Chapter - 7
Natural Calamities and Crisis
️ Introduction :-
There is a deep relationship between nature and man. Nature has greatly influenced human life.
The nature which gives us happiness by providing everything, sometimes its formidable form makes us unhappy.
Man has to suffer from time to time due to many natural calamities like subsidence of the earth, sliding of mountains, drought, flood, cloudburst, cyclone, volcanic eruption, earthquake, ocean, storm, tsunami, famine etc.
Change is the law of nature. It is a continuous process.
Some changes are expected and good. So something unexpected and bad happens. Natural disasters have a profound effect on human beings. It is necessary to know about the disadvantages caused by this and the measures to prevent them and the measures to reduce the losses.
️ Disaster :-
Disaster is often an unexpected event, which is caused by such forces, which are not under human control. It occurs in a short time and without warning, due to which the activities of human life are blocked and there is loss of life and property on a large scale.
Difference between natural disaster and crisis :-
There is very little difference between a natural disaster and a crisis. They have a deep relationship with each other. Nevertheless, it is necessary to clarify the difference between them.
Natural hazards are those elements of the situation in the environment in which there is a possibility of harm to public and money. Whereas disasters cause large-scale loss of life and wealth and the social and economic system comes to a standstill.
️ Classification of Natural Disasters :-
Natural disasters are classified on the basis of their origin. like ;
Atmospheric: - Thunderstorms, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, droughts, frosts etc.
Earthquake : Earthquake, volcano, landslide, soil erosion etc.
Aquatic:- Flood, tsunami, tide, ocean currents, storm etc and
Biological: Locust insects, pharyngeal fungi, bacterial, viral infections, bird flu, dengue etc. as colonizers of plants and animals.
️ In which situation development work can become a cause of disaster?
Development works in crisis prone areas can cause disaster. This happens in the case when the development work is carried out regardless of the environmental situation.
For example, a dam is built to control the flood so that the flood water cannot do more damage, but after some time, epidemics start spreading due to that stagnant water, that is why we can say that often development work is the cause of disaster. become.
️ Status of disaster prevention and management :-
Before the disaster:- Collecting data and information about the disaster, preparing a map of the disaster prone areas and giving information to the people about it.
At the time of disaster: - To do rescue and relief work on war footing. Evacuation of victims from disaster affected areas, sending them to relief camps, providing water and medical facilities.
After the disaster:- To arrange for the rehabilitation of the disaster affected people.
️ Cyclonic Disaster :-
Cyclone: - A cyclone is an area of low air pressure that is surrounded by high pressure from all sides. The wind blows from all sides towards the low pressure area of the cyclone. In a cyclonic disaster, rainfall is 50-100 cm more than normal, along with the circulation of strong winds.
️ Devastating effects of cyclonic disaster :-
The size of cyclones is small and due to the high pressure gradient, the air moves very fast. Therefore, there is a huge loss of life and property due to this. Thousands of people die.
Trees, electric and telephone poles are uprooted and buildings collapse or become dilapidated. These cyclones cause heavy rainfall. Due to which the situation of flood arises. Cyclones in the sea cause high waves, which threatens the lives of fishermen and sailors and the residents of the coastal areas have to suffer heavy loss of life and property.
️ Drought :-
Drought :- Drought is the amount of less than normal rainfall in a particular area, at a particular time.
️ Types of Drought :-
It has the following four types.
Meteorological Drought: It is a condition in which there is insufficient rainfall for a long period of time. ( lack of rain )
Agricultural Drought :- It is also called soil moisture drought. When crops are destroyed due to lack of water, it is called agricultural drought. (insufficient monsoon)
Hydrological Drought: - When the water level in surface and underground water bodies falls below a limit and there is no water supply even by rain, then it is called hydrological drought. (overexploitation of ground and surface water)
Ecological Drought:- When the lack of water in the natural ecosystem reduces productivity and creates stress in the environment, it is called ecological drought . (water level event)
️ Measures to prevent drought :-
To provide immediate services to the people such as distribution of safe drinking water, medicines, fodder for animals, food for persons and providing them a safe place.
Exploring ground water reserves for which the help of Geographic Information System can be taken.
To collect and store rain water and encourage people for this and construction of small dams on rivers.
Connecting the areas of high water with the help of river system with the areas of low water.
Drought can be got rid of to a great extent by increasing the forest area by plantation.
Earthquake: -
Earthquake is the movement on the earth's crust that causes the earth to move and the land to move back and forth. In fact, when the upper part of the earth's surface suddenly trembles as a result of any movement inside the earth, it is called an earthquake.
️ Cause of Earthquake :-
Earthquake is considered to be a catastrophic disaster. This often leads to crisis situations.
Earthquakes are mainly caused by tectonic movements, volcanic eruptions, breaking and sliding of rocks, subsidence of mines, accumulation of water in the reservoir. Earthquakes arising from tectonic movements are the most destructive. It can be understood through this picture.
