Analysis | Kerala yet to get its basics right on tackling natural disasters
3 years, 2 months ago

Analysis | Kerala yet to get its basics right on tackling natural disasters

The Hindu  

Kerala, it appears, has failed to take a leaf out of the two back-to-back floods it had in 2018 and 2019 and the landslides which left a trail of destruction. As it once again reels under the fury of nature, disaster management experts feel the State has not got its basics right when it comes to vulnerability mapping and mitigation measures. The major lacunae in terms of disaster preparedness, according to S. Sreekumar, former director of the Integrated Rural Technology Centre and member of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, is the delay in updating the landslide hazard zonation mapping, promised after the landslides during 2018 and 2019. K. G. Thara, former member, State Disaster Management Authority, and head of the Institute of Land and Disaster Management, too suggests updating the maps at even 1: 2000 scale in high-risk areas so that effective mitigation plans could be drawn up. Green signal The disaster management activities initiated before, during and after an event shall set itself into motion action than waiting for the green signal from a centralised authority.

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History of this topic

Kerala cites need for building climate resilience through ‘anticipatory measures’ in seeking ₹4,500 crore in 2025-26 Union Budget
3 days, 4 hours ago

Kerala cites need for building climate resilience through ‘anticipatory measures’ in seeking ₹4,500 crore in 2025-26 Union Budget

The Hindu  

In seeking ₹4,500 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26 for building climate resilience, Kerala has drawn attention to a “significant economic burden” on account of climate-related disasters and the need to build resilience through “anticipatory measures.” Initiatives planned by the Kerala State Climate Change Adaptation Mission for focussed resilience-building will require an “initial finance requirement” of ₹22,500 crore between 2025 …

AP: Anitha opens Disaster Management training seminar
1 week ago

AP: Anitha opens Disaster Management training seminar

Deccan Chronicle  

Vijayawada: Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha has said the Andhra Pradesh government is well-equipped to tackle any disaster under the leadership of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. She stated this during the inauguration of a three-day training seminar on disaster risk reduction at the National Institute of Disaster Management campus in Gannavaram on Monday. The minister said, “The government has sufficient funds …

Centre says no provision to declare Wayanad landslides as national disaster
1 month, 1 week ago

Centre says no provision to declare Wayanad landslides as national disaster

New Indian Express  

KOCHI: There is no provision to declare any calamity as ‘national disaster’, the Union government has informed Kerala government in response to its plea to declare the July 30 landslides in Wayanad that left over 400 dead, as one. The Centre’s response drew flak from political parties, with Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary and the party’s Wayanad Lok Sabha …

Revamping Disaster Management Architecture: A Roadmap for India's Resilience
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Revamping Disaster Management Architecture: A Roadmap for India's Resilience

The Hindu  

The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to revamp the disaster management architecture in India by empowering state and central government authorities to prepare disaster management plans at their respective levels. It also provides for the creation of urban disaster management authorities in State capitals and cities with municipal corporations, empowering them to take the lead in disaster management. The …

High-Level Committee to Decide on Wayanad Landslide Categorization
1 month, 3 weeks ago

High-Level Committee to Decide on Wayanad Landslide Categorization

Live Law  

The Kerala High Court will decide on the categorization of the Wayanad landslide in two weeks. The High-Level Committee will review the arguments presented by the Additional Solicitor General and the Amicus Curiae. The committee will also consider a parametric insurance scheme to provide quick relief to the affected communities.

Wayanad: Decentralisation in disaster management
3 months ago

Wayanad: Decentralisation in disaster management

Hindustan Times  

The news and the images from the landslides in Wayanad district in Kerala depicting horrific losses prompt us to revisit the disaster management and governance of areas vulnerable to natural disasters. The14th State Plan based on the working group report on disaster management mentions ‘The scientific analysis has also brought out that there is a knowledge gap, a lack of …

Mitigate loss of property and life in natural disasters: Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha
3 months, 1 week ago

Mitigate loss of property and life in natural disasters: Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha

New Indian Express  

VISAKHAPATNAM: Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha has called for increased vigilance to manage natural disasters effectively. During a video conference held from the Visakhapatnam Collectorate on Tuesday, the Minister reviewed the impact of recent heavy rains and the relief efforts carried out in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Anakapalle, Alluri Sitharama Raju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts. The Minister urged the formation of disaster …

