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2.0 Environmental Disasters

Environmental degradation plays a critical role in triggering some disasters, and in making others worse. Countries that face severe deforestation, erosion, overcultivation and over-grazing of marginal lands are hit hardest by catastrophes. For example, deforestation results in an increased concentration of surface runoff and hence flooding, and destabilised slopes can result in devastating landslides. The incidence of natural disasters such as storms and floods is increasing in frequency and magnitude. Some of these phenomenon - particularly floods - are being exacerbated or triggered by human degradation of the environment and disturbance of formerly stable ecosystems. The summer of 1998 saw two major examples of flooding and landslide disasters in Asia that were caused by such environmental degradation in both cases, the loss was of forests in the upland watersheds of major rivers. The vulnerability to natural disasters is also growing due to increasing population and inadequately planned urban growth. The number and density of people living in cities within earthquake and tropical cyclone zones have risen dramatically in the past two decades. This growth has mostly been haphazard and uncontrolled. Physical infrastructure has expanded rapidly as well, and has generally hindered sustainable construction practises and safe building standards, particularly from the standpoint of mitigating events such as floods and earthquakes. Poor planning decisions have led to the establishment of potentially hazardous facilities, such as nuclear power plants, chemical factories and major dams, in earthquake prone zones and densely populated areas. Empirical evidence suggests that countries which suffer most from natural disasters are those in which environmental degradation is most severe, i.e. those with severe deforestation, soil-erosion, over-cultivation and over-grazing (e.g., the 1993 floods in Nepal were mainly due to deforestation and alterations to natural catchment drainage patterns, which reduced the attenuation of run-off, and concentrated high run-off volumes over a short period of time although the actual intensity of the rainfall was not particularly severe). The effects of environmental degradation can also transcend national boundaries. For example, increasing soil erosion in the hills of Nepal is resulting in heavy siltation of the river beds in India and Bangladesh, which is raising river bed levels and causing more frequent flooding. In the coastal areas, human vulnerability has increased due to degradation of the natural buffers, such as coral reefs and mangroves. This is particularly true in the regions island nations and the coastal areas, such as in Bangladesh. The region also witnesses the tremors of global ecological changes. For instance, the loss of natural vegetation - particularly forests - around the world is also a major cause of preventable natural disasters that afflict South Asia.

The Gujarat Earthquake

The earthquake that shook Bhuj in the Indian state of Gujarat on the morning of January 26, 2001 (Indias Republic Day) is the most deadly earthquake to strike India in its recorded history. One month after the earthquake, official Government of India figures place the death toll at 19,727 and the number of injured at 1,66,000. Indications are that 6,00,000 people were left homeless, with 3,48,000 houses destroyed and an additional 8,44,000 damaged. The Indian State Department estimates that the earthquake affected, directly or indirectly, 15.9 million people out of a total population of 37.8 million. More than 20,000 cattle were reported killed. Government estimates direct economic losses at US $1.3 billion. Other estimates indicate losses as high as US $5 billion.

Source: http://cires.colorada.edu/~bilham/ gujarat2001.html

Planning and preparedness is essential for both mitigation and management of natural disasters. Information about the measures to be taken before and after the event needs to be disseminated, implemented and followed carefully. However, in most developing countries of the region, even when adequate forecasting is available, conditions are such that the warning of an event is of little practical use. Due to overcrowding, lack of basic infrastructure and communication means, very little can be achieved by way of evacuating or preparing the population at risk.

