"Floods may kill more than 16,000 in next 10 years"
Just as Kerala is reeling from the worst floods it faced in 80 years, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has predicted that 16,000 may lose their lives in floods in the next ten years. Further, it said property worth Rs. 47,000 crore will be lost. This prediction took average property loss and death toll as the base. Here's more about the concerning data.
India's satellites can warn about disaster beforehand
It must be noted that India has the most technologically advanced satellites capable of warning about an imminent disaster, which may, in turn, contribute to reducing losses. Despite this, the government's emphasis on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and capacity building for disaster resilience remain on paper. On its part, the NDMA is tasked with issuing guidelines and hold meetings in emergency situations.
On DRR scale, states and UTs aren't performing well
Recently, the Home Ministry conducted a survey of 640 districts across the country, and the findings were alarming. A National Resilience Index was created based on States and UTs performance on DRR measures. This included risk assessment and prevention, mitigation and disaster rehabilitation. It was concluded that most states needed 'considerable improvement'. Most didn't conduct the state-specific assessment of hazards, the study said.
Only Himachal Pradesh did a comprehensive assessment: Report
"Most states have not conducted a comprehensive state-specific assessment of hazards, vulnerabilities and exposures of the changing dynamics and complexities of disasters," the report explained. Only Himachal Pradesh conducted the assessment and involved agencies to map hazards. Gujarat did an assessment a decade ago, but neither was it updated nor the findings released to the public and other stakeholders, the report added.
