REGIONAL DISASTER PROFILE OF INDIA
North India comprising the Himalayan mountainous region and the Indo-
Gangetic plains ahs highly variable topography with some of the tallest
mountains and perennial rivers. Its northern most boundary also happens to
be the zone of collision of two major tectonic plates, viz. the Indian plate
and the Asian plate. The area also has many geological faults. North India is
also characterized by spells of hot, cold and rainy weather and attributes can
vary within wide limits creating unusual situations. As a result of these
characteristics geographical, climatic, and geological features, North Indian
states (J&K, HP, Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Delhi, UP, Bihar) are visited
by natural disasters in the form of earthquakes, landslides, avalanches,
floods, droughts, heat and cold waves.
The location and climate of East and North East India (WB, Sikkim, Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagal and Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram) are
such that these states are visited by earthquakes, landslides, floods, and
droughts. West Bengal can be affected by cyclones also.
• The central parts of the country (Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, M.P, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa)
have a highly variable rainfall regime, both in time and
space. Therefore, floods and droughts are major disasters in
the area. Orissa and Gujarat suffer heavily from cyclones.
Goa and Maharashtra suffer from very heavy rain fury. Orissa
has also suffered from heat waves in recent years.
• The peninsular India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, and Kerala) suffer mainly from cyclones, floods and
droughts. While Kerala escapes the fury of cyclones, it suffers
from earthquakes and landslides in addition to floods and
droughts. The Telangana and Rayalaseema area of Andhra
Pradesh are highly rain-deficient areas and therefore suffer
drought conditions often
• Among the Island groups, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands are vulnerable to earthquakes, heavy rains
and occasionally cyclones. Andaman Islands also
have two sleeping volcanoes i.e. Narcondam and
Barren Island (as already discussed in this paper).
• The Lakshadweep Islands are coral islands and
therefore are only a few centimeters above the sea
level. They could be threatened in case of
significant sea level rise due to the global warming.
This could threaten some of the India‟s biggest
cities like Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai, which are
commercial hubs.
SEASONAL DISASTER PROFILE OF INDIA
• India experiences four distinct seasons form
climatic point of view. These are:
• Winter season (December, January &
February)
• Pre-monsoon or Hot weather season (March,
April and May)
• Monsoon season (June to September)
• Post-monsoon season (October, November)
• Winter season (December, January & February)
During these months, Himalayan range receive
copious amounts of rain and snow and the weather
phenomenon known as “western disturbances”
also brings in strong winds with rain, which at time
can be heavy.
• Hence, the mountainous areas of north India are
prone to snow avalanches and landslides. In the
aftermath of rainy spells in this cold season, one or
two spells of cold waves occur usually. Heavy fog
creates aviation hazard, and hail damages crops
and orchards in the plains of north India.
• Pre-monsoon or Hot weather season (March, April
and May)
• Cyclones take shape over the Bay of Bengal and the
Arabian Sea and move westward or northwestward.
Thus the eastern coast is more vulnerable to
cyclones and accompanying storm surges.
• The cyclones that generate in the Arabian Sea move
west or northwestwards, thus sparing the west coast
but pose serious risk to the oil exploration outfits in
the Arabian Sea. If a cyclone recurves, it affects
Gujarat adversely and gives considerable rains in
Rajasthan as well and creates floods sometimes.
• Monsoon season (June to September)
• This is the flood season for the entire country
and floods occur wherever monsoon becomes
more active. Conversely, the areas where the
monsoon remains weak, suffer from drought in
this season.
• Landslides are a common feature in the hilly
areas of Himalayas from J&K to the
northeastern States. Landslides also occur in
the Western Ghats and in the hilly areas of
Kerala in this season.
• Post-monsoon season (October, November)
• This is again a cyclone season when cyclones
generate in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and
move west or northeastwards in the same general
fashion as in the pre-monsoon season.
• But the cyclonic activity is usually more pronounced
in this post monsoon season as compared to that in
the pre-monsoon season.
• This is also the season when the southern states of
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala
receive considerable rainfall from the northeast
monsoon, and are therefore vulnerable to the threat
of floods.