Some Wayanad landslides-hit areas may be out of bounds forever; survivors pin hope on govt help
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Some Wayanad landslides-hit areas may be out of bounds forever; survivors pin hope on govt help

Hindustan Times  

Wayanad/Thiruvananthapuram, Some of the landslides-affected areas of the Wayanad district may be declared permanent "no habitation" zones following the large devastation caused to their topography, Kerala government authorities fear. Some Wayanad landslides-hit areas may be out of bounds forever; survivors pin hope on govt help The aftermath of the July 30 disaster has left many survivors traumatised, with many not …

Kerala Weather Update: IMD’s Predicts that Kerala will likely receive widespread rains in the next 72 hours
4 months, 1 week ago

Kerala Weather Update: IMD’s Predicts that Kerala will likely receive widespread rains in the next 72 hours

The Hindu  

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday put 14 districts in the State on red/orange alert given the India Meteorological Department’s forecast that Kerala will likely receive widespread rains, including isolated heavy showers, in the next 72 hours. Mr. Vijayan said a LIDAR survey team from National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal will create a three-dimensional model of the disaster …

I’ll show you who’s boss: Mother Nature
4 months, 2 weeks ago

I’ll show you who’s boss: Mother Nature

Deccan Chronicle  

The natural disaster was not just an isolated event, but a stark reminder of the fragile balance between human development and the environment. Dr. Madhav Gadgil, an ecologist and the chair of the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel, has repeatedly cautioned that disrupting natural drainage systems makes regions like Wayanad more vulnerable to flooding and landslides. We’ve ignored the warnings …

Wayanad landslides: Kerala CM stresses need to contemporise weather prediction mechanisms
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Wayanad landslides: Kerala CM stresses need to contemporise weather prediction mechanisms

The Hindu  

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stressed the need to make weather prediction models more contemporary, location-specific, and accurate so that disaster mitigation measures can kick in early to save lives. Mr. Vijayan’s comment assumed political significance against the backdrop of the brewing controversy over whether India Meteorological Department, Central Water Commission and Geological Survey of India had adequately warned …

Wayanad landslides | Despite inadequate warnings, government had taken precautions, says M.B. Rajesh
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Wayanad landslides | Despite inadequate warnings, government had taken precautions, says M.B. Rajesh

The Hindu  

Although there was no warning indicating the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall in Wayanad on June 29, the Meppady panchayat had indeed evacuated some 150 people to safety before two massive landslides wreaked havoc in the region, according to M.B. Mr. Rajesh said the entire state machinery swung into action immediately after news broke of the heart-breaking tragedy, with the …

Kerala can claim compensation under UN convention for people hit by extreme weather events, says ecologist
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Kerala can claim compensation under UN convention for people hit by extreme weather events, says ecologist

The Hindu  

Kerala can claim compensation from a United Nations climate fund for people affected by events like the massive landslide in Wayanad triggered by an extreme weather event caused by climate change. Dr. Faizi told The Hindu on Wednesday that at the 27the meeting of the Conference Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change in Egypt in 2022, an agreement …

Opposition urge Centre to declare Wayanad landslides a ‘national disaster’
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Opposition urge Centre to declare Wayanad landslides a ‘national disaster’

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The opposition leaders in the Rajya Sabha slammed the Centre for a failed Early Warning System for floods in Kerala’s Wayanad, even as many expressed concerns over the incident that struck the southern Indian state. “I, however, urge the Union government not to get the Kerala government to pay for these services like we had to pay during …

More disasters can be expected in these areas, says top ecologist
4 months, 3 weeks ago

More disasters can be expected in these areas, says top ecologist

Hindustan Times  

Kerala’s Wayanad region can expect more such disasters in coming years in eco-sensitive areas identified by the Madhav Gadgil chaired Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel if a cautious approach is not taken on which activities can be permitted, the veteran ecologist said on Tuesday. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel has designated the entire Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive …

Kerala’s Wayanad Landslide: Wayanad disaster man-made, says Madhav Gadgil, blames Kerala government for ignoring ecological recommendations
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Kerala’s Wayanad Landslide: Wayanad disaster man-made, says Madhav Gadgil, blames Kerala government for ignoring ecological recommendations

