses. “Cost of repairing house” after
flood is more than twenty-one percent of the total cost. “Damage to crops” and
“medical expenditure due to illness” during flood are almost same – eleven percent
each. However in this case study some direct impacts, often called intangible impacts,
have not been considered. It is very challenging to value them in monetary terms
because their very nature is difficult to measure and quantify. Examples of intangible
direct impacts include temporary displacement, death, damage to cultural artefacts,
and loss of memorabilia, such as photographs, books, etc.
The value of intangible direct damage is difficult to assess, as it is not reflected
in market prices. Generally, intangible losses are not included in estimates of natural
disaster impacts because they are considered too difficult to estimate meaningfully.
However, some methods do exist for valuing intangible impacts. A variety of non-
market valuation methods can be applied to assess the value of intangible direct
damages such as contingent valuation method.
Marine fisheries play a key role in West Bengal economy not only as major
supplies of protein rich food for domestic population, but also cornering considerable
foreign exchange earning through exports. The marine fisheries sector occupies an
important place in the socio-economic development of the state. Recognised as a
powerful income and employment generator, it stimulates the growth of a number of
subsidiary industries, is a source of cheap and nutritious food and an instrument of
livelihood for a large section of coastal population of the country.
But different natural disasters like tornado, hurricane, cyclone and tsunami
cause devastation to marine fisheries a lot. Tropical cyclones, which are severe storm
spun off from the inter-tropical convergence zone, may affect thousands of people
living in the coastal region. Among twelve cyclones during last thirty years, West
Bengal coastal area was devastated four times. The West Bengal coast experienced
cyclones in September and November in the year 1995 causing havoc especially to
the south west of Frezarganj, south of Digha and Digha Mohana centres and Junput.
Approximately fifteen million rupees worth crafts and gear were lost.8
 The above two case studies do not include the indirect impacts of disaster.
Indirect impacts are flows of effects that occur over time after a natural disaster and
are caused by the direct impacts of a disaster. Examples of indirect impacts might
include a decline in agricultural harvests after flooding, or loss in marine fishery
production due to damage to craft, gear, etc. caused by a cyclone. It is difficult or
impossible to assess these losses in the immediate initial damage assessment since
indirect impacts can only be ascertained months or years after a natural disaster
occurs. It is therefore important to do subsequent follow-up assessments to evaluate
indirect impacts. The appropriate time period for estimating indirect losses is the
length of time required for the affected region to reach its pre-disaster state. For many
disasters, a two-year time frame is appropriate, although it may be necessary to assess
indirect impacts over a shorter or longer time period depending on the type and scale
of disaster.
Environment damage is an intangible direct impact of disaster. It has been
observed that there is a close link between disaster and environmental damage.9 In a
natural disaster like flood, forest area is adversely affected. Communities in an area
vulnerable to disaster are often already impoverished and disenfranchised. So, proper
community-based disaster risk reduction in these areas is critical. As a contribution to
long term community development, humanitarian disaster risk reduction programmes
can support national plans and policies to alleviate poverty, conserve valuable and
vulnerable natural resources and address global issues such as climate change.
Disaster risk reduction programmes does not only mean ex-post (after disaster)
assistance but also ex-ante (before disaster) preparedness. Ex-ante preparedness
comprises the protective measures like disaster insurance, self protection, etc. other
than deployment of early warning systems. An important ex-ante protective measure
is market insurance, i.e. purchasing coverage from an insurer to reduce the financial
consequences following a loss brought about by disaster.10
However, most of the residents of disaster-prone areas in West Bengal are not
prepared for a catastrophic event. Only few of them consider self-protection due to the
absence of disaster insurance market.11 Under such circumstances there is hardly any
way than to undertake ex-post assistance. Here governments are typically held
accountable for their response to disasters and they make endeavours to invest in ex-
post assistance too. Ex-ante disaster insurance, however, receives much less
significance despite heavy run on Government expenditure incurred due to ex-post
assistance.
In ex-post assistance not only government is involved but also NGOs and
religious institutions extend their hands in assisting the disaster victims.12 Generally,
ex-post disaster management requires massive investment for relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction. Governments, especially in developing countries, have to pay a higher
price due to limited resources, opportunity costs of deploying development funds for
relief and reconstruction, weaker institutional and governance frameworks, and
institutional options depending on size of country, type of disasters and other factors.
So, there cannot be unique approach to disaster management.13 Various institutional
models for disaster management exist in the world. Choice of these models depends
on various factors including size of the country, nature of disasters, capacity of local
and state levels, democratic framework, and capacities of line departments.
 References

1. Disasters in West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, Edited by Tuhin K. Das,

Ivy Das Gupta, Debasish Lohar and Basabi Bhattacharya, acb Publication,
Kolkata, 2011.
2. Das, T. K., An Overview and Remaining Questions, Disasters in West Bengal:
An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and Bhattacharya),
acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
3. Kundu, S. and M. M. Pal, River Networks of West Bengal, Disasters in West
Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and
Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
4. Lohar, D. and V. Mandal, Prediction and Early Warning Systems for Risk
Reduction, Disasters in West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das,
Das Gupta, Lohar and Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
5. Maiti, R. and S. Chaudhury, A Case Study of Flood at Lower Reach of the
Silabati River, Disasters in West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by
Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
6. Das Gupta, I., Identification of Vulnerable Regions, Disasters in West Bengal:
An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and Bhattacharya),
acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
7. Das, T. K., Impact Assessment: Case Studies in West Bengal, Disasters in
West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and
Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
8. Neogy, R., Impact of Natural Disaster on Marine Fisheries, Disasters in West
Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and
Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
9. Banerjee, T., The Effect of Disaster on Environmental Sustainability, Disasters
in West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar
and Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
10. Bhattacharya, B. and J. Barman, Financial Innovations, Disasters in West
Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and
Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
11. Das, T. K., Ex-ante Self Protection and Ex-post Assistance, Disasters in West
Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and
Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
12. Datta Ray, I., Other Aspects of Ex-post Assistance, Disasters in West Bengal:
An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta, Lohar and Bhattacharya),
acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.
13. Rai Chowdhury, S., Options for Governance and Institutional Arrangements,
Disasters in West Bengal: An Interdisciplinary Study, (Ed. by Das, Das Gupta,
Lohar and Bhattacharya), acb Publication, Kolkata, 2011.

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