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inundate large areas for weeks at a time owing to the long response time of the catchment, and subsequent slow rise and fall of the flood hydrograph. For example, in Bangladesh, as many as 80 million people are vulnerable to flooding each year. In July and August, heavy monsoon rains combine with high river flows from India and cause serious flooding. Another example is India, where a total of about 40 million hectares are at risk from flooding each year. The average annual damage has been estimated at US $240 million, although this can increase to over US $1.5 billion with severe flooding. Flash floods, resulting from intense rainfall of a relatively short duration, are more common in the hills and mountainous parts of the region that have steep and small catchments which respond quickly to rainfall, such as in Central Asia. However, they can also occur when dams or barrages fail. Located on the southern bank of river Brahmaputra in Assam, India, the Kaziranga National Park has been bearing the brunt of floods every year. According to an estimate by the wildlife reservation wing about 500 animals died in the 1998 floods. As many as 101 highly prized one-horn rhinos were swept away, reducing their already endangered population by half. The extent of damage was assessed at Rs 1 crore. The July 1993 flash floods in Nepal were assessed as the most devastating in the last 40 years. Over 1,000 people died, about 39,000 houses were damaged, 43,000 hectares of topsoil was either washed away or covered by debris and 38 irrigation schemes were destroyed. The total cost of the damage was estimated at over US $200 million. Another type of floods - Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) - is a major concern in the Himalayan region. This is the periodic release of large amounts of stored water as a cataclysmic outburst from a glacier. GLOFs are severe geo-morphological hazards and their floodwaters can wreak havoc on all human structures located in their path. Much of the damage created during GLOFs is associated with the large amounts of debris that accompany the floodwaters. One of the important reasons that causes rise in water level in the glacial lake, which in turn endangers the lake to reach the outburst stage, is rising global temperatures that rapidly melts glacial ice and snow. There have been several cases of GLOF in Bhutan and some in Nepal and India (State of Environment Report 2000, Bhutan).

Severe destruction Source: Wetlands in danger, IUCN

2.1 Floods
Floods are usually considered the most destructive of all natural disasters. Not all floods bring disaster in their wake, though. The annual floods in Bangladesh deposit alluvial in the delta and assure the lands fertility, making it possible to grow three crops a year. The population density in the region is very high; demographers believe that if the land was not so fertile, less people would be attracted to live there. Floods can be of different kinds, depending largely on the geographical, climatic and hydrological characteristics of the area. These include seasonal floods, urban floods due to inadequate drainage facilities, and floods associated with combined fluvial and tidal events, such as heavy rainfall coupled with wind-induced tidal surges. Seasonal flooding occurs in many of the large river basins of the region, such as the Ganga in India. Prolonged rainfall over an extensive catchment area generates high volumes of run-off, which spill out onto the rivers natural floodplains. This water can

Land is being abandoned and marginalised (ICIMOD) Source: Nepal:State of the Environment 2001

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GLOFs in Nepal

Records show that a GLOF has been occuring in Nepal with varying degrees of socio-economic impacts once in every three to 10 years. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the United Nations Environment Programme/Regional Resource Centre for Asia and Pacific (UNEP/RRCAP) have developed a database of glaciers and glacial lakes in Nepal in 2000. The methodology for the inventory of glaciers is based on the Temporary Technical Secretary for World Glacier Inventory (1977). For glacial lakes, it is based on modification of the method developed by the Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryolog y (1988). Topographic maps, aerial photographs and satellite images have been used in the inventory of glaciers and glacial lakes. The study recorded a total of 3,252 glaciers covering an area of 5,322 km2 with approximately 481 km3 of ice reserves in Nepal. The study also recorded 2,323 glacial lakes with an approximate area of 75 km2. Based on the analysis of inventory data, 20 glacial lakes were identified as potentially dangerous in Nepal, out of which three (Nagma, Tam Pokhari and Dig Tsho) had past outburst records.

Glacial Lake in Nepal Source: ICIMOD/UNEP

Potentially Dangerous Glacial Lakes in Nepal

A B C D E F G H I J

= = = = = = = = = =

Nagma pokhari (Tamor) (unnamed) (Tamor) Lower Barun (Arun) Lumding (Dudh Koshi) Imja (Dudh Koshi) Tam Pokhari (Dudh Koshi) Dudh Pokhari (Dudh Koshi) (unnamed) (Dudh Koshi) (unnamed) (Dudh Koshi) Hungu (Dudh Koshi)

K= L = M= N= O= P = Q= R = S = T =

East Hungu 1 (Dudh Koshi) East Hungu 2 (Dudh Koshi) (unnamed) (Dudh Koshi) West Chamjang (Dudh Koshi) Dig Tsho (Dudh Koshi) Tsho Rolpa (Tama Koshi) (unnamed) (Budhi Gandaki) Thulagi (Marsyangdi) (unnamed) (Kali Gandaki) (unnamed) (Kali Gandaki)

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Technical reasons why floods become tragedies concentrate on mistakes in land use: bad zoning, bad planning, bad agricultural practices (e.g. ploughing up and down a hill instead of along the contours) and above all, deforestation - itself connected to population pressures. Unregulated building on flood plains is another aggravating factor.

