Natural disasters cost India $80bn in 20 yrs: UN report

Climate change is making development highly risky, particularly in lower-middle income countries like India. A study released by the UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Wednesday said India suffered economic losses of $80 billion during the 20-year period of 1998 to 2017. India has been ranked among world’s top five countries in absolute economic losses. Globally, disaster losses during this period have been estimated at $3 trillion. These losses have increased by more than 120% in the last 20 years compared to the preceding two decades (1978-1997). And if we just account for climate related disaster losses, they have gone up by more than 151%. Mami Mizutori, head of UNISDR, said: “The report makes it clear that economic losses from extreme weather events are unsustainable and a major brake on eradicating poverty in hazard exposed parts of the world.” She emphasised on the need for countries to capture economic losses which can help in disaster mitigation, saving lives and livelihoods. “In the period 1998-2017, disaster-hit countries reported direct economic losses of $2,908 billion of which climate-related disasters accounted for $2,245 billion or 77% of the total. This compares with total reported losses for the period 1978-1997 of $1,313 billion of which climate-related disasters accounted for $895 billion or 68%,” the UNISDR said. “It is also clear that the economic losses suffered by low and lower-middle income countries have crippling consequences for their future development and undermine our efforts to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the eradication of poverty,” the UNISDR said. The study was jointly conducted by UNIDR and Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and released before October 13, the International Day for Disaster Reduction. In the last 20 years, climate-related disasters killed 1.3 million people and left 4.4 billion injured and homeless. India is worst sufferer of disaster-related deaths and economic losses. Thousands of human lives are lost and hundreds of crores worth of properties destroyed every year, though not all of them are reported, a fact authenticated by the UN report that said loss data is not available for 87% of disasters in low income countries. “While the majority of fatalities were due to geophysical events, mostly earthquakes and tsunamis, 91% of all disasters were caused by floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather events,” the report said. Storms, floods and earthquakes are not just common to India. In fact, three European countries are in the top 10 nations having suffered maximum economic losses on account of these climate change disasters — France ($48 billion), Germany ($58 billion) and Italy ($57 billion).

Source: Times of India, 11/10/2018

The diaspora and disasters

As the Kerala floods have shown, the diaspora can shape political and economic responses 

Between August 8 and 20, the devastating floods in Kerala claimed nearly 500 lives, displaced over a million people, and directly affected over a sixth of the State’s total population. The State government’s latest report estimates the losses to be more than the State’s annual plan. In the fiscal 2017-18, Kerala’s annual plan outlay was pegged at Rs. 26,500 crore. Moreover, according to the just concluded Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2018 — conducted by the Centre for Development Studies in Kerala — while remittances received in Kerala accounted for approximately Rs. 85,000 crore, much was used for housing and improving human development.

This was the worst flood in Kerala since 1924. In the deluge then, the State received 650 mm of rain compared to 2,344 mm this time. However, the impact was similar.

The difficult task of rebuilding the State has begun and contributions to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) have crossed more than Rs. 1,680 crore. The Chief Minister is confident that the State would be able to overcome the shortage of funds by mobilising its own resources and through support from different quarters. For Kerala, the most important support system is the Malayali diaspora across the world.

Migrant data

According to the KMS 2018, there are over 2.1 million Malayali emigrants globally and 1.3 million return migrants. The Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs, headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala, looks after the welfare of the 3.4 million migrants globally, in addition to the nearly 2 million internal migrants within India. These are Keralites who have direct connections to their households — fathers, mothers, spouses, and, in some cases, elderly children. Of course, there are also Malayalis who have moved from Kerala permanently with their family and live within the country or abroad (non-residents from Kerala). They number around 2-3 million (over the last 60 years since the formation of the State in 1956).

The advantage Kerala has at this point is to engage with its migrants and diaspora who have been instrumental in rebuilding the destination economies after natural calamities and economic crises. The standing of the Malayali diaspora is evident from the extraordinary support Kerala has received from other sovereign states with large diaspora populations such as in West Asia, multinational corporations employing Malayalis, and by the diaspora itself. With the depreciation of the Indian rupee, the State can relaunch foreign currency deposit schemes such as the hugely successful India Millennium Deposit Scheme which was introduced in 2000 by the Centre to leverage higher values of foreign currencies so as to overcome financial and economic crises.

Pivotal role

Unfortunately, ‘not much attention has been paid to the role of diaspora groups in post-disaster situations. Yet, in a globalised world, the international dimensions of disaster response and recovery, and the significant policy role played by the diaspora can be critical’. For example, after the earthquake in 2010 in Haiti, ‘the Haitian diaspora in the U.S. served as a conduit for doctors, nurses, engineers, educators, advisers and reconstruction planners. Haitian-Americans continue to be vital in long-term recovery — as supplies, remittances, sharing human and financial resources, lobbying governments, international organisations and corporations for disaster relief and redevelopment funding, and in facilitating eased travel restrictions’.

In Nepal, after the 2015 earthquake, the Non-Resident Nepali Association collected $2.69 million, mobilised over 300 volunteers including doctors and nurses, and pledged to rebuild 1,000 disaster resilient houses. In the tsunami in South Asia (2004) and the Pakistan earthquake (2005), diaspora and migrant remittances flowed generously, demonstrating the counter cyclical nature of remittances.

In Kerala, the migrant community and diaspora moved swiftly to organise an Internet-driven response. By sharing and re-sharing vital information on affected regions and people, supplies, and precautionary measures (on social media platforms), they were instrumental in expanding the flow of information that would later be used by politicians, private and military rescue operations, and relief workers.

Successful diaspora groups are among the largest contributors to the CMDRF. They will be invaluable in mobilising resources, talent, and knowledge which will be integral in rebuilding the State. For example, a Kerala Health Department report has made it clear that there will be a 100% increase in the demand for pharmaceutical drugs. These can be sourced quickest through transnational diaspora networks. As the diaspora is one of the greatest assets of Kerala, communities should improve relations with diaspora groups. Return migrants should also act as liaison agents.