The Hindu  

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who was the chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, has termed the disaster in Wayanad a man-made tragedy, attributing it to the Kerala government’s failure to implement crucial ecological recommendations. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Gadgil criticised the State government for not adhering to the panel’s guidelines designed to prevent such disasters amid extreme climate …

Why India needs a professional approach to disaster management
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Why India needs a professional approach to disaster management

Firstpost  

Public knowledge of the entire phenomenon of disasters is abysmal in most of the world, and more so in India, where less informed citizens tend to take this as something inevitable Disasters have always been a part of life progression and were, in earlier years, taken in stride as something inevitable; in many cases, they were simply divine intervention. In …

Create a force in India that is first in the field of disaster management in the entire country, says Amit Shah
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Create a force in India that is first in the field of disaster management in the entire country, says Amit Shah

The Hindu  

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said dangers like avalanches, landslides, floods, and storms are going to increase everywhere in the future due to climate change. The Union Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has left no stone unturned and never looked at the budget for the development of the NDRF, training and providing modern resources to the …

Unpredictable weather in Kerala affecting disaster-readiness
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Unpredictable weather in Kerala affecting disaster-readiness

New Indian Express  

KOCHI: The unpredictable nature of the weather forecast is posing significant challenges to disaster preparedness in the state. After the onset of monsoon on Thursday, the warning alerts are rapidly changing leaving the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and district administrations grappling with swift changes to take necessary actions. After the onset of the monsoon in Kerala on May 30, …

Kerala declares man-wild conflicts a ‘disaster’
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Kerala declares man-wild conflicts a ‘disaster’

Hindustan Times  

The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday decided to declare human-wildlife conflict as a ‘state-specific disaster’ in the wake of recent spurt in human fatalities in wild animal attacks and announced several measures to mitigate the issue. A note from the office of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the cabinet decided to involve the state disaster management authority in coordination with other …

Braving Michaung: NDRF’s Relentless Journey in Emergency Response
1 year ago

Braving Michaung: NDRF’s Relentless Journey in Emergency Response

News 18  

As Cyclone Michaung wreaks havoc in the eastern coast of India, the NDRF is engaged in the difficult task of bringing relief to the areas hit by heavy rainfall and powerful winds. Over 29 National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry for over a week now to conduct relief and rescue …

When disaster strikes, does urban planning help?
1 year ago

When disaster strikes, does urban planning help?

The Hindu  

The accelerating pace of urbanisation worldwide has led to the proliferation of sprawling cities and megacities. Lack of disaster-resilient housing Housing is a fundamental aspect of urban development, and the type of housing stock prevalent in a city can determine its resilience to disasters. In urban development, a reasonable approach mandates the preservation of natural lakes and water bodies, integrating …

Drawing the line: On information and risks underlying infrastructure development in Uttarakhand
1 year, 2 months ago

Drawing the line: On information and risks underlying infrastructure development in Uttarakhand

The Hindu  

The year began on a calamitous note with reports that the temple town of Joshimath in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand was ‘sinking’ and that cracks had appeared on residential and commercial structures. To address all these, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority had commissioned eight reputed institutions to study the land-subsidence phenomenon from multiple angles. Surprisingly, it banned the …

2018, India's Official Oscars Entry, A Grim Reminder of Kerala Floods
1 year, 2 months ago

2018, India's Official Oscars Entry, A Grim Reminder of Kerala Floods

News 18  

India on Wednesday announced survival drama 2018 as the official entry for the 2024 Academy Awards, officially acknowledging the Malayalam film’s status as both a critical and box office hit. The film, starring Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain and Lal and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, is based on the devastating floods in Kerala in 2018 …

Explained | How a changing monsoon is challenging forecasters and disaster managers
1 year, 4 months ago

Explained | How a changing monsoon is challenging forecasters and disaster managers

The Hindu  

The story so far: With a delayed start for the southwest monsoon, which wreaked havoc in parts of the country when it finally arrived, discussions are rife on whether India will continue to see erratic monsoons in future as well. “The onset of monsoon itself is showing a lot a changes, mainly due to the warming of Arabian Sea and …

