1. Natural disasters in India: Most of the natural disasters are related to the climate of India, and they cause enormous loss of life and property. Droughts, flash floods, cyclones, avalanches, landslides produced by torrential rains and snowstorms pose the greatest threats. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquake, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, hurricane etc.
In order to be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incur financial loss. Other dangers included frequent summer dust storms, which usually track from north to south, they cause extensive property damage in northern India and deposit large amount of dust from arid regions. Hail is also common in some parts of India, causing severe damage to standing crops such as rice and wheat and many other crops.
2. Floods in India: Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heavy south-western monsoon rains cause the Brahmaputra and other rivers to distend their banks, often flooding the surrounding areas. Floods are such a disaster that make the normal life disturbed.
The crops are destroyed due to floods, the houses collapse or are damaged, transportation and communication system is ruined and also the causalities of human life and cattle and other animals takes place. After the end of flooding, there is seen a horrible dirt all around which causes epidemic and diseases in the related areas. In this way, flood proves to be a curse for India and the Indians.
The flood affected Areas: The flood – affected areas in India are
- North and north – eastern Plains.
- In the peninsular India, the regions of Rivers of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery flow routes.
3. Drought: It is an insidious hazard of nature. It is often referred to as a “Creaping Disaster”, and its impact varies from region to region. So, it is very difficult to define a drought. But in general, a drought is a period of below average precipitation in given region, resulting in prolonged shortage in water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water.
A drought can last for months or years or may last for as less as 15 days. The continuing conditions of drought give rise to famine. According to the irrigation department of government of India, “If there is an average annual rainfall of less than 10 cm, then the related area will be considered a drought-prone zone.”
4. The main Drought – Prone Zones: The main drought-prone zones in India are:
- Western India-Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Haryana, some regions of Madhya Pradesh, some areas of central Maharashtra and central and eastern Karnataka.
- Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, some parts of western Uttar Pradesh.
Mostly, irregular and insufficient rainfall is the main cause of drought in India. But in Rajasthan and Gujarat, it is a regular disaster.
5. Sea Storms: Sea storms are mainly tropical cyclones. The tropical cyclones originate in the ocean and enter into India through Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea As they originate in sea, so there is significant amount of moisture in it. Therefore, it causes heavy rainfall in the coastal regions. They move in the coastal plains with a high speed. As they go ahead, their rainfall caused due to them and their intensity keeps on decreasing.
6. The Affected Area of Sea Storms: The affected areas of sea storms are the eastern and western areas and attached zones in the peninsular India. Their route is normally parallel to the sea coasts. In the months of April to June, these storms originate in the sea and break into India through the Gujarat Coast. The cyclones that originate in the month of October to December start in the Bay of Bengal and mostly affect Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and West Bengal.
