Preparing for the D-day

Disasters are inevitable; devastation is not. The key lies in preparing for them before they hit and preventing them

Every year on October 13, the world observes the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, a reminder that disasters are not merely acts of nature but the outcome of human choices. Perhaps no country would need this reminder more than India. Nearly 59 per cent of its land is earthquake-prone, about 12 per cent flood-prone, and much of its long coastline faces cyclones and tsunamis, while droughts, landslides and glacial lake outbursts add to the list. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the floods and torrential rains that lash its coastline, causing huge damage to life and property. The Odisha tragedy is still fresh in our minds. Nothing has been done to mitigate the disaster, yet we are still miles away from a viable solution that would provide a shield against such recurring disasters. The Disaster Management Act of 2005 created a national architecture, and the results show where preparedness is taken seriously. Odisha, which lost nearly 10,000 lives in the 1999 super cyclone, evacuated lakhs before Cyclone Fani in 2019. Early warning, drills and community trust save lives. But the approach is still crisis management, not averting disasters. It springs into action after a catastrophe, with relief packages, rather than before. Spending on mitigation is a fraction of what goes to response.

The deeper failures lie in governance. Building codes exist on paper but are poorly enforced. Several incidents related to fires in buildings and flooding of basements have occurred in Delhi itself. In the Himalayas, highways, tunnels, hydropower projects and tourist construction proceed without credible carrying-capacity studies; Joshimath’s sinking homes and the Wayanad landslides are eye-openers. Yet our response is casual and cosmetic. Ecological advice is routinely set aside in the name of development. Local capacity is another gap. District authorities are understaffed, while panchayats and municipal bodies, the real first responders, are rarely trained or funded. Disaster insurance is scarce, leaving the poor to bear losses alone.

What should India do? That nothing can be done? Countries far more prone to disasters than India have done it. In Japan, earthquakes are frequent, yet no one dies. First, make mitigation, not relief, the largest budget priority, and tie development funding to risk assessments. Second, enforce building codes and retrofit schools, hospitals and bridges in high-risk zones. Officials must be held accountable. Third, map floodplains, landslide zones and fragile slopes, and make those maps legally binding for land-use approvals.

Fourth, empower local bodies with trained volunteers, funds and clear authority. Finally, restore mangroves, wetlands and forests as natural defences, and widen insurance cover. There is a way to do it; there are tools to do it; all we need is political will.