🌍 Natural Hazards and Disasters: Advanced Mitigation Strategies for UGC NET
Natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, and wildfires are extreme events that originate in natural processes and pose threats to human safety and societal development. The frequency and intensity of these events have increased due to climate change, urbanization, and environmental degradation. Mitigation strategies aim to reduce their negative impacts by integrating scientific knowledge, infrastructural planning, community preparedness, and institutional governance. These strategies are essential for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction, especially within the academic and policy-making contexts relevant to the UGC NET syllabus.
⚠️ Types of Natural Hazards
- Geophysical: Originating from solid Earth processes. Example: Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
- Hydrological: Caused by water movement and distribution. Example: Floods, landslides due to soil saturation.
- Meteorological: Weather-related hazards such as cyclones, hailstorms, and blizzards.
- Climatological: Long-term climate processes such as droughts and wildfires influenced by temperature and precipitation anomalies.
- Biological: Hazards of organic origin like pandemics, insect infestations, and zoonotic diseases.
🛡️ Disaster Mitigation Strategies
- Structural Measures: Involve physical constructions to withstand hazards. Includes earthquake-resistant buildings, flood levees, storm surge barriers, and cyclone shelters.
- Non-Structural Measures: Aim to influence behavior and preparedness through policy, education, and economic tools. Includes land-use zoning, public awareness programs, insurance coverage, and legislation like the Disaster Management Act.
- Community-Based Mitigation: Local engagement is key. Includes grassroots training, community resource mapping, early response teams, and use of indigenous knowledge to design context-specific responses.
- Policy Frameworks: Key strategies are guided by global and national policy frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) and India's Disaster Management Act, 2005, which establish clear roles for agencies and stress on a proactive approach.
🌊 Case Study: Cyclone Fani (Odisha, 2019)
This extremely severe cyclonic storm tested Odisha's disaster preparedness. Evacuation of over 1 million people, real-time dissemination of information, and robust shelter systems led to one of the lowest fatality rates for a storm of its magnitude. This demonstrated how pre-disaster investment in infrastructure and preparedness pays off.
🏞️ Case Study: Kerala Floods (2018)
Heavy monsoon rains and poor dam management caused one of the worst floods in Kerala. Afterward, measures like enhancing the flood forecasting system, improved coordination among dam authorities, and stricter enforcement of construction norms in flood-prone areas were implemented.
- GIS & Remote Sensing: Enable hazard zonation, vulnerability mapping, and real-time disaster tracking.
- AI & Machine Learning: Improve accuracy in hazard prediction and emergency response simulations.
- IoT Sensors: Deployed in vulnerable zones to monitor variables such as river water levels, ground movement, or weather anomalies for early warnings.
- NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority): Apex body for formulating disaster management policies and planning nationwide response protocols.
- SDMAs: State-level bodies implementing national strategies within regional contexts and conducting state-specific training and simulation exercises.
- NIDM: A premier institution offering capacity building, research, and policy guidance on disaster risk management.
- SDG 11: Promotes inclusive, safe, resilient cities — mitigation strategies reduce urban disaster vulnerability.
- SDG 13: Advocates urgent action on climate change, of which disaster mitigation is a key response mechanism.
- SDG 3: Ensures healthy lives — mitigation reduces mortality and health risks from disasters.
- SDG 9: Supports resilient infrastructure and innovation in disaster response technologies.
- Included under Environmental Geography and Disaster Management
- Essential for Urban and Regional Planning
- Relevant to Public Administration and Policy Studies
- Frequently covered in Current Affairs and Interdisciplinary Studies
🎯 Conclusion
- Mitigation of natural hazards is a multi-dimensional task requiring collaborative efforts from scientists, policymakers, local communities, and international organizations.
- Modern strategies must incorporate climate adaptation, inclusive planning, and resilient design principles.
- For UGC NET aspirants, mastering these themes provides an edge in understanding both theory and practical governance tools in disaster risk reduction.