States demand that lightning be declared a natural disaster
1 year, 9 months ago

States demand that lightning be declared a natural disaster

The Hindu  

A few States have demanded that “lightning” be declared as a “natural disaster” because deaths caused by it surpass any other disaster in the country, National Disaster Management Authority member secretary Kamal Kishore said on March 11. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, India Meteorological Department, said around 2,500 people died every year due to lightning. Bihar’s Disaster Management Minister Shahnawaz Alam …

Joshimath land subsidence to be discussed at national disaster risk reduction conference
1 year, 9 months ago

Joshimath land subsidence to be discussed at national disaster risk reduction conference

The Hindu  

The land subsidence in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath that displaced many people, and the role of the National Disaster Response Force after the Turkey earthquake, will be among the many disaster-related topics that will be discussed at the third session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference to be held in Delhi from March 10-11. The session is aligned with …

Kochi city to get ₹20 crore for preparing drainage master plan
2 years, 1 month ago

Kochi city to get ₹20 crore for preparing drainage master plan

The Hindu  

Kochi city will get ₹20 crore for preparing a drainage master plan. The Kochi Mayor, with the support of the State government, had sought the backing of the Dutch Embassy for assessing the impact of climate change in the city. The Embassy had deputed its Special Water Envoy to the city for a primary evaluation of the situation, said a …

A Morbi-scale disaster is completely avoidable
2 years, 1 month ago

A Morbi-scale disaster is completely avoidable

The Hindu  

The disaster that struck a bridge across the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi killing at least 140 people, including several children, poses once again the enduring question: do governments learn from such catastrophic events? The framework aims for the “substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental …

Odisha to prepare disaster management warriors to face calamities: CM Patnaik
2 years, 1 month ago

Odisha to prepare disaster management warriors to face calamities: CM Patnaik

The Hindu  

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on October 29 said the State is all set to introduce disaster and pandemic management curricula in schools and colleges to prepare Disaster Management Yodhas in every village and household. Noting that the State Government has done everything possible to make Odisha a safer place during natural calamities, Mr. Patnaik said during 23 years since …

Natural disasters are no longer aberrations in Kerala
2 years, 4 months ago

Natural disasters are no longer aberrations in Kerala

The Hindu  

The first week of August, yet again, saw Kerala battling natural disasters on an almost State-wide scale. Ever since Cyclone Ockhi in 2017, when Kerala was rudely awakened to the reality of natural disasters and the ever-looming spectre of climate change and its grim consequences, such arrangements appear to have become an annual affair for the State, often dubbed ‘God’s …

Monsoon alert
2 years, 6 months ago

Monsoon alert

The Hindu  

Come June, the headquarters of the Idukki district administration turns into a hive of activity. With yet another southwest monsoon making its annual date with the State, officials such as Ms. George are spending long hours working on disaster preparedness programmes to deal with the vagaries of nature. “We are all geared up for the monsoon season and have put …

Disaster management: How India is improving its existing capabilities
2 years, 11 months ago

Disaster management: How India is improving its existing capabilities

Hindustan Times  

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States initiative at the Glasgow climate conference, he was drawing the world’s attention to the urgent need of finding new, smarter, and more effective ways of managing disasters. International cooperation in disaster management is, therefore, critical to India for the effective handling of disasters within its borders as well …

Andhra Pradesh to adopt Flood Risk Management to reduce losses in future
3 years ago

Andhra Pradesh to adopt Flood Risk Management to reduce losses in future

Deccan Chronicle  

Visakhapatnam: RMSI Pvt Ltd which works with National Disaster Management Authority, has suggested a detailed flood risk assessment in Andhra Pradesh to identify flood hot spots in order to minimise losses due to natural calamities like recent one in November that created havoc across the south coastal AP and Rayalaseema. The government should plan temporary mitigation options around these hotspots …

Uttarakhand floods: Easy to point finger at climate change, but humanity is equally to blame
3 years, 2 months ago

Uttarakhand floods: Easy to point finger at climate change, but humanity is equally to blame

Firstpost  

It’s easy to blame climate change and lack of collective global action for increasing intensity and frequency of disasters, but what about the manner in which the region’s topography has been unashamedly smashed in recent years? Since then, the government has changed, the Disaster Management Act of 2005 has been uploaded on the State Disaster Management Authority’s website as a …

Kerala floods: The impact of the climate crisis on India’s vulnerable ecology
3 years, 2 months ago