2.2 Drought
A drought triggers a crisis, but does not cause it. Overcultivation and over-grazing weaken the land, allowing no margins when a drought arrives. Occurrence of drought is commonly associated with arid and semiarid regions. Many countries in South Asia are prone to drought, including Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and parts of Bangladesh. In India, about 33 per cent of the arable area is considered to be drought-prone. The number of people at risk has been estimated at 185 billion. In Sri Lanka, the government provided relief to over two million people during the 1996 drought - i.e. about 14 per cent of the population. Nepal has been subjected to severe droughts during 1981-82, resulting in a 1.4 per cent decline in GDP.

devastating tidal surges and raging cyclonic winds. In fact, most major disasters associated with tropical cyclones have been caused by tidal storm surges. When a tropical cyclone approaches the coast, storm surges can occur several hours in advance of the cyclone under certain conditions (primarily low central pressures, shallow waters and high tides), and hit a coastal area whilst people are still being evacuated, causing huge loss of life and material damage. For instance, the storm surges accompanying the 1970 and 1991 tropical cyclones devastated Bangladesh and claimed about halfa-million lives. Bangladesh, in fact, suffered the greatest loss of life in its disaster-prone history in the cyclone of April 1991. Some countries rarely experience the direct effects of tropical cyclones, but when they do, they usually have to bear with very high levels of destruction in terms of lives and property. Sri Lanka is one such country. In other countries, the effects of tropical cyclones or depressions are more frequently felt in the form of heavy rainfall (such as in Pakistan) or very strong winds (such as in the Maldives). One tropical depression in Pakistan in 1993 resulted in 600 deaths and the loss of hundreds of fishing boats. In May 1999, another deadly cyclone caused large-scale devastation in the districts of Thatta and Badin in the southern province of Sindh. The cyclone - called

2.3 Cyclones
Cyclones can generate very heavy rainfall and cause severe flooding, and are often accompanied by

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The Orissa Super-cyclone: Anatomy of Destruction
The super-cyclone of Orissa (October 1999), the severest of the century, left a permanent environmental impact on the coastal ecology of the region. The damage was extensive because a tidal surge lashed the coast and swept inland up to a distance of 15-25 km. Besides the loss of human lives, crops were destroyed and vast tracts of saline-inundated agricultural land was rendered unfit for cultivation. According to eyewitnesses, the affected districts lost more than 90 per cent of their tree cover. Mangrove forests and sand dunes on the coastal belt act as natural barriers against cyclones and tidal surges. Depletion of Orissas coastal mangroves aided the super-cyclone. Earlier, long stretches of mangrove had thrived along the states coastline. But human interference had reduced their numbers. People from neighbouring states had been infiltrating in these areas and cutting down trees to make way for agriculture. Thousands of hectares of mangrove forests were also cleared during the construction of Paradip port. The continuing proliferation of prawn culture in the region posed another serious threat. According to the State of Orissas Environment Report, mangrove swamps in the state have been receding at a rate of 3 km a year. If the destruction of these forests continue, the remaining natural barrier against tidal surges and cyclones will be lost forever. The biggest casualty of the super-cyclone has been the Chilka Lake in Khurda district of the state. Due to its critical location, the Chilka is regarded as one of the most dynamic coastal environments in India and is considered an important indicator of the state of the regions environment. Already under threat from siltation due to large-scale deforestation in its catchment area, the loss of tree cover due to the cyclone could hasten Chilkas which is Asias largest brackish water lake - death. The Chilka Bachoo Andolan (Save Chilka Movement) estimates that about 3,00,000 cusecs of freshwater laden with 13 million metric tonnes of silt from rivers finds its way to the 1,150-sq. km. lake every year. This is a major cause of the lakes shrinkage and reduction in depth.

Hurrican Thuth - travelling at a speed of 273 km per hour, battered the two districts for around 36 hours, destroying aound 50,000 houses. Across the international boundary, though the cyclone brushed past the Indian state of Gujarat, it claimed more than 300 lives.