Diaspora communities will also inevitably shape political and economic responses to a disaster. The linking of social capital between diaspora, civil society organisations, advocacy groups and government institutions, although necessary during rehabilitation, is bound to lead to unanticipated and undesirable outcomes. At least temporarily, the State may witness higher rates of emigration among the common people as they try to mitigate losses caused by the floods. For example, the KMS shows that migrants use over 40% of their remittances in purchasing land, construction and repayment of mortgage debt. Finally, we need to investigate the relationship between rehabilitation and migration further.

More questions

Kerala has close to 3 million migrants from other States to replace Keralites who left to West Asia (also known as replacement migration). Have they been affected by the floods? Are they likely to participate in the reconstruction of the economy of Kerala or leave for their home States for better opportunities? The preliminary results of the KMS indicate a decline in emigration. Finally, we should ask ourselves what the future of emigration, return emigration, internal migration and remittances from Kerala will be in the coming years.

S. Irudaya Rajan is Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Source: the Hindu, 9/10/2018

Rethinking disaster management

The new climate reality is raising the bar on disaster resilience

It is time to stop thinking of the extreme weather events hitting us with increasing frequency as bolts from the blue. Kerala bravely endured the monsoon storms, but it would be a mistake to think that disasters of this magnitude are “once in a hundred year” events.

Weather disasters are being affected by climate change that is caused by humans. The devastation is worsened by the collective failure of governments and businesses to invest in building resilience despite the evidence on runaway climate change. The lesson from the Kerala floods, Hurricane Harvey (Houston, U.S., 2017) and Typhoon Haiyan (the Philippines, 2013) is that responses to disasters must be proactive, not just reactive.

First, reconstruction efforts must involve rebuilding in a better way. Climate proofing in Kerala calls for structures to be built with wind- and water-resistant materials. The higher cost will be more than offset by avoided repairs. Second, people need to relocate out of harm’s way. After Haiyan’s storm surges, distances from coastlines that were considered safe for settling were extended. During the 2015 floods, Chennai illustrated the price of unrestricted urban development. Third, early warning is vital. Because of investments in these systems, Cyclone Phailin (2013) claimed less than 40 lives in Odisha, whereas a superclyclone in 1999 in the State had killed 10,000 people. In Kerala, there was no timely forecast from national weather services. The State needs a reliable flood forecasting capability. Fourth, there needs to be tougher implementation of logging and mining regulations in fragile ecologies. Deforestation worsened the effects of Kerala’s floods and mudslides, as the report of the Western Ghats ecology expert panel 2011 had warned. Lastly, there is the climate conundrum: Wayanad, which just saw record rainfall, is expecting a severe drought. Kerala by itself has a small carbon footprint, but it can have a voice in helping one of the world’s largest carbon emitters reduce its carbon footprint.

The economic damage from global warming has global ramifications. The 2011 floods in Thailand’s economic heartland disrupted not just national, but global manufacturing value chains. The Kerala floods are estimated to have shaved off about 2.2% of the State’s GDP. Bolstering resilience must be central to recovery. Multilateral agencies including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank may be well-positioned to provide financing, which is vital when budgets are stretched, and, crucially, knowledge solutions to tackle climate disasters. Kerala gets high marks for its participatory approach to relief and rehabilitation. Invaluable as this is, the new climate reality is raising the bar on disaster resilience.

The writer is a former Senior Vice President, World Bank, and author of “Climate Change and Natural Disasters”

Source: The Hindu, 25/09/2018

Lessons India must learn from the Kerala disaster

If Kerala wishes to heed this second lesson, then the person they must listen to more attentively is the scientist I first went to that state with. Madhav Gadgil left the prospect of a dazzling career in the Western academy to join the Indian Institute of Science, where he established a Centre for Ecological Sciences. Through his own books and essays, and through the students he has nurtured and inspired, he has worked ceaselessly for ecological responsibility.

I first went to Kerala in 1993, in the company of the ecologist Madhav Gadgil. We had been asked to speak at a meeting organised by that remarkable peoples’ science organisation, the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad. We were received at Ernakulam Railway Station by the zoologist M. K. Prasad, a doyen of the KSSP. Despite his high status in society, Professor Prasad had come by bus, and he dressed very simply, in bush shirt and rubber chappals.

I have been back to Kerala many times. As a historian, what has impressed me most is the state’s manifest egalitarianism. This was witnessed afresh in the response to the recent floods, when, regardless of caste or religion, all came forward to help with relief and rehabilitation. Ideologues from outside the state sought to pit Hindus against Christians and Muslims, but the Malayalis would have none of it. From the wealthy expatriate in the Gulf who opened up his cheque book to the fisherfolk who worked day and night to rescue victims, everyone set aside their social and political differences in this moment of tragedy.

The first lesson of the Kerala floods, therefore, is this; earthquakes and floods do not recognise distinctions invented by crafty humans to divide, and to rule. But there is a second lesson, which may be harder to comprehend and act on. This is that if we abuse nature and disregard the limits it sets on human behaviour (and especially human greed), it will take its revenge upon us.

If Kerala wishes to heed this second lesson, then the person they must listen to more attentively is the scientist I first went to that state with. Madhav Gadgil left the prospect of a dazzling career in the Western academia to join the Indian Institute of Science, where he established a Centre for Ecological Sciences. Through his own books and essays, and through the students he has nurtured and inspired, he has worked ceaselessly for ecological responsibility.

The contribution of Madhav Gadgil most relevant to the present context is the report of a committee he chaired. Commissioned by Jairam Ramesh when he was Union environment minister, this presented a comprehensive analysis of the threats posed to the Western Ghats by reckless resource extraction. The Gadgil Report noted that the Ghats had ‘been torn asunder by the greed of the elite and gnawed at by the poor, striving to eke out a subsistence. This is a great tragedy, for this hill range is the backbone of the ecology and economy of south India.’ Then it added: ‘Yet, on the positive side, the Western Ghats region has some of the highest levels of literacy in the country, and a high level of environmental awareness. Democratic institutions are well entrenched, and Kerala leads the country in capacity building and empowering of Panchayat Raj Institutions.’

Drawing on many decades of field experience and the latest scientific studies, the Gadgil Report sought to harmonise economic growth with environmental sustainability. Development plans, it said, ‘should not be cast in a rigid framework, but ought to be tailored to prevalent locality and time-specific conditions with full participation of local communities, a process that has been termed adaptive co-management.’ This ‘would marry conservation to development, and not treat them as separate, incompatible objectives’.

