UNIT-5

DISASTER MANAGEMENT: APPLICATION AND CASE STUDIES AND FIELD

WORK

 Landslide hazard zonation; case studies

 Earthquake vulnerability assessment of buildings and infrastructure; case
studies
 Drought assessment; case studies
 Coastal flooding; storm surge assessment
 Types of floods
 Fluvial and pluvial flooding ; case studies
 Forest fire and man-made disasters; case studies
 Space based inputs for disaster mitigation and management and field works
related to disaster management

1
 LIST OF IMPORTANT QUESTION

Part-A

1. What is a Fluvial Flood? (A/M 19)

2. Give few examples of man-made disaster. (A/M 19)
3. Give any two recent natural disaster in India. (A/M 18)
4. List down the different types of floods. (A/M 18)
5. What is disaster?
6. What is natural disaster?
7. What is man-made disaster?
8. What are tropical cyclones?
9. What is hazard?
10. Define Vulnerability?
11. Define Emergency?
12. What is Cyclone?
13. Describe Safety Programmes for disaster?

2
 PART-B
1. Explain the different types of Man-made disasters with special reference to
Bhopal gas leak tragedy? (A/M 19)
2. What was the type of flood that effected Kerala recently? Critically evaluate the
risk reduction strategies followed during the disaster. (A/M 19)
3. Explain the Space based input for disaster Mitigation and Management? (A/M 18)
4. Explain the Coastal flooding with Storm Surge Assessment? (A/M 18)
5. Explain in detailed about Earthquake vulnerability assessment of Buildings and
Infrastructure of their case study?
6. Describe the Landslide Hazard Zonation with one of the Case studies?
7. With reference to one of the case studies Explain the Drought Assessment?.
Drought assessment - case study?
8. Explain in detailed about Forest fire with one of the case study?
9. Explain the Field Works Related to Disaster Management?
10. Explain the fluvial and pluvial flood with one of case studies?

3
 PART-A

1. What is a Fluvial Flood? (A/M 19)

Fluvial, or riverine flooding, occurs when excessive rainfall over an

extended period of time causes a river to exceed its capacity. It can also be caused
by heavy snow melt and ice jams.  For example, the Huang He in China is literally
translated "Yellow River", and the Mississippi River in the United States is also
called "the Big Muddy".

2.Give few examples of man –made disaster? (A/M 19)

Man-made disasters can include hazardous

 Material spills
 Fire
 Groundwater contamination
 Transportation accidents
 Structure failures
 Mining accidents
 Explosions and acts of terrorism.

3. Give any two recent natural disaster in India? (A/M 18)

On 8 August 2019, due to heavy rainfall in the Monsoon season,
severe flood affected Kerala. A total of 101 people have died due to rain-related
incidents.
On 8 December 2019, a fire occurred at a factory building in Anaj Mandiarea
of Delhi, India. At least 43 people died and more than 56 were injured.

4. List down the different types of floods? (A/M 18)

 Flash floods.
 Coastal floods.
 Urban floods.
 River (or fluvial) floods.
 Pond (or pluvial flooding)

4
5.What is disaster?
Disaster as "any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of
human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant
an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area".

6. What is natural disaster?

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard ( i.e flood, tornado, hurricane,
volcanic eruption, earthquake, heat wave, or landslide). It leads to financial,
environmental or human losses. The resulting loss depends on the vulnerability of the
affected population to resist the hazard, also called their resilience.

7.What is man -made disaster?

A man-made disaster results from man-made hazards (threats having an
element of human intent, negligence or error, or involving a failure of a man-made
system). They differ from natural disasters that result from natural hazards.

8. What are tropical cyclones?

 A tropical cyclone is composed of a system of thunderstorms that shows a
cyclonic rotation around a central core or eye. A tropical cyclone is a generic term for
a storm with an organized system of thunderstorms that are not based on a frontal
system.

9. What is hazard?
A Hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health,  property,
or environment. Most hazards are dormant or potential, with only a theoretical risk of
harm; however, once a hazard becomes "active", it can create an emergency
situation. A hazard does not exist when it is not happening. A hazardous situation that
has come to pass is called an incident. Hazard and vulnerability interact together to
create risk.

10. Define Vulnerability? 
Vulnerability - It refers to the inability to withstand the effects of a hostile
environment.

5
 Window of vulnerability - (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive
measures are reduced, compromised or lacking.