Development and Distribution

Tropical cyclones are seasonal phenomena and occur with maximum frequency in the months of MarchMay and October-November. But in north Indian Ocean - the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea - their frequency shows a bimodal maxima peaking once from mid-April to mid-June and again from October to mid-December. The countries in South Asia face cyclonic activities due to lows and depressions that develop over the north Indian Ocean. Although only about 6 per cent of the global tropical cyclones occur in this part of the ocean, they are the deadliest in the world. The average number of storms in the south Indian Ocean as computed by Holland (1993) is 10.4 per year respectively. The Bangladesh coast: This coast in Bangladesh has been divided into four areas - Khulna/Sunderban coast, Barisal/PatuakhaliNoakhali coast, Noakhali-Chittagong coast and Chittagong-Coxs Bazaar coast. Storm surges associated with tropical cyclones that form over the Bay of Bengal affect almost all parts of the Bangladesh coast and the eastern coast of India. The most significant and frequent occurrences, however, have been in north Bay of Bengal causing terrible destruction of life and property. These storm surges in north Bay of Bengal are due to the combined effects of the storm tide and astronomical tide, the shallow bathymetric configuration and the funnelling shape of the Bay of Bengal. Historical records show that the Noakhali-Chittagong coast and the Barisal/Patuakhali-Noakhali coasts are much more vulnerable to storm surges, having a maximum storm surge height of 13.64 metre. The Great Backerganj cyclone of November 1, 1876, the Killer Cyclone of November 12, 1970 and the Worst Killer Cyclone of April 29, 1991 are the three most devastating cyclones in Bangladesh - perhaps historic in the world in terms of intensity and the havoc they wreaked.

Source: Down To Earth, November 1999

The Indian coast: Since India has a long coastline and its eastern and western coasts face different ocean basins, their vulnerability is being discussed separately. According to the World Meteorological Organization, India accounts for 6 per cent of the total number of cyclones world-wide. The east coast: For ease of study, the eastern coast has been divided into the West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu coasts.

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Sufficient lead time to enable the threatened population to take appropriate protective measures. Though there are broad similarities in cyclone warning systems around the globe, certain regional differences do exist. The cyclone forecasting system in India is a three-tiered structure that caters to the needs of its maritime states. Area Cyclone Warning Centres (ACWCs) and Cyclone Warning Centres (CWCs) issue warnings to the Chief Secretaries, the Relief Commissioners and Coastal District Collectors of the maritime states; these warnings are in the form of basic information related to cyclone distress prevention and mitigation. These are issued under a two-stage warning scheme whenever any coastal belt is expected to experience heavy rain, gales or tidal waves associated with cyclonic storms. The first stage, known as Cyclonic Alert, is issued 48 hours in advance of the expected commencement of adverse weather over the coastal area. The second stage, known as Cyclone Warning, is issued 24 hours in advance. This cyclone warning activity is supported by an observational network which consists of the national synoptic surface network, the upper air network, observations from Voluntary Observing Fleets (VOFs), observations from Cyclone Detecting Radars and data from geostationary and polar orbiting satellites. Some of the other important bulletins and warnings issued by Cyclone Warning Centres in India are: Weather and sea bulletins for - shipping on the high seas - ships plying in coastal waters Port warnings Fisheries warnings Bulletins for All India Radio Album page warnings Tropical cyclone advisories are also issued by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) to all the member countries of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones during the cyclone period at regular six-hourly intervals. Besides this, a tropical weather outlook for north Indian Ocean is issued daily at 0600 UTC as a routine to the member countries of the panel.

Historical records show that the West Bengal coast, with a storm surge height in the range of 11.81-12.12 meters, is the most vulnerable to storm surges. However, the death toll due to tropical cyclones on this coast is less compared to that in Bangladesh due to the coastal configuration and the bathymetry. The west coast: The west coast has been divided into the Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala coasts. The data on storm surges associated with cyclones that form over the Arabian Sea and cross the western coast of India is not available, except for a few cyclones. The Gujarat coast is the most vulnerable to storm surges with surge heights being about 1 to 6 meters. The Pakistan coast: Pakistans coastal areas have been divided into the Mekran coast and the Sind coast. About eight cyclones have been reported here during the period 1891 through 1991. The Sri Lankan coast: The Sri Lankan coast is divided into the East, North, South and West coasts. Vulnerability analysis of the Sri Lankan coast is based on information on about 17 cyclones during 1845-1997. Reports on human casualties in Sri Lanka are not available for all the cyclones, except the great cyclone of 1978 which killed 915 people and the cyclonic storm of November 1992, which also killed many people. Though the catastrophic nature of the cyclones depend on various factors such as coastal configuration, landfall area, and the high tide and low tide conditions, reduction in human casualties depends mainly on the early issuance of forecasts and storm warnings by the National Meteorological Services and the effective use of early warning apparatus by disaster management systems of different agencies and authorities. Latest developments in science and technology have greatly enhanced the accuracy of cyclone tracking and forecasting techniques, in addition to improving timely dissemination of warning messages.