The Gadgil Report underlined that ‘ecological sensitivity is not merely a scientific, but very much a human, concern.’ It argued that modern science must be enriched with the folk ecological knowledge of peasants, artisans, pastoralists, and fisherfolk. It pointed out that ‘excessive centralisation of regulatory control does not, and has not worked well…’. It advocated that the political system ‘strengthen resource and environmental federalism in the Western Ghats, and move towards more polycentric forms of governance, and many centres of decision-making, which will enable more innovative responses, learning, cooperation and better adaptation to ecosystem pressures and changes’.

The Gadgil Report closely examined different sectors of economic activity: agriculture, animal husbandry, forests, fisheries, power, industry, roads, etc. It looked at existing practices in each of these sectors, and how, with the aid both of cutting-edge science and participatory decision-making, they could be made more efficient and sustainable. There was a particularly telling section on mining, which had destroyed forests, degraded soils, polluted the atmosphere, and depleted water sources. Mining had also gravely damaged human health, and thrown farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk out of work.

All across India, unregulated mining runs rampant, with politicians collaborating with contractors to destroy nature and impoverish local communities. Field reports suggest that landslides, soil erosion, and deposits of debris caused by stone quarrying and sand mining had contributed substantially to the intensification of the floods in Kerala.

The Gadgil Report which was commissioned by Jairam Ramesh was junked by the person who succeeded him as environment minister. This minister even sought to have it banned from circulation; fortunately, an upright Information Commissioner made sure the report was uploaded online. In the wake of the recent tragedy, it deserves to be read afresh and widely discussed. For its lessons apply not only to Kerala, but also to Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra, whose own Western Ghats districts have been ravaged in recent decades.

Indeed, the ideas behind the Gadgil Report apply directly to that even more vulnerable mountain system, the Himalaya. Had it not been for deforestation, mining, careless road widening and construction on river banks, the loss of life and property in the 2013 Uttarakhand floods would have not been so substantial. In the Himalayas, as in the Ghats, wise and far-sighted resource use is absolutely imperative. To bring this about, corrupt politicians and greedy contractors must be contested, and checked; by citizens’ action and by scientific knowledge, working hand in hand.

Ramachandra Guha’s books include Gandhi Before India

Source: Hindustan Times, 8/09/2018

How dams can control floods

There should be space for greater storage of water in reservoirs before the onset of monsoon

In the aftermath of any tragedy, people struggle to comprehend what happened and how to cope. Kerala is no different. With the floodwaters finally receding, a number of experts and politicians have stated various possible reasons for the tragedy. Some have cited ill-thought-out development plans that have affected the sustainability of the Western Ghats, arguing that without thoughtful conservation, this was a tragedy waiting to happen. Some have said that the rainfall was unprecedented. Some others have said that Kochi airport was bound to flood given that it has been built on fields and wetlands adjacent to the Periyar river which swelled to dangerous levels during the floods. And some have blamed dams, which were all opened when they were nearly full, causing heavy floods downstream and greatly affecting the lives of the people there. While criticism and suggestions are natural after a tragedy of this magnitude, we should learn lessons from the experience. The question is, how do we avoid or minimise destruction after such an event?

The purpose of dams

The world over, dams are constructed mainly for the purposes of irrigation, power generation, and flood control. While the first two roles are acknowledged, the role of dams in flood control has always been underestimated. It is unfortunate that in both irrigation and hydel projects, flood control is completely ignored. Authorities always look to store the maximum amount of water in reservoirs during the monsoon season, which is then used for irrigation and generation of electricity during the summer months. It is an internationally accepted practice that the water level of a reservoir should be kept below a certain level before the onset of the monsoon season. This is so that when the monsoon rains come, there is space to store the excess rainwater and also so that water can be released in a regulated manner, thus preventing floods downstream when there is heavy inflow to the dams. In May, Thailand, for instance, wisely brought down the water level in the dams in the country to below 60% of the storing capacity before the rainy season.

However, it is unfortunate that the maximum amount of water is stored in reservoirs even before the close of the monsoon, only to ensure greater electricity generation and irrigation. How the reservoir water was managed in the dams prior to the Kerala floods requires no explanation. While earlier too there was no practice of keeping space for greater storage of water, rainfall has never been as torrential as it was this year. Hence, there were no floods either. It is difficult to predict what will happen during the ensuing northeast monsoon in Kerala in case of heavy inflow. Whatever be the extra quantity of electricity produced and area of land irrigated because of the risky storage of water in our dams, that cannot compensate for the loss of human lives, infrastructure and agricultural land. Nor can the agony caused by such destruction be compensated for. The estimated loss to the State runs into thousands of crores. It will take years to rebuild Kerala.

Space in reservoirs

In view of all these problems and to ensure that the flood control purpose of dams is met, it is important that at least 30% of the storage capacity of dams be kept free before the monsoon. While simultaneously allowing discharge of water, it is possible to increase storage slowly as the monsoon progresses. Kerala receives rainfall mainly during the southwest monsoon (June-September) and northeast monsoon (October-November). These rains are controlled by winds that carry clouds from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Atmospheric depression that controls wind movement cannot be predicted months in advance. The meteorological department can predict rains or cyclones only a few days in advance. Therefore, keeping space in reservoirs before the monsoon begins must be done whether or not there are heavy rains, as no State can afford to take risks in the manner that Kerala did.

Some argue against the existence of dams, but it is an irrefutable fact that dams are useful. We need them for irrigation and electricity generation. However, even if the monsoons fail and dams fall short of water and there is a shortfall in electricity generation, this is not a loss compared to the possible loss of lives in the event of a flood of this magnitude.

Ensuring thoughtful policies

It is time for the government and the public to formulate water management policies for reservoirs in such a manner that dams are used to control floods, not cause them. In 2015, hydropower generation was only 16.6% of the world’s total electricity production. The tendency to hold the maximum amount of water in our reservoirs while ignoring the high risk involved in doing so can be attributed to our over-dependence on hydel projects to produce electricity. Therefore, it is time to think of non-conventional sources for electricity generation such as solar, wind and tidal power. The practice of solar power generation in Kochi airport can be copied in similar large-scale projects by other government agencies. The public too should be encouraged to adopt the practice of solar power generation. This will greatly reduce our dependence on dams for power generation.

