India’s disaster management expertise was on full display last week as cyclone Biparjoy swept through Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan. The cyclone wreaked havoc on infrastructure in terms of power outages and breakdown of communication links, but the extensive preparedness to limit the damage ensured that the loss of human lives was restricted to just two. While the loss of even a single life is unfortunate, compare the number (an estimated 10,000 deaths) with the last major cyclone Gujarat had experienced in 1998. There isn’t any doubt about the stupendous journey the country has made in implementing post-disaster management procedures. And it’s not Gujarat alone. Odisha, which has witnessed over 100 tropical cyclonic storms since 1891—the most be any state in the country—has become some kind of a role model when it comes to evacuating people and saving lives. The so-called Odisha model has since been adopted by most states with large coastal areas.
At the heart of any disaster management effort is an efficient early warning system—something that was lacking in India’s earlier trysts with disaster management. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has obviously got its act together, as was evident. It began issuing its first reports on the cyclone’s trajectory as early as June 8 and indicated that the “very severe” storm would not bypass India, as previously estimated, and may sharply swing towards Saurashtra. That gave state authorities four days of lead time to implement the disaster management plan. In a unique show of departmental coordination, thousands of people were evacuated from the coastal districts of Gujarat and fishermen were given advance warnings of the cyclone’s impact, which kept them away from the sea. The rest shelters were stocked with all necessary items and medical support. Inward movements of vessels were restricted and all anchored vessels were sailed out of the Gulf of Kutch. While the power and health ministries held extensive review meetings to ensure minimum disruption, the railways cancelled several trains.
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While all this is commendable, there is no scope for complacency as India’s long coastline of 7,516 km exposes the country to around 7% of the world’s tropical cyclones. Traditionally, in India, cyclones have been a phenomenon associated with the Bay of Bengal. The Arabian Sea, in comparison, brewed less cyclones.That picture has been changing. Even as the Bay of Bengal remains the main theatre, the number of cyclones has been increasing in the Arabian sea. In any case, evacuation of people can’t be a permanent policy intervention. It is thus imperative for India’s coastal regions to build resilient infrastructure and accept the “new normal” in a climate-constrained world. This involves looking at extensive expert studies on the changes that are required in the structures of buildings in the coastal areas and implementation of saline embankment projects in larger numbers. More coastal belts and tree covers like mangrove plantations should be created near the coastline, as this would help to reduce the impact of high-velocity winds and flooding in coastal settlements. Inclusion of insurance companies can also help introduce mitigation to the process of disaster recovery. People bearing the brunt of calamities are mostly those at the bottom of the economic pyramid, depending on coconut plantations and agriculture. So, there is a need to adopt smart agriculture methods in coastal regions. In short, we need a proactive rather than reactive disaster management strate