Operational Cyclone Forecasting Organisations

An efficient cyclone warning system is required to provide the following information: Accurate and detailed forecasts of adverse weather conditions sufficiently in advance. Rapid and dependable dissemination of the forecasts, advisories and warnings to the concerned agencies.

2.4 Earthquakes
Between 50 to 60 per cent of India is vulnerable to seismic activities of varying intensity. The Himalayan range, the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Kutch and Kathiawar regions of western India are geologically

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increase. Much of the expansion into forested areas uses the cheapest form of cover removal: fire. Increased pressure for development has led to much of the recent fire damage in tropical rain forests as loggers, cattle farmers and peasants take advantage of the dry season to clear land for farming. The health impacts of forest fires can be serious and widespread. Forest fires can have a potential impact on global atmospheric problems, including climate change. Researchers have also realised the signiicant contributions of biomass burning to the global budgets of carbondioxide, methane, nitric oxide, tropospheric ozone, methyl chloride and elemental carbon particulates. The extent of biomass burning has increased significantly over the past 100 years. It is now recognised as a significant global source of atmospheric emissions, contributing more than half of all the carbon released into the atmosphere.

the most unstable parts, and are most prone to earthquakes. Areas in and around the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also quakeprone, although earthquakes occasionally occur elsewhere in India too. For instance, the September 1993 earthquake that struck the Maharashtra state in central west India, claimed nearly 12,000 lives. The Himalayan frontal arc, flanked by the Chaman fault in the west, constitutes one of the most seismically active intra-continental regions in the world. In a span of 53 years, four earthquakes, exceeding magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, have shaken this region. These are the Assam earthquakes of 1897 and 1950, the Kangra earthquake of 1905 and the Bihar-Nepal earthquake of 1935. Nepals entire territory lies in the region of seismic activity, which regularly experiences earthquakes with magnitudes of 5-8.

2.5 Landslides
Incidence of landslides is very common in the hills and mountainous regions of South Asia. Topography alone could be the primary cause; however, in most cases, landslides are aggravated by human activities such as deforestation, cultivation and construction which destabilise the already fragile slopes. For instance, as a result of combined actions of natural and man-made factors, as many as 12,000 landslides occur in Nepal every year. In 1998, floods and landslides in Nepal killed about 273 people and the country suffered a loss of about US $28,854,000 (SOE Report 2000: Nepal).

2.7 Industrial Disasters

Industrial accidents and disasters are not only the cause of a large number of casualties. They are also the source of prolonged physical and psychological trauma for those who are exposed to toxic agents or those who, without being injured, lose all their belongings and often their jobs and need to be resettled in unfamiliar, sometimes inhospitable and often inadequate circumstances. Our memory is still fresh about disasters such as Union Carbide in India and Chernobyl in Russia. At Chernobyl, radioactive material leaked from one of the nuclear stations reactors, resulting in one of the largest

2.6 Forest Fires

In many countries, vegetation, forests, savannahs and agricultural crops are burnt down to clear land and change its use. Forest clearing accelerates as populations expand and pressures to exploit natural resources

India: Case for a National Seismic Policy

A devastating earthquake shook Chamoli region in Uttar Pradesh on March 29. The quake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale and lasting around 40 seconds, is said to have been the most powerful in the region during the last hundred years. It reduced thousands of houses to rubble. This tragedy has served to remind us of the need for a scientific study of seismic activities and a comprehensive disaster management policy. Though India is one of the four most quake-prone areas of the world, it does not have a seismology policy or a specialised institute to study seismic activities.