It is also crucial to follow good reservoir water management policies. At present, the task of dam and water management is vested with the Public Works Department, the Electricity Board, and the Irrigation Department. Even in normal conditions, given contradictory opinions from various departments, it is difficult to implement decisions. Hence, the State Dam Security Authority, if competent, should be entrusted with the task of water management in reservoirs and with taking decisions in emergency situations.

The State government, the State Dam Security Authority and the National Water Commission should all be prepared to take bold decisions together on water management so that there are no such devastating floods in the future. If this happens, we hopefully won’t see another day where we rue decisions of the past that are causing untold suffering to millions in the present.

Mathew Abraham is a Principal Scientist (retired) from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Source: The Hindu, 28/08/2018

After the quake

Bhuj shows that disaster management practice remains technical, instrumental

As the nation celebrated its 68th Republic Day, Gujarat mourned the 16th anniversary of the worst disaster that struck the state on January 26, 2001. Gujarat’s historic earthquake killed over 20,000 people, injuring 1,66,000, destroying nearly 4,00,000 homes. The shock waves spread over 700 km; 21 districts were affected and 6,00,000 people left homeless. While many believed that Gujarat would take years to get back to normal, the massive rehabilitation and reconstruction undertaken brought a resilient Gujarat back from the rubble. Bhuj, epicentre of the earthquake, managed to emerge strong after the disaster.
In fact, the pace of development in Bhuj following the disaster has been unprecedented. The town is now spread over 56 sq km — almost four times its size in 2001. It boasts high-rise apartments, sprawling supermarkets, beauty salons, recreation centres, wide four-lane highways, a modern earthquake-resistant hospital and an operational airport. Aid workers, global experts, journalists, corporates and religious groups of every denomination live in Bhuj today. Development banks and state governments have invested vast sums in infrastructure. Land has become an attractive investment. It is now common to hear Hindi spoken in Bhuj and hotels and cyber cafes complete to win the business of immigrants. If an earlier earthquake in the 19th century is thought to have encouraged many people to leave Kutch and settle overseas, then there is some irony in the fact that the 2001 earthquake brought thousands of people to the In Bhuj’s rebuilding, the Gujarat approach is widely looked at as a model for reconstruction. From the recent post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal in 2015 to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the Gujarat model is widely replicated. Yet, although the model is celebrated, it is vital to highlight certain concerns flattened in the Bhuj plan. Any relief programme needs to be based on proper assessments of needy and vulnerable groups. But the rehabilitation packages announced soon after the Bhuj disaster offered unequal treatment to various categories of earthquake-affected people. Those who’d suffered equally in terms of damages were given unequal amounts of aid. The size of agricultural lands was also adopted as one of the criterias for assistance given. Places nearer the epicentre received higher assistance. Relief provisions also accorded more assistance for completely collapsed houses in urban areas than rural locations. Pre-earthquake house sizes were taken into consideration; that meant richer people were likely to derive larger benefits.
Post-earthquake development was envisaged to attract investment and create a corporate sector. In the process, the informal sector was pushed to less valuable, less visible spaces. Post-disaster development planning also completely ignored the entitlements and rights of the landless. The pro-rich, anti-poor bias of development plans in terms of land use became clear in the imagination of a new Bhuj. The entitlement of land for the urban poor, who perform important functions, is critical by changing such settlements, development snatched away entitlements. Expensive public land in Bhuj has been given to better-off residents; land inhabited by the poor in Rabari was acquired for government offices. To improve public transport, Bhuj roads were widened; this adversely affected hawkers and other occupiers of public space, who were evicted. The 60 per cent population of Bhuj town, who lived in 32 unauthorised pockets outside Kotvistar for over 25 years, did not receive any compensation from the government as they didn’t possess requisite land entitlement (legal claim on the land). Earlier, these residents wanted regularisation of these pockets — but no action was taken. Bheer Bazar, earlier the centre of all commercial activities where artisans and hawkers worked, was dismantled. Similarly, the Waghri community (mainly comprising of Muslim labourers) residing near Dadupeer Road for generations was also driven out, on the pretext of encroachment.
In Bhuj’s relocated villages, the situation isn’t different. Most relocation has been done on agricultural land acquired from other villages. Some villagers either lost land or were relocated far away. The new villages are also larger; this meant expensive infrastructure, again “provided” by the government. But what wasn’t thought of was the lack of village committees’ financial resources to maintain this infrastructure; local village committees had to increase taxes, which many villagers can’t afford. House allocation on the size of land holdings also created new disparities. While NGOs emerged as a significant stakeholder in rehabilitation, local self-governing bodies like panchayats and municipalities were not sufficiently empowered. As Bhuj shows, disaster management practice in the country remains highly technical and instrumental — the current model does not have any effective policy framework to address social exclusion and the marginalisation of the poor. But any discussion on disaster management must address the proper assessment and identification of vulnerable groups. Reconstruction doesn’t mean only rebuilding houses but rebuilding lives, particularly of the weak. That alone leads to real development.

The writer is assistant professor at the department of political science, Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi

 

Source: Indian Express, 26-01-2017

 

Lessons from a disaster

A railway network that caters to about seven billion passenger trips a year poses extraordinary management challenges, the most important of which is to ensure that all journeys end safely. The derailment of the Indore-Patna Express in Kanpur Dehat, with the death toll at least 146, is a stark reminder that India’s strained railway system can be unpredictably risky. The distress of the families of passengers who died and those left injured can never be fully compensated by the announcement of ex-gratia compensation by the Railway Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office and State governments; at the same time, confidence in the system has suffered a severe blow. The Ministry, which has recorded an average of 50 derailments a year over the past four years and a peak of 63, needs to engage in a sustained effort to win back public confidence. There are several elements to safety, of which the integrity of the tracks, signalling, engines and coaches need to be rigorously audited. Internal investigations by the Commissioners of Railway Safety have found human error to be responsible for 70 per cent of serious rail accidents, which underscores the importance of training and adherence to strict operational discipline. In the Patna Express accident, the focus is on whether there were flaws in the track, the speed at which the late-running train was being driven, and the role played by coach design in leading to high fatalities.