11. Define Emergency?

Sudden, unexpected, or impending situation that may cause injury, loss of life,
damage to the property, and/or interference with the normal a person firm and which,
therefore, requires immediate attention and remedial action.

12. What is 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.
13. Describe Safety Programs for disaster?

 Conduct Regular Mock drills

 Students know how to do Drop-Cover-Hold during earthquake.
 Prepare School Disaster Management Plan
 Prepare an Evacuation Plan
 Teachers have the knowledge on basic surviving skills, First aid and Search and
Rescue.
 Generate awareness amongst the Schools and Community on vulnerability and
importance of preparedness.
 NSSP has also covered Schools for Differently-abled Students.
 Engineers trained under NSSP have also conducted RVS in other Institutions/
Colleges/ Offices / GAD quarters in the District. They also act as Resource
persons in other Disaster Management Training programme.

6
 PART -B

1. Explain the different types of Man-made disasters with special reference to

Bhopal gas leak tragedy? (A/M 19)

Disasters caused by human action, negligence, error, or involving the failure of a

system are called man-made disasters. Man-made disasters are in turn categorized
as technological or sociological. Technological disasters are the results of failure of
technology, such as engineering failures, transport disasters, or environmental
disasters. /Sociological disasters have a strong human motive, such as criminal acts,
stampedes, riots and war.

1) Bhopal Gas Tragedy, India:

2) Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico:

3) Chernobyl Meltdown, Ukraine:

4) Fukushima Meltdown, Japan:

5) Global Warming, Third Planet from the Sun:

Bhopal gas tragedy:

 On December 3 1984, more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked

from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, immediately killing at least 3,800 people and
causing significant morbidity and premature death for many thousands more. The
company involved in what became the worst industrial accident in history immediately
tried to dissociate itself from legal responsibility.
 Eventually it reached a settlement with the Indian Government through
mediation of that country's Supreme Court and accepted moral responsibility. It paid
$470 million in compensation, a relatively small amount of based on significant
underestimations of the long-term health consequences of exposure and the number of
people exposed.

7
  The disaster indicated a need for enforceable international standards for
environmental safety, preventative strategies to avoid similar accidents and industrial
disaster preparedness.
 Since the disaster, India has experienced rapid industrialization. While
some positive changes in government policy and behavior of a few industries have
taken place, major threats to the environment from rapid and poorly regulated industrial
growth remain. Widespread environmental degradation with significant adverse human
health consequences continues to occur throughout India.
 On the night of 2nd -3 rd December, methyl isocyanate (MIC) a deadly
gas leaked over the city of Bhopal from the plant of union carbide India limited(UCIL) at
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh which manufactured pesticides.
 It leads to several thousand deaths and more than 500,000 people being
exposed to MIC and other hazardous chemicals and causing a disaster which is
sometimes referred to as the world’s worst industrial disaster. The chemical spill turned
the UCIL factory into a gas chamber.
 The people were running, dying, vomiting. The city ran out of cremation
grounds. The government had no idea on how to help the affected people. The plant
was controlled by UCIL which is a subsidiary of the used based company UCC (Union
Carbide Corporation), which provided negligible help to deal with the ongoing tragedy.
 The main problem was nobody knew anything about its antidote or how to
treat the toxin. The disaster resulted in people suffering from ailments such as anemia,
tuberculosis but nobody could find the complete health effects caused by MIC and how
to treat it.
 The treatment research was even more complicated by the fact that
children born to mothers who were exposed to the gas were also the victims of the
release. Another factor which makes it worse is that till date, even after 32 years there
has been no closure in the report on what actually caused the disaster. Negligent
management and poor maintenance standards being observed caused the routine pipe
maintenance to backflow of water into the MIC storage tank triggering the disasters
claimed by the government and the local activists, while at the same time UCC still
claims that it was caused by water entering the tank due to some act of sabotage.

8
Pre-Leak Phase

The UCIL factory started its production of the pesticide sevin in 1969 using mic
as an intermediate. A plant was set up in 1979 to produce MIC. The chemical process
used in the Bhopal plant controlled a reaction of methylamine with phosgene to form
MIC, which was further reacted reacted with 1- naphthol to give the final product
known as carbaryl.

Earlier leaks

In 1976, there were complaints of pollution by the production employees of the

plant. In 1986, a maintenance employee was splashed with phosgene and died within
72 hours. In 1982 24 workers inhaled phosgene gas and were admitted to a hospital
and another 18 workers were affected.