️ Consequences of Earthquakes :-
The damage caused by earthquakes can be understood with the help of the following points.
- There is heavy loss of life and property.
- There may be landslides.
- There may be fire.
- Flooding can occur due to breach of embankments and dams.
- Big cataclysmic waves (tsunami) can come in the seas and oceans.
Measures to reduce the damage caused by earthquake :-
To provide timely information to the people in earthquake prone areas by establishing earthquake control centres.
Preparing vulnerability maps and reporting potential risks to the public and educating them about mitigating its impact.
To improve the type of houses and the design of buildings in the earthquake affected areas. To make them earthquake resistant.
Prohibiting the construction of high-rise buildings in earthquake-prone areas, not promoting large industrial establishments and urbanization.
Building earthquake resistant buildings in earthquake prone areas and use of lightweight construction materials in vulnerable areas.
Why do more earthquakes occur in the Himalayas and North-Eastern regions?
The Himalayas are a newly folded mountain, the process of which is still going on. The situation of land balance has not yet arisen in the Himalayan region. The Indian plate is constantly moving towards the north, due to which earthquakes often occur in this region and seismic movements keep happening.
️ Due to Tsunami :-
Tsunamis are caused by events such as earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions in the ocean.
️ Tsunami Effect :-
Tsunami is a great threat to the residents of the coastal areas. The tsunami strikes the beach with immense force in the form of huge waves and strikes like a "bomb of water" without warning. It demolishes houses.
Takes away villages. It uproots trees and electric poles, drags boats away from shore and finally drags thousands of helpless victims into the sea on their way back. The effect of tsunami is very destructive.
Why does India have floods?
During the rainy season, the water level of rivers suddenly rises. Then it breaks through the embankments of the river and spreads in the form of floods in human settlements, fields and low-lying areas of the surrounding land. Apart from heavy rainfall, tropical cyclone dam break and natural causes, some unwanted activities of human are also helpful in bringing floods.
️ Flood prone areas in India :-
The states of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar are the most flood affected areas. Apart from this, most of the rivers of North India bring floods especially in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Flash floods occur in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab.
️ Measures to prevent flood :-
Building embankments of rivers in flood prone areas, building dams on rivers, banning construction work in the upper catchment area of flooded rivers.
Settlement of people living on the banks of rivers, to control the settlement of population in the flood plains.
By setting up cyclone information centers in the coastal areas, the impact of the damage caused by the storm can be reduced by disseminating information about the arrival of the storm.
How are the floods of western India different from the floods of eastern India?
In the eastern part of India, there are areas like Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. Big rivers flow in these areas like Brahmaputra, Hooghly, Damodar, Kosi, Tista and Torsa etc.
Almost every year there are floods in them, due to which the local residents are well aware of the destructive effect of these rivers. But except for a few rivers in western India, most
These are seasonal rivers, due to low slope and excessive rainfall, due to neglect of measures taken to prevent floods, whenever there is a flood in western India, it has to suffer more damage.
️ Landslide vulnerability area in India :-
Highly Vulnerable Area: - Under this region, the young mountain ranges of Himalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Western Ghats and Nilgiri areas with high rainfall and steep slopes, North-Eastern states, areas with excessive human activities (especially road construction and dam construction).
High Vulnerability Zone:- The geographical conditions in these areas are similar to the conditions of the highly vulnerable areas. The only difference is that the intensity and frequency of landslides is less in these areas. These regions include all the states of the Himalayan region and the north-eastern part (except Assam).
Moderate and low vulnerability areas:- This region includes Ladakh, Spiti, Aravalli hills, rain shadow areas of Eastern and Western Ghats, Deccan plateau. Apart from this, landslides occur in the mine areas of Middle East India.
️ Measures to prevent landslides :-
- Road and dam construction works should be stopped in landslide affected and prone areas.
- To encourage permanent and step-up agriculture rather than shifting agriculture.
- To carry out agricultural activities on slow slopes rather than on steep slopes.
- Restricting deforestation and planting new trees.
️ Disaster Management Act :-
Disaster Management A disaster is a catastrophe, accident, crisis or serious event occurring in an area, which may be the result of natural or human causes or negligence, causing large-scale damage to life and property, human suffering and loss of environment.
️ Stages of Disaster Prevention and Management :-
To collect data and information related to the disaster before the disaster, to prepare the map of the disaster prone areas, to make people aware about it, to prepare the disaster plan, to take preventive measures.
To help people in disaster-prone areas at the time of disaster, evacuating or arranging for stranded people, construction of ashram sites, arrangement of relief camps, supply of water, food and medicines.
Post-disaster: To make arrangements for the rehabilitation of the affected people, focusing on capacity building to deal with future disasters.