Millions of people board a train in India every day. They need an assurance from the Ministry that it is learning from its mistakes. Specialist committees headed by Anil Kakodkar on safety and Bibek Debroy on restructuring have recommended major reforms, such as the creation of a statutory safety authority, speedy replacement of ageing coaches with modern LHB design, and revamped management that keeps its focus on core train operations. In his budget this year, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu promised that all zonal railways would have ultrasound flaw detection machines by March 2017 to test track quality. It is important to know whether such a test was done on the Indore-Kanpur-Patna route. After an accident it is the quality of medical facilities that determines a victim’s chances of survival. Many terrible mishaps occur in rural areas that have no hospital facilities worth the name, no trauma specialists or intensive care. Upgrading district hospitals should be a priority. More immediately, the Railway Ministry should ensure that bureaucratic procedures do not come in the way of victims getting the best treatment and aid.

Source: The Hindu, 22-11-2016

Fury to Friendships: Floods in Assam

Samhita Barooah

Last month I got a frantic call from an old friend in Longleng district of Nagaland asking, “How are the people in Assam coping with floods?”  I said situation is grim but people are battling hard. For us floods have been always a boon in Assam as it leaves alluvial layer of silvery silt which ensures a rich harvest for the season. But such promise of the floods has been broken by sand deposition and excessive land erosion in last few decades of floods in Assam. My own experience of floods is when our old house gets flooded every year during very heavy rains in Guwahati city and I float around to take refuge in another room.  Even though floods used to be rural phenomena, it has become a horrific urban reality in recent years in the context of Assam. Every year people keep aside clothes, food items and any other essentials including cash to donate for the flood affected population in different districts of Assam. Most of the election gimmicks are tried out with the flood affected people in different districts during this time. Most of the communities of Assam in flood prone districts of Dhemaji, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Nalbari, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon and Morigaon have become resilient to coping with floods. Floods affect people differently. These days there is a growing trend of ignoring Assam floods as a national disaster by the national media and national Government authorities across social, television and print media. Floods in other parts of the country have either devastating impact or sudden impact which could be seen during Chennai, Jaipur and Uttarakhand floods. These areas are international tourist destinations and hubs of regional and national politics hence such places getting flooded makes it to the news channels and social media circles. But Rhinos, Buffaloes, Elephants, Deers, Monkeys dying and people living along the fringes of flood plains of Brahmaputra in Kaziranga, Manas, Pobitora, Dibru Saikhowa National Parks in Morigaon, Golaghat, Chirang, Barpeta, Baksa and Tinsukia districts does not bring votes, power and influence so such stories will not feature in National or International media.

In Majuli, people float on high raised bamboo stilts, banana stem rafts and in recent years on elevated platforms in makeshift relief camps but in Assam people do not show their angst, fury and discontents too easily. Resilience, tolerance and coping skills are ingrained into the psyche from a young age which becomes a regional trait during times of distress and disasters. The state has witnessed such diverse range of natural fury like earthquakes, erosion, floods and landslides apart from violent human induced disasters that people have become immune to such wraths in the last few years. It is an irony that such coping mechanisms and restraint is not regarded as human achievements while assessing the impact and outcome of perennial phenomenon like floods. Loss, grief and fury not only come with loss of human life during floods in Assam. It also penetrates into the social, psychological, emotional and cultural practices of the Assamese identity. Loss of implements, hand crated materials, textiles, livestock, fruit bearing trees, herbal plants, memories of common resources like ponds, lakes, wetlands, sandbars, forests, bridges, public and personal spaces can be devastating for any flood affected person in Assam.

Floods have immediate and long term impact of women and children in both rural and urban contexts. Mobility of women gets restricted with the imposition of relief camps and their work gets limited to unpaid care giving work which does not have any cash benefit. Most women gradually turn to door-to-door begging in urban areas of the nearest towns and cities where floods have affected. The post flood condition deteriorates further when children and at times women getting exploited in roadside relief camps. Most of the relief camps on the national highways become the last resort for flood affected families. Children sell fish, herbs, crabs, seasonal fruits in some pockets of flood affected highways. In Dhemaji, Majuli, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Vishwanath out-migration of adult males to IT hubs of India in Bangalore, Chennai, Kerala, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad in low paying security personnel jobs is a result of perennial floods, soil erosion and sand deposition in fertile agricultural lands. In such situations the women become the temporary land and farm custodians without any major earning source. Weaving skills of women become crucial to suffice the survival needs in flood affected areas but such activities hardly have any consistent earning source. Even in relief camps cultural constructs and patriarchy limits women from becoming productive workforce during natural disasters like floods. In Majuli, cooking in relief camps are done by male prayer hall-keepers called namghoriyas but women have to cut vegetables, clean and wash utensils and take care of the children, elders and ailing persons without any monetary remuneration. In Kokrajhar district of Assam also women suffer the brunt of natural disasters where cooked food is served once a day. Mostly women do not claim any remuneration also because it is distress time and they adhere to the socially accepted norms.

While speaking to volunteers, relief workers and community based women leaders in flood affected areas of Assam, most of them shared their personal stories of trials and triumphs. Women activist Rubi Gogoi from Sonari in Sibsagar district of Assam experienced floods in Barpeta, Goalpara, Sonitpur and Morigaon districts through joint collaboration of a local women’s group called North East Network and Oxfam India. She shared about her dilemmas of distributing relief materials to all communities including every affected individual whether they were Muslim migrants or ethnic communities. She struck chords of dissent and instant friendships with the local women and co-workers during such relief work. Even when some of my old students at TISS Guwahati volunteered to go for relief work during the Goalpara floods in 2014, I could notice that students from across India got together to participate in relief work. Even though some students never sat together in the same class but during the floods, they lived together for days and distributed relief materials and supported the most marginalised communities in flood affected areas of Assam. In fact some students collected sanitary napkins from their hostels and went to distribute them in the flood affected areas. Floods in Assam did connect youths from Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and UP and such friendships amongst the young student volunteers and such friendships sowed the seeds of solidarity during the testing times of the state. Jamini Payeng from Majuli, Jorhat expressed her most heart warming experiences during floods. She shared about her association with communities in some of the most neglected pockets of mishing and deori inhabitant areas in Majuli when she shared some relief materials provided by AVARD NE and Oxfam in India in the 1990s. It was the first time that people received food packets, fresh clothes and basic utility kits for each family and sealed properly. There was a sense of dignity and respect for the flood affected communities which were established. She said those people still consider her as their friend in need even though she said that the materials were provided but external agencies. But for those community members, Jamini Payeng became their sole agent of survival during the floods. Even after almost 2 decades, Jamini remembers such friendships which grew during disasters.

