Disaster Management: Learning from Experience for Public Health Professionals

Abstract

India is highly vulnerable to natural disasters; losing about 2% of the GDP every year. India has a coastline of around 7516 kilometres surrounded by the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea. As the surface temperature is more than that of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal generates more severe cyclone. As per the data of India Meteorological Department (IMD), India weathered as many as 305 cyclones of severity severe and above in last 126 years.(1) An estimated 1.9 million deaths are caused by tropical cyclones worldwide.(2) Nine out of the top ten devastating tropical cyclones hit the coast of Bangladesh and India.(3) The Bhola Cyclone is deadliest in the list causing maximum damage to Bangladesh on 11th November 1970 claiming around 5,00,000 lives and producing massive destruction.(4) The deadliest one of the list hitting the coast of India was in 1999, the super cyclone in Odisha which struck the state of Odisha on 29th October 1999 claiming around 10,000 lives and leaving millions homeless and extensive damage to property and environment.(4) The condition is only likely to get worse as climate change increase the sea surface temperature.