Kerala floods: The impact of the climate crisis on India’s vulnerable ecology

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: Kerala saw three devastating floods in four years that together killed at least 600 people and wiped out entire habitations, drawing the world’s attention to how the climate crisis is impacting ecologically vulnerable parts of India. On October 14, the India Meteorological Department warned that two low-pressure areas — one over east-central and the adjoining southeast Arabian Sea, …

Interview | Even after several flood disasters in Kerala, politicians’ mindset has not changed towards developmental projects, says geoscientist
3 years, 2 months ago

Interview | Even after several flood disasters in Kerala, politicians’ mindset has not changed towards developmental projects, says geoscientist

The Hindu  

“The mindset of politicians in their approach to development projects has not changed even after several flood disasters in the recent past in Kerala,” says C. P. Rajendran, geoscientist and Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, in an e-mail interview to The Hindu as the State continues to reel under the effects of flood and rain havoc. Even …

Kerala Floods: 25 Dead, CM Vijayan Urges for ‘Extreme Caution’; Heavy Downpour Likely Again from Oct 20
3 years, 2 months ago

Kerala Floods: 25 Dead, CM Vijayan Urges for ‘Extreme Caution’; Heavy Downpour Likely Again from Oct 20

News 18  

As many as 25 people died in Kerala as floods, triggered by heavy rains and landslides in hilly areas of several districts, wreaked havoc in the state. IN PICS | Kerala Floods: Rescuers Continue Search Operation; See Photos State Revenue Minister K. Rajan had earlier said rescue workers had recovered bodies from the debris and slush of the landslides that …

Kerala flood latest updates: Over 25 dead due to heavy rains; Idduki, Kottayam worst hit
3 years, 2 months ago

Kerala flood latest updates: Over 25 dead due to heavy rains; Idduki, Kottayam worst hit

Hindustan Times  

Rainfall in Kerala continued to disrupt normal life in the southern state on Sunday, with as many as 21 people losing their lives to rain-related incidents so far and dozens of others missing after flash floods and landslides in multiple regions. The rainfall situation has also partially subsided in central Kerala but the threat of landslides and severe waterlogging across …

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2021: Government plans and policies to improve disaster risk reduction
3 years, 2 months ago

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2021: Government plans and policies to improve disaster risk reduction

Firstpost  

The National Disaster Management Plan, the National Policy on Disaster Management, National Action Plan on Climate Change and the Disaster Management Act are just some of the measures adopted by the government to mitigate the destruction in face of a disaster Every year on 13 October, International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed across the world. Here are a …

Exploring the gap between policy and action in disaster risk reduction
3 years, 4 months ago

Exploring the gap between policy and action in disaster risk reduction

Hindustan Times  

The transition from a response-based paradigm to an anticipative, prevention-based approach remains a stubborn challenge in Disaster Risk Reduction. International policy guidelines have successfully informed the national DRR policies in various countries; however, their further translation down to the regional and local level is full of complex political challenges, exacerbated in many areas by an increased frequency of disasters. Through …

Storm warnings: The Hindu Editorial on weather forecast
4 years ago

Storm warnings: The Hindu Editorial on weather forecast

The Hindu  

Cyclone Nivar raised fears of another epic disaster for millions of coastal residents in the south, but its passage overland near Puducherry early on November 26 was less destructive than anticipated. The reported loss of at least three lives is a relatively low toll for such a large-scale weather system, although property and agriculture have suffered considerable damage from the …

India Taking Lead Role to Bolster Cooperation Among South Asian Nations to Reduce Disasters: MoS MEA
4 years, 2 months ago

India Taking Lead Role to Bolster Cooperation Among South Asian Nations to Reduce Disasters: MoS MEA

News 18  

With multi-dimensional initiatives and expertise, India is taking a leading role in strengthening regional cooperation among South Asian countries for reducing disasters, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Tuesday. He also said the Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure formed last year will conduct country-specific and global activities, and also serve as a platform for facilitating investment …

Living with the earth in Kerala
4 years, 3 months ago

Living with the earth in Kerala

The Hindu  

Natural disasters have by now come to be accepted as a feature of the annual monsoon season in Kerala. With consumption defined broadly to include land use, it is apparent that the conservation of the State’s natural resources is crucially dependent upon a restraint on consumption. This response cannot end with minimising one’s own consumption but must extend to calling …

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