Human dignity cannot change with disasters. In recent years, people tend to send discarded and sub-standard materials and food items for the flood affected persons which is inhuman and unfortunate. Natural disasters cannot rob away the self-respect, inherent skills, well-being and the elixir for life for any affected community. The restoration, admiration, acceptance and inclusion of flood affected community lies with those who are not affected by such disaster. These are the very minor nuances of endearing friendships despite the fractured fury of floods in Assam.

Any person willing to support flood affected people in remote pockets of Majuli and other parts of Assam do write to jaminipayeng.majuli@gmail.com.

Samhita Barooah is a Researcher and Travel Writer

Planning the Key to Manage Flooding





The above-normal monsoons, though great news for the agrarian economy , have exposed the near-total absence of planning that has marked India's urbanisation process, and efforts to adapt to flooding of monsoon-fed rivers in rural areas. India cannot join the ranks of the developed nations without learning to manage, and not just cope with, floods.Managing excess water requires proper assessment, planning and appropriate engineering. Monsoon-fed rivers are prone to flooding during the rainy season, therefore planning should focus on how best to utilise the water and allow the surplus to drain away without causing damage. Build irrigation canals that capture the overflow. Do not allow construction that hinders drainage of surplus waters.
Improved river management systems can help regulate water flows, create ear ly warning systems, to prevent damage to life and property. But it is the increased incidence of urban flooding that exposes the absence of planning resulting in mal development. Excess rains are a problem in part because cities and towns are paved, hindering the natural flow of water. This problem is exacerbated by building towns without taking natural hydrology of the area into account. Developments have been allowed without any regard for the carrying capacity , and without the requisite infrastructure of sewage, drainage and roads. Town planners have to be taken seriously .
The incidence of extreme rainfall events is expected to increase with climate change. As the pace of urbanisation picks up, the country needs to build cities and towns that are resilient.Rural India's capacity to handle the extreme weather events too needs to be augmented. Planning works, as Orissa has shown, after the cyclone damage of 1999.
Source: Economic Times, 2-08-2016

SC: Why not treat drought as disaster?
With around 10 states reeling under drought, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre why the natural calamity could not be brought under the Disaster Management Act to release funds for the welfare of affected families.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and N V Ramana mooted the idea after noting that many states had not declared drought. The Centre informed the court that its hands were tied and it could not force states to declare a drought as the matter came within their domain. “Assuming that there is a gross problem in states and people are suffering due to drought, then can the Centre say it cannot intervene and do anything?“ the bench asked.

Additional solicitor general P S Narsimha said there was no statute to regulate declaration of drought.The bench pointed out that drought could be covered under the Disaster Management Act. Narasimha replied that drought was not expressly mentioned in the Disaster Management Act, but it could be covered under loss of crops. The court sought information on the number of people and districts affected by drought, as well as the budgetary allocation for and expenditure of national and state disaster relief funds. The Centre assured the bench that it would place the information before the court on April 19, when the case will be taken up for hearing.

Source: Times of India, 13-04-2016

Google to offer flood alerts for India

Google will make public emergency alerts for floods available in India as part its efforts to make critical information more accessible around natural disasters.

“Users in India can now find ‘flood alerts’ along with ‘river level’ information for more than 170 areas in which the Central Water Commission (CWC) has active observation stations,” Google said in a statement on Tuesday.

These alerts are available on web search, Google Now Cards on the Google app, maps as well as Google Public Alerts homepage, it added.

The alerts will be created and shared using data provided by the CWC, Google said.

“Timely information is the first step in disaster preparedness and has the potential to save thousands of lives lost to natural disasters each year,” Google product manager Payal Patel said.

By making critical information more widely available to people, flood alerts will enable citizens across the country to make quicker and more informed decisions, she added.

In 2015, Google introduced ‘cyclone alerts’, which offers information with details about the hazard, including a map and expected timeline, as well as tips on how to stay safe.

Keywords: Google, flood alerts

Source: The Hindu, 10-02-2016

Northeast must brace themselves and develop a disaster preparedness plan

Will the earthquake (6.7 on the Richter scale) that gave the Northeast and eastern India a strong jolt in the wee hours of Monday wake up the Centre and states and push them to focus more on following a sustainable and resilient pattern of development in the region? Unlikely. To understand why we are not too hopeful, visit the state capitals in the Northeast. Like most cities in ‘mainland’ India, each one of them — the honourable exception is probably Agartala — has pressed the self-destruct button, exemplified by the build-build-build syndrome. The bureaucratic and popular mindset has become so focused on the need to build big pieces of infrastructure (housing, dams, roads etc) that it has destroyed and overburdened these old, once-beautiful cities.

According to analysts from Manipur, the damaged concrete structures in Imphal were government offices and institutions and not private houses owned by government employees, exposing the difference in the execution of construction work by officials and the way they look after their private needs. Across India, infrastructure development is a money-making venture for the bureaucrat-contractor-politician lobby and the Northeast, away from the public glare, is no different. This is increasing the region’s vulnerability to earthquakes because tremors don’t kill people, buildings do. This is not to say developing infrastructure is not important. However, policymakers cannot ignore the natural risks and have to focus on sustainability and pursue resilient urban development. Take for example, Imphal’s famous monument, the Kangla Fort. It was unscathed after the quake, whereas the famous Mother’s Market, which was ‘rebuilt’ by the state government, suffered severe damage. The government needs to explore the reasons why this happened and learn from the traditional techniques that ensured the Fort’s survival.