A chemical engineer in august 1982 suffered 30% burns over his body on coming
in contact with liquid MIC. Later that year there was another MIC leak. In 1983 and
1984 there were several leaks of hazardous gases such as MIC, chlorine, phosgene
and monomethylamine. Hence these kinds of occurrences were not uncommon in the
UCIL plant and it was not a safe working place.

The leak and its effects

 The UCC facility used three tanks to store 15000 gallons of liquid MIC
produced which and it was to be kept under pressure using inert nitrogen which helped
the pumping of MIC when needed and also kept impurities at bay. The safety
regulations specified that the maximum 50% of the tank should be used for storage.
 Another disadvantage of using MIC was that it had to be stored at 0degree
Celsius at all times to keep it inert. In the last days, October 1984, the E610 tank lost its
ability to maintain the nitrogen pressure which halted the production of MIC in the plant.
The production was soon started again despite a failed attempt of reestablishment of
the system and the 42 tons of remaining MIC was ignored.
 On the night of 2nd December 1984 around 10:30 pm, with the MIC safety
systems not working to their full efficiency, water from a connecting pipe was introduced
in the E610 tank causing a catastrophic exothermic reaction damaging the system and

9
causing the leak of MIC. It did not take long for the gas to spread over the city of Bhopal
causing great panic among the residents. The initial effects were breathlessness,
severe irritation in the eyes, coughing, a feeling of suffocation and burning of the
respiratory tract. People realizing the symptoms ran away from the plant. Several
thousand people were victims and had died before the following morning.
 The primary factors causing the deaths were choking, collapse of
circulatory systems, changes in the lungs and improper functioning of the kidneys are a
few among many. The neo natal mortality rate rose manifold. The Indian council of
medical research (ICMR) was forbidden to give out the data to the public but estimates
say that more than 500,000 people were affected by it. The few implications known
were in eyes, respiratory tracts, neurological systems and psychological effects.
 The legacy of UCIL still is still haunting the people of Bhopal. The three
pesticides produced by the company, namely carbaryl (trade name Sevin), aldicarb
(trade name Temik) and a formulation of carbaryl and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane
(g-HCH). 15 years before the disaster it continued to dump process waste and other
hazardous by products in and around the area of the factory. Since then 350+ tonnes of
waste has been kept leaking at the site and it is still lying there. Nobody is ready to pay
for the disposal of the waste and keep playing the blame game on each other.
 This has resulted in adulteration of the ground water in a 3km radius
around the premises of the factory. The test results have been found toxic for the fish. If
not taken proper care this Bhopal gas tragedy 2.0 threatens a greater no of people than
the first one as some of these chemicals can remain there up to 100 years unless taken
care of and the site is decontaminated.

10
 2. What was the type of flood that effected Kerala recently? Critically evaluate
the risk reduction strategies followed during the disaster. (A/M 19)
Background

Kerala, with a population of over 3.3 crore, is globally recognized for its
impressive achievements in human development. Within India, Kerala ranks first
among Indian states on the Human Development Index (HDI). In 2015–16, Kerala was
among the top five Indian states in terms of per capita state domestic product and
among the top four in terms of growth in per capita income.

1 Many other human development indicators for Kerala are at par with those of
developed countries. For instance, the state reported a literacy rate in 2011 of 94%

2 (as against the national average of 73%), life expectancy at birth between
2011–15 of 75.2 years (the highest among Indian states and higher than the national
average of 68.8 years)

3 and an infant mortality of 10 per thousand live births (the lowest among Indian
states)

4. The state also reported the lowest proportion of population below the poverty
line (7%) as against the national average of 22%.

5 In 2015–16, 94% of households had access to improved drinking water

sources, 98% of them were using improved sanitation facilities, and 99% of the
households had electricity.

6 Human development has also been more equitable in Kerala than in other
Indian states. For instance, Kerala is placed first among states in inequality adjusted
HDI which indicates the least loss of HDI on account on inequality.

Kerala, however, is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and the changing

climatic dynamics given its location along the sea coast and with a steep gradient
along the slopes of the Western Ghats. The Kerala State Disaster Management Plan

11
 identifies 39 hazards categorized as naturally triggered hazards (natural hazards) and
anthropogenically triggered hazards (anthropogenic hazards). Kerala is also one of
the most densely populated Indian states (860 persons per square kilometers) making
it more vulnerable to damages and losses on account of disasters.

Floods are the most common of natural hazard in the state. Nearly 14.5% of the
state’s land area is prone to floods, and the