ASSIGNMENT

Name : M.Gurulakshmi

Major : BBA

Roll No : 1710043

Department : Business Administration

Subject : Disaster Management

Course Code : GLBU5E2

Topic : Natural Hazards

Staff Signature
 NATURAL HAZARDS
DROUGHT
A drought  is an event of prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether
atmospheric (below-average ) surface water or ground water. A drought can last
for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days . It can have a
substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and
harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase
the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can
significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour.

Types of Drought

1. Meteorological drought occurs when there is a prolonged time with less than

average precipitation. Meteorological drought usually precedes the other
kinds of drought.
2. Agricultural droughts affect crop production or the ecology of the range.
This condition can also arise independently from any change in precipitation
 levels when either increased irrigation or soil conditions and erosion
triggered by poorly planned agricultural endeavors cause a shortfall in water
available to the crops. However, in a traditional drought, it is caused by an
extended period of below average precipitation.
3. Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in
sources such as aquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall below a locally
significant threshold. Hydrological drought tends to show up more slowly
because it involves stored water that is used but not replenished. Like an
agricultural drought, this can be triggered by more than just a loss of
rainfall. For instance, around 2007 Kazakhstan was awarded a large amount
of money by the World Bank to restore water that had been diverted to other
nations from the Aral Sea under Soviet rule. Similar circumstances also
place their largest lake, Balkhash, at risk of completely drying out.

Causes of Drought
Dry Season
Within the tropics, distinct, wet and dry seasons emerge due to the
movement of the Intertropica l Convergence Zone or Monsoon trough. The dry
season greatly increases drought occurrence, and is characterized by its low
humidity, with watering holes and rivers drying up. Because of the lack of these
watering holes, many grazing animals are forced to migrate due to the lack of
water in search of more fertile lands. Because of the lack of water in the plants,
bushfires are common. Since water vapor becomes more energetic with increasing
temperature, more water vapor is required to increase relative humidity values to
100% at higher temperatures (or to get the temperature to fall to the dew point).
Periods of warmth quicken the pace of fruit and vegetable production, increase
evaporation and transpiration from plants,  and worsen drought conditions.

Erosion and human activities

Human activity can directly trigger exacerbating factors such as over

farming, excessive irrigation, deforestation, and erosion adversely impact the
ability of the land to capture and hold water. In arid climates, the main source of
erosion is wind.  Erosion can be the result of material movement by the wind. The
wind can cause small particles to be lifted and therefore moved to another region
(deflation). Suspended particles within the wind may impact on solid objects
causing erosion by abrasion (ecological succession). Wind erosion generally
occurs in areas with little or no vegetation, often in areas where there is insufficient
rainfall to support vegetation.
Climatic changes

Overall, global warming will result in increased world rainfall.

Activities resulting in global climate change are expected to trigger droughts with
a substantial impact on agriculture  throughout the world, and especially
in developing nations. Along with drought in some areas, flooding and erosion
could increase in others. Some proposed solutions to global warming that focus on
more active techniques, solar radiation management through the use of a space
sunshade for one, may also carry with them increased chances of drought.
Consequence of Drought
 Diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying
capacity for livestock
 Dust bowls, themselves a sign of erosion, which further erode the landscape
 Dust storms, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification
and erosion
 Famine
 Habitat damage, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
 Hunger – drought provides too little water to support food crops.
 Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases
 Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees
 Reduced electricity production due to reduced water-flow
through hydroelectric dams
 Shortages of water for industrial users
 Snake migration, which results in snake-bites
 Social unrest
 War over natural resources, including water and food
 Wildfires, such as Australian bushfires, become more common during times
of drought and may cause human deaths.
 Exposure and oxidation of acid sulfate soils due to falling surface- and
ground-water levels.