Flood is a recurring phenomena Source: Bangladesh:State of the Environment 2001

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Forecasting
Technologies such as space sciences (SS), remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) have wide applications in natural resources management, development planning, environment studies and disaster monitoring purposes. Even if many natural disasters cannot be averted, their impact can be reduced through timely warning and evacuation measures. Space-borne techniques play a significant role here. There is a need to incorporate geological data in both long- and short-term planning to avert or reduce the impact of natural disasters. This will have to be done on a country-specific basis, as some countries of the region will still need to build or strengthen institutional capabilities to collect relevant geodata. Others may want to concentrate more on staff training to improve interpretation and/or presentation skills; there may also be some who have to focus more on organisational and managerial issues to ensure that crucial information reaches the authorities and is acted upon. Proper long-term land use planning by incorporating all geology-related data available, would help identify and allocate hazard-free areas for industrial and urban development. This could then be by far the most effective way of dealing with seismic disasters, with high gain at relatively low costs. Introduction of legal enforcement of property insurance against damage inflicted by natural, particularly seismic, events may be considered as one of the most efficient ways to ensure that building codes are followed and properly allocated according to realistic criteria based on actual geological conditions.

accidental contamination problems in the world, with profound impacts on environment and health, forcing the evacuation of a quarter of a million people who have not yet returned to their homes eight years after the event. Some of the precautions that can be taken before establishing an industry to prevent accidents are the following: Industries should be located away from human settlements. Wind direction too should be taken into consideration to minimise the spread of a possible disaster to distant places. The staff should be adequately trained and updated not only in routine operational safety, but also in response to emergencies, and compliance with safety standards should be regularly monitored. Emergency preparedness plans at all appropriate levels and early warning systems should be developed and tested at regular intervals (in line with various international guidelines such as those of the UN/ILO/WHO/UNEP).

2.8 Cultural and Ethnic Conflicts/Wars

These are also major causes of man-made, but avoidable, destruction.

Responses
The level of disaster preparedness is a major factor in mitigation of natural disasters. There is a need for dissemination of information on the measures to be taken before, during and after any disaster.

Use of Best Available Technology

Regional and national programmes on monitoring through satellite-based remote sensing and multi-level environment protection systems at regional/country/ area level are needed. Greater emphasis should be placed on expanding observational and monitoring systems, especially in areas/regions where data is scarce. There is still a need to establish and upgrade observational equipment and networks to monitor hazards properly and disseminate warnings quickly through an efficient warning system. To help improve them, reliable feedback information should be collected on warning performance, public responses and damage caused by natural disasters. Existing seismic data acquisition networks in the countries vulnerable to earthquakes should be updated and improved. Certain areas in the region still lack

Forest Fires in India

The forest fires of May 1999 claimed many lives and destroyed property worth crores in India. The worst affected areas were Tehri, Garhwal, Almora and Pithoragarh in UP; Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan and Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh; the Bihar plateau; and Mount Abu and the sourrounding areas in Rajasthan. The fires that kept burning for over a month, charred 80,000 hectares of forests, destroying pine, oak and deodar trees and much of the wildlife in Uttar Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh, there were reports of fires in almost 38 forests. About 12,000 hectares of forests and plantations were reduced to ashes. Thousands of hectares of forests were charred in the hills of Uttarakhand too. Forest fires destroyed more than 40,000 hectares out of the 3,336,655-hectare forests in the region, mainly affecting pine trees.

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plans for the extension of the cyclone warning systems to all vulnerable areas. Contour mapping of coastal areas is also being carried out to identify potentially vulnerable areas, and India is also making efforts to minimise flood-related crop losses by contingency planning. In addition, a new drought forecasting technique, utilising regional and global parameters physically related to the south-west monsoon, is now being used. This, together with grain provision, access to health facilities and protection of cattle, has enabled the country to significantly improve its drought management systems. In Bangladesh, cyclone and flood warning systems are well developed and institutional arrangements for the management of disasters have improved over the past decade. However, despite all efforts to reduce losses, it is not possible to evacuate several million people living in coastal areas and offshore islands when disaster occurs. A Natural Disaster Prevention Council has been set up in the country. The Council has taken over the coordinating functions of the government plans and action in the fields of natural disaster forecasts, management and post-disaster relief and rehabilitation work. In Sri Lanka too, a cabinet sub-committee has been appointed to examine floods, cyclones, landslides and soil erosion.

seismic data acquisition systems. The physical impacts of natural hazards can be reduced by preventing or modifying the occurrence of the hazard, such as in the case of flooding. This can be done very effectively through land-use planning and management, particularly in areas where structural measures would be too difficult or too expensive to implement.