The experts of the National Institute of Disaster Management , who have warning of a bigger catastrophe in the unstable Himalayan region, correctly says that the DNA of disaster management has to change, the states need to develop a sound building code and policymakers need to understand the threat of a “natural time bomb” and dovetail it into every plan because earthquakes can have huge effects on the local or regional economy. Politicians also need to be aware of the political ramifications of a disaster. Many leaders have lost their reputation and government to such natural phenomena. The time has come for the Northeast to develop a well-drawn up disaster preparedness plan and a mitigation policy.

Source: Hindustan Times, 7-01-2016

90% of disasters weather related: UN report

The five countries hit by the highest number of disasters were the US, China, India, Philippines and Indonesia; Storms were the deadliest.

In the past 20 years, 90 per cent of major disasters around the world were caused by nearly 6,500 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events, UN spokesman has said.

A new UN-backed report, titled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters, found that since 1995, over 600,000 people have died as a result of weather-related disasters with 4.1 billion people injured, left homeless or in need of emergency assistance, Xinhua quoted UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying on Monday.

The five countries hit by the highest number of disasters were the US, China, India, Philippines and Indonesia, said Dujarric.

The report issued by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) notes data gaps, saying that only 35 per cent of records include information about economic losses.

UNISDR estimated that the true figure on disaster losses — including earthquakes and tsunamis — was between $250 billion and $300 billion annually.

According to the report, Asia accounts for the “lion’s share of disaster impacts” including 332,000 deaths and 3.7 billion people affected.

The death toll in Asia included 138,000 deaths caused by Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar in 2008.

The report also highlights that floods accounted for 47 per cent of all weather-related disasters from 1995-2015, affecting 2.3 billion people and killing 157,000.

Storms were the deadliest weather-related disaster, accounting for 242,000 deaths (40 per cent) of the global weather-related deaths, with 89 percent of these deaths occurring in lower-income countries.

Overall, heatwaves accounted for 148,000 of the 164,000 lives lost due to extreme temperatures, with 92 percent of deaths occurring in high-income countries, said the report.

Finally, drought reportedly affects Africa more than any other continent, with 136 events between 1995 and 2015, including 77 droughts in East Africa alone, the report showed.

Keywords: Weather-related disaster, United Nations, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Source: The Hindu, 24-11-2015

PAC Red Flags Serious Gaps in India's Firewall Against Natural Disasters

Nidhi Sharma

New Delhi:





The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has pointed out serious flaws in disaster preparedness in the country and has called for the home ministry and state governments to finalise plans to deal with disasters on a priority basis.The PAC, examining the issue, has taken a grim view of the delay in setting up mandatory institutions for preparing disaster management plans in its final report that would be tabled in the winter session of Parliament, according to sources.
The PAC report points out that the National Plan for Disaster Management, which is already nine years overdue, has still not been finalised and is awaiting approval.
Taking the considerable delay in formation of National Disaster Mitigation Fund seriously, it has asked the home ministry to prepare a Cabinet note at the earliest.
The committee also said the mandatory institutional setup required to monitor states' progress, utilisation of funds, and preparation of disaster management plans has not been put in place.
PAC said that the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the executive committee of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), took seven years to finalise the National Plan on Disaster Management, mainly because of inadequate number of meetings. NEC was constituted in September 2006 and was supposed to meet at least once in three months.However, it met only three times in three years in the beginning.
At state level, too, disaster management plans have not been completed, PAC said in its report. Till 2014, only 20 states had submitted their disaster management plans.
The committee wants the home ministry to urge states to finalise their plans and also expedite the finalisation of the national plan. PAC has expressed “shock“ at the functioning of NDMA and the pace of work at the nodal authority for disaster management. For example, NDMA's second advisory committee, which has experts in the field of disaster management, was initiated in June 2010 but could not be completed till 2014, it said.
PAC has directed MHA to finalise the committee and fill all posts. It has also suggested that timelines be fixed for such projects, especially in key institutions like NDMA.
The committee has also asked the government to include heat waves and manmade disasters like stampedes in the list of disasters.
ET VIEW
Fix This Man Made Disaster
There is something downright unholy about disaster relief being crippled not by any shortage of funds but by funds left unutilised.This shows apathy of disastrous proportions. Any rehabilitation package or relief scheme must come with a progress report that includes fund targets and whether they have reached their destinations. Information technology must be used to track the trajectory of these funds, making it possible to reallocate them transparently. To have relief money rot is a scandal that has to be fixed retrospectively as well as before another natural calamity.

Source: Economic Times, 19-09-2015

SIGH OF RELIEF - Home Min Welcomes NGOs in Disaster Mgmt

Aman Sharma

New Delhi:





Draft guidelines seek to institutionalise, strengthen role of bodies

The home ministry has floated draft guidelines to “institutionalise“ the role of non-governmental organisations or NGOs in disaster management, a move that comes as a sharp contrast to its tough stance on such organisations in general as it cancelled the licence of nearly 1,100 NGOs last month for not filing accounts of their organisations' foreign funding.As per the 65-page guidelines, for which comments were sought from various stakeholders by April 3, the ministry envisages strengthening the “quality, synergy and accountability“ of NGO systems in disaster management. The big idea is to establish a “functional government-NGO platform and taskforce“ during non emergency times to evolve mechanisms for better dialogue and communication among stakeholders.“NGOs have grass-roots presence and strong linkages with the communities, and can readily respond to the needs of the affected community,“ the guidelines say. The government also plans to take the help of NGOs to augment private sector engagement in post disaster situations in distributing relief assistance to the affected communities, which is proposed as part of their corporate social responsibility.
The ministry had in September last year issued notices to 10,331 NGOs asking why their licences should not be cancelled for not filing their returns. The ministry has also been at odds with Greenpeace and had directed the Reserve Bank of India to take prior permission of the ministry's FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) department before clearing any foreign aid to Greenpeace India from Greenpeace International or Climate Works.

Natural disasters will soon cost the world $314 billion annually: UN

In the run up to the third global conference on disaster risk reduction this week, a UN body has released an estimate of how much governments need to set aside to make up for losses caused by natural disasters. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), in a report, has said as much as US $314 billion will have to be spent every year to meet annual average losses from just earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones and river flooding.