Protection , Mitigation and Relief

Strategies for drought protection, mitigation or relief include:

 Dams – many dams and their associated reservoirs supply additional water
in times of drought
 Cloud seeding – a form of intentional weather modification to induce
rainfall. This remains a hotly debated topic, as the United States National
Research Council released a report in 2004 stating that to date, there is still no
convincing scientific proof of the efficacy of intentional weather modification.
 Desalination – use of sea water for irrigation or consumption.
 Drought monitoring – Continuous observation of rainfall levels and
comparisons with current usage levels can help prevent man-made drought. For
instance, analysis of water usage in Yemen has revealed that their water
table (underground water level) is put at grave risk by over-use to fertilize
their Khat crop. Careful monitoring of moisture levels can also help predict
increased risk for wildfires, using such metrics as the Keetch-Byram Drought
Index or Palmer Drought Index.
 Land use – Carefully planned crop rotation can help to minimize erosion and
allow farmers to plant less water-dependent crops in drier years.
 Outdoor water-use restriction – Regulating the use of sprinklers, hoses or
buckets on outdoor plants, filling pools, and other water-intensive home
maintenance tasks. Xeriscaping yards can significantly reduce unnecessary
water use by residents of towns and cities.
 Rainwater harvesting – Collection and storage of rainwater from roofs or
other suitable catchments.
 Recycled water – Former wastewater (sewage) that has been treated and
purified for reuse.

FLOOD

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry.  In the
sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide.
Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant
concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health.
Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as
a river, lake, or ocean, in which the water overtops or breaks levees, resulting in
some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it may occur due to an
accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While the size of
a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and
snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless
they flood property or drown domestic animals.
Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river
channel, particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway. Floods often cause
damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers.
While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and
other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because
the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy travel and access
to commerce and industry.
Some floods develop slowly, while others can develop in just a few minutes and
without visible signs of rain. Additionally, floods can be local, impacting a
neighborhood or community, or very large, affecting entire river basins

Types
Areal
Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or
snowmelt more rapidly than it can either infiltrate or run off. The excess
accumulates in place, sometimes to hazardous depths. Surface soil can become
saturated, which effectively stops infiltration, where the water table is shallow,
such as a floodplain, or from intense rain from one or a series of storms. Infiltration
also is slow to negligible through frozen ground, rock, concrete, paving, or roofs.
Areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not
connected to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on
the surface slope. Endorheic basins may experience areal flooding during periods
when precipitation exceeds evaporation.

Riverine (Channel)
Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from the smallest ephemeral
streams in humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the world's
largest rivers. When overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a muddy
flood where sediments are picked up by run off and carried as suspended matter
or bed load. Localized flooding may be caused or exacerbated by drainage
obstructions such as landslides, ice, debris, or beaver dams.
Slow-rising floods most commonly occur in large rivers with large catchment
areas. The increase in flow may be the result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow
melt, monsoons, or tropical cyclones. However, large rivers may have rapid
flooding events in areas with dry climate, since they may have large basins but
small river channels and rainfall can be very intense in smaller areas of those
basins.
Rapid flooding events, including flash floods, more often occur on smaller rivers,
rivers with steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over
impermeable terrain, or normally-dry channels. The cause may be
localized convective precipitation (intense thunderstorms) or sudden release from
an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or glacier. In one
instance, a flash flood killed eight people enjoying the water on a Sunday
afternoon at a popular waterfall in a narrow canyon. Without any observed rainfall,
the flow rate increased from about 50 to 1,500 cubic feet per second (1.4 to
42 m3/s) in just one minute.[4] Two larger floods occurred at the same site within a
week, but no one was at the waterfall on those days. The deadly flood resulted
from a thunderstorm over part of the drainage basin, where steep, bare rock slopes
are common and the thin soil was already saturated.
Flash floods are the most common flood type in normally-dry channels in arid
zones, known as arroyos in the southwest United States and many other names
elsewhere. In that setting, the first flood water to arrive is depleted as it wets the
sandy stream bed. The leading edge of the flood thus advances more slowly than
later and higher flows. As a result, the rising limb of the hydrograph becomes ever
quicker as the flood moves downstream, until the flow rate is so great that the
depletion by wetting soil becomes insignificant.
Estuarine and coastal
Flooding in estuaries is commonly caused by a combination of sea tidal surges
caused by winds and low barometric pressure, and they may be exacerbated by
high upstream river flow.
Coastal areas may be flooded by storm events at sea, resulting in waves over-
topping defenses or in severe cases by tsunami or tropical cyclones. A storm surge,
from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within this
category. Research from the NHC (National Hurricane Center) explains: "Storm
surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the
predicted astronomical tides. Storm surge should not be confused with storm tide,
which is defined as the water level rise due to the combination of storm surge and
the astronomical tide. This rise in water level can cause extreme flooding in coastal
areas particularly when storm surge coincides with normal high tide, resulting in
storm tides reaching up to 20 feet or more in some cases.