Scientific and Mutual Cooperation

The seismicity of the region needs to be better understood. There is need for free exchange of data among countries in the region in standardised formats. Attempts should also be made to utilise the available data more effectively. Since urban areas are potentially more vulnerable to hazards such as earthquakes, there is need for (micro) zonation maps delineating earthquake hazard levels. Some degree of regional cooperation in disaster prevention and mitigation, particularly among neighbouring countries, is already gaining ground. The Panel on Tropical Cyclones has been established to fight the growing incidence of cyclones in the region. It includes Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives among the South Asian countries. Moreover, the developing countries of the Asian region are increasingly being assisted in their efforts by bilateral donors, UN organisations and multilateral agencies, such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Awareness
Community awareness through educational programmes on warning systems and other aspects of disaster preparedness also need to be developed and implemented. Communities comprising of representatives of NGOs and the public could be established at the local level to monitor and guide disaster preparedness and relief operations.

Institutional Development
Many countries of the region (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives) have appointed national Inter-disciplinary Committees for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) to coordinate disaster mitigation activities of government and other agencies. These committees are also involved in: collaborating with all the concerned departments and institutions to formulate and implement plans and programmes. formulating measures for natural disaster prevention and mitigation. establishing programmes of cooperation with international organisations and nongovernmental organisations. In India, flood forecasting and early warning in disasterprone areas is being considered as one of the most important and cost-effective measures for disaster relief. A Cabinet Committee on natural calamities has been constituted. The current Five Year Plan emphasises the extension of the existing forecasting network. Ten high power cyclone detection radars have been installed along the east and west coasts of the country, and there are

Mitigation Measures
Environmental enhancement measures play an important role in combating natural disasters. Programmes on rehabilitation of degraded lands and afforestation are being undertaken on a large scale. Implementation of comprehensive land use plans, primarily drives by environmental concerns, have been instrumental in incorporating hazard mitigation and preparedness provisions into the development process. For instance, provision of green belts on river banks reduces flood damage; parks and open spaces in a city can provide temporary shelters during earthquakes. Similarly, slum and squatter settlement improvement schemes that are being undertaken in many areas have also helped reduce the risk of disasters.

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The complete disruption of water and basic environmental sanitation services during a disaster is a major concern of the health sector. These hazards can be minimised if public health officials work closely with municipal workers to set up a response system that reduces the risk of water contamination and water and insect-borne diseases, and initiates safe disposal of solid wastes as part of routine preparedness planning.

Hazard mapping and risk assessment needs to be done. This would delineate areas vulnerable to geologyrelated natural hazards and the frequency, intensity, impact, etc. of each hazard. There is need for comprehensive vulnerability analysis for disaster-prone areas. As a preventive measure, earthquake-resistant designs for dwellings have helped reduce the number of casualties and prevent serious damage to buildings. In most areas, however, there is still a need for preparation or review of earthquake-resistant design codes for buildings and other engineering structures and for their enforcement, as well as the undertaking of proper arrangements for the infrastructure to be able to deal with natural hazards and disasters. In Bangladesh, the government has adopted a disaster policy which puts equal emphasis on pre-disaster planning and preparedness while retaining post-disaster relief and rehabilitation capabilities. Embankments are under construction in the coastal areas and on the banks of major rivers. India also has plans to promote floodproof buildings, afforestation in flood-affected river basins and drainage system improvements. In Nepal, the National Comprehensive Plan for Disaster Management was drafted in 1991, and its provisions have been used as guidelines for disaster management activities. Sri Lanka has prepared a National Disaster Management Plan and a draft bill which provides for the preparation and implementation of counter-measures, including emergency preparedness and relief, and the creation of appropriate institutes to deal with disasters. Non-structural disaster prevention and mitigation measures adopted to assist in minimising losses includes raising public awareness about disasters and training people to cope with them. Media, such as radio, newspaper and television, too have been useful.

References
Datt, Ashok K. and Geib, M. Margaret: Atlas of South Asia, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi and Kolkata, 1997. Lean, Geoffrey and Hinrichsen, Don: Atlas of the Environment (WWF), Helicon Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 1990. World Development Indicators, The World Bank, Washington DC, 2000. World Disasters Report, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Switzerland, 1999.

Rescue Services and Health Relief

It is important that health facilities are located and constructed to withstand the effects of natural disasters, and are well equipped to provide basic assistance following emergencies of all kinds. Geology-related hazard zonation maps of appropriate scale would provide a good basis for deciding places that are relatively safe for the construction of emergency public health facilities.

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