The report serves as an alarm for nations as they convene for the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, beginning March 14, at Sendai city in Japan.

With over 8,000 expected delegates, this event will see the launch of a new global Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction that will replace the 10-year Hyogo Framework for Action adopted at a 2005 UN conference in Kobe. At Sendai, countries are expected to announce their commitments on reducing the impact of disasters, which have claimed over 1.3 million lives and cost the global economy at least $2 trillion in the past 20 years.

Small cost for big gains

The report is well-timed and provides a big message—it is high-time the world focuses on managing risks than just managing the number of disasters. 
The report, Making Development Sustainable: The Future of Disaster Risk Management, provides a sober review of the 10 years which have passed since the last world conference on disaster risk reduction at Kobe in Japan when nations adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action, the global guide for disaster risk management.

According to the report estimates, an investment of US $6 billion annually in disaster risk management would result in avoided losses of US $360 billion over the next 15 years (till 2030). It states that this US $6 billion is just 0.1 per cent of total forecast expenditure of US $6 trillion annually on new infrastructure.

While launching the report , UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that “growing global inequality, increasing exposure to natural hazards, rapid urbanization and the overconsumption of energy and natural resources threaten to drive risk to dangerous and unpredictable levels with systemic global impacts.”

Margareta Wahlström, head of UNISDR, said: “The 2015 Global Assessment Report demonstrates clearly that many countries face significant challenges because of their inability to manage the fiscal burden created by large-scale disaster events. She said “700,000 people have died in disaster events over the last ten years. A total of 1.7 billion people have had their lives disrupted in some way. It is of great concern that economic losses in major reported disaster events come to $1.4 trillion.”

Unequally shared burden

Relating the loss of human life years to the global disasters (that were reported), the report reveals that between 1980 and 2012, more than 1.3 billion life years were lost worldwide in internationally reported disasters, making for an annual average of 42 million life years. It is almost equivalent to loss of life years due to TB or malaria. Over 90 per cent of the total life years lost in disasters are spread across low and middle-income countries. The risk is unevenly spread and concentrated in low-income households within the countries.

Disaster risk is, therefore, a challenge that is unevenly spread, says the report and asks developing nations to increase capital investment and social expenditure substantially if they are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals post-2015.

Source: UNISDR Factsheet

India’s GDP most at risk due to floods

The UNISDR report has also pointed to a new analysis of NGO World Resources Institute (WRI), which shows that flood risks affect the “lower and middle-income countries” the most. WRI warns that that the developing world is expected to see more GDP exposed to flood risks in 2030, driven largely by socio-economic change. The socio-economic development is expected to concentrate more people, buildings, infrastructure and other assets in vulnerable regions and such regions are more prone to risks. Top 15 countries in this ranking account for nearly 80 per cent of the total population affected every year and all of these nations fall in the category of least developed or developing.

Three South Asian nations—India, Bangladesh and Pakistan—are most at risk from river floods, with an increasing number of people threatened because of extensive urbanisation and the climate challenges in low-lying regions,  says the study. India, with 4.84 million people at risk due to floods, has by far the most GDP exposed to risks, at $14.3 billion.

Risks of profit-centric globalisation 
Wise investment decisions and planning are undoubtedly critical since the world will need to spend $57 trillion to $67 trillion till 2030 for infrastructure development, as per McKinsey estimates. But the investment decisions rarely take hazard exposure into account, or otherwise they excessively discount disaster risk due to the potential for short-term returns. As competition increases, large flows of profit-centric investment may continue to flow into the developing world, the hazard-exposed areas, leading to further increase in intensive risks.

With foreign investment continuing to flow into countries highly exposed to natural hazards, those which are unable to demonstrate robust resilience may lose an element of their competitiveness, warns the 5th annual Natural Hazards Risk Atlas too, released by Verisk Maplecroft last week. According to the report, more than 50 per cent of cities in the world which are most at risk of natural disasters are located in just four countries—the Philippines, China, Japan and Bangladesh—and three out of these are developing.

Censure for nations

The UNISDR has expressed disappointment over the lack of political will and determination in promoting and integrating disaster risk reduction into development programming, as per the Hyogo Framework of Action, and demands more action from the countries as this framework on disaster risk reduction comes to a close. At the Sendai conference, the member states are like to adopt a new framework that will succeed the Hyogo framework. This new framework will guide how the countries should achieve the policy goal of disaster risk reduction in the coming years.

Eight reasons to act now   Future losses (expected annual losses) from disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and flooding are now reaching an average of US $250 billion to US$300 billion. Future losses (expected annual losses) are now estimated at US $314 billion in the built environment alone. Annual investments of US $6 billion only in appropriate disaster risk management strategies could generate benefits in terms of risk reduction of US $360 billion. Low and middle-income countries are more prone to disaster risks. In the last decade, losses due to extensive risk in 85 countries and territories were equivalent to a total of US $94 billion. Between 1980 and 2012, 42 million life years were lost in internationally reported disasters each year and around 80 per cent of the total life years lost in disasters are spread across low- and middle-income countries. Climate change is and would magnify risks and increase the cost of disasters. Developing world is expected to see more GDP exposed to flood risks in 2030, driven largely by socio-economic change. Whether developed or developing nations, climate change will affect all. By 2030, river floods could affect 2 million more people and climate change is expected to drive 70 percent of this. The governments must now be serious about tackling the underlying drivers of disaster risk—poverty, climate change, poor urban planning and land use, and lack of building codes, which contribute significantly to the creation of risk.

As the nations gather to decide the post-2015 framework—for  disaster risk reduction at Sendai, Sustainable Development Goals at New York and Climate Change at Paris (COP 21),  the UNISDR and WRI analyses have definitely contributed to drawing up the future of disaster risk management. So, there is need to focus on the underlying causes and the drivers of disaster risk—poverty, climate change, poor urban planning, land use, and lack of building codes. And there is a need to re-interpret disaster risk. 

Investing in disaster risk reduction makes a good business sense and demands serious, collaborative action and commitment from government and the private sector.