Urban flooding
Urban flooding is the inundation of land or property in a built environment,
particularly in more densely populated areas, caused by rainfall overwhelming the
capacity of drainage systems, such as storm sewers. Although sometimes triggered
by events such as flash flooding or snowmelt, urban flooding is a condition,
characterized by its repetitive and systemic impacts on communities, that can
happen regardless of whether or not affected communities are located within
designated floodplains or near any body of water.Aside from potential overflow of
rivers and lakes, snowmelt, stormwater or water released from damaged water
mains may accumulate on property and in public rights-of-way, seep through
building walls and floors, or backup into buildings through sewer pipes, toilets and
sinks.

CYCLONE
In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong
center of low atmospheric pressure. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling
winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. Cyclones rotate clockwise in the
Southern Hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Cyclones are also referred to as hurricanes and typhoons. They consist of the eye,
eyewall and rainbands.

Background
Cyclones are caused by atmospheric disturbances around a low-pressure area
distinguished by swift,and often destructive air circulation. Approximately 5700
km out of around 7516 kms of India’s coastline, its flat coastal terrain and high
population density are extremely vulnerable to cyclones. Recurrent cyclones
account for a large number of deaths, loss of livelihood opportunities, loss of
public and private property, and severe damage to infrastructure. Cyclones are
associated with Strong Winds, Torrential rains

Awareness Generation
Prepare communities to deal with disasters in a manner that people’s lives and
properties are protected, and to ultimately become resilient public awareness
generation will serve to empower people with knowledge about the role and
responsibilities of the state Targeting schools, colleges and all educational
institutions is a very important part of awareness generation. It has to be sustained
through constant updating, upgrading and mock drills. Awareness will also help
in induction of the constantly evolving knowledge of science and technology as
well as research and development applications

Management of Cyclones
a) Construction of cyclone shelters, construction of cyclone resistant buildings,
road links, bridges, canals, drains, saline embankments, communication and power
transmission networks etc.

b) Early warning dissemination systems, management of coastal zones, awareness

generation and disaster risk management and capacity building of all the
stakeholders involved.

C) These measures are being adopted and tackled on State to State basis under
National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) being implemented through
World Bank Assistance inland flooding and Storm Surge.

Measures to be taken
Pre Disaster:
a) provide cyclone forecasting, tracking and warning systems

b) Construction of cyclone shelters, cyclone resistant buildings, road links,

bridges, canals, drains etc

c) Establishing Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS), and Capacity

building for coastal communities

d) Mock drills, and training of local population and police by NDRF and SDRF

e) Plantations of strong rooted trees, canopies, mangroves and proper vegetation

cover which act as first line of defence

f) Proper drainage system throughout the city to discharge the water as soon as
possible to avoid flood like conditions
g) Use of NAVIC and RESOURCESAT-2 for disseminating coastal information
and helping in disaster management.

h) Implementation of National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project

During disaster:
a) Cautionary advice put out on social platforms urging people to stay safe can
reduce the number of casualties as seen in Chennai during recent cyclone Vardha.

b) Social media and the Internet, speedy official and community messages,
creating online groups and sharing messages offering help and advice.

c) Perception of people decides the intensity of disaster. If people take necessary

proactive steps to deal with disaster then even the severe disaster can be dealt with
minimum damage.

d) Delivery of food and health care via mobile hospitals, with priorities to women
child & elders.

e) Protection of the community and their evacuation and quicker response.

Post disaster:
a) It is vital that the learning from each event is shared nationally, and the capacity
of officials and communities to manage disasters built continuously.

b) Among the securities available to individuals in many countries is insurance

against property losses. Viable policies should be made available in India too

. c) Providing alternative means of communication, energy and transport just after

the disaster.

Need of the Hour

To overcome the power cut it is important to have rooftop solar and battery
storage systems as supplementary power sources for households and corporates.
Planting trees with strong root systems and pruning the canopy ahead of cyclone
season could reduce uprooting. Government should restore infrastructure and
provide priority relief to the families of those who lost their lives, and the worst-
hit communities. Efficient use of technology and implementation of the Sendai
framework is the need to the hour. Collaboration with other countries in the region
to strengthen the cooperation and efforts .