India Disasters Report II Redefining Disasters

by Parasuraman, S.; Krishnan, Unni

• ISBN13: 9780198090410
• ISBN10: 0198090412
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-09-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

India Disasters Report II highlights the reality of disaster vulnerability in India due to natural causes and developmental interventions. It emphasizes the need to look at disasters as an outcome of processes rather than stand-alone events. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this Report emphasizes the importance of understanding the causes, effects, and complex dynamics of disasters. It asserts the need to link natural systems, social systems, and technological limitations to devise policies and action plans for disaster prevention, relief operations, and environmentally-inclusive development. With climate change becoming a global concern, India now has laws and policies, national, state, and district level administrative set-ups, and humanitarian initiatives in place for disaster preparedness and response measures. Exploring diverse issues such as vulnerability, development, environment, gender, health, and information, communication, and technology, in disasters, this Report discusses recent disasters in India and how new thinking affects policy initiatives and actual practice in disaster management.

Author Biography

S. Parasuraman, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai,Unni Krishnan, Disaster Response Coordinator, Plan International, London


S. Parasuraman is Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Unni Krishnan is Disaster Response Coordinator, Plan International, London.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Figures, Boxes, and Map
Foreword by Manmohan Singh
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
I INTRODUCTION Rethinking Disasters: Searching for Clarity and Relevance in Disaster Discourse (S. Parasuraman)
II VULNERABILITY Vulnerability and Disasters: An Overview of Concepts and Challenges (Janki Andharia)
III DEVELOPMENT Building 'Temples' on Shaky Ground: Development Policy and Disaster Risk (Christian Wolff)
Internally Displaced Persons: Nobody's Children (Walter Fernandes)
Hungry Millions: Retreating State and Predatory Capital (Vijoo Krishnan)
IV ENVIRONMENT Angry Earth, Pouring Rain: Nexus between Bad Environment and Disasters (Max Martin)
Drought: Threatening Food Security (Richard Mahapatra)
Dipping Water Levels: Looming Crisis (Shripad Dharmadhikary)
Unsafe Dams: Ticking Time Bombs (Himanshu Thakkar)
Linking Rivers: Cascading Problems (Himanshu Thakkar)
India's Cities: Disaster Zones? (Kalpana Sharma)
Industrial Disasters: Unlearnt Lessons (Nityanand Jayaraman)
Toxic Wastes: Growing Hazard (Ravi Agarwal)
Forecasting and Warning Systems in a Warming World (M. Rajeevan)
V GENDER Gender and Disasters (Nilanjana Biswas)
Sex-selection: Individual Decision, Collective Calamity (Laxmi Murthy)
VI HEALTH Psychosocial Support: Crying Need, Limited Capacity (Surinder Jaswal and Jacquleen Joseph)
VII INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN DISASTERS Stories of Threatening Seas (Frederick Noronha)
VIII REGIONAL CONTEXT (S. Parasuraman, Christian Wolff, and Nilanjana Biswas)
IX CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Annexure: Disasters in India-An Exploration through Data
About the Editors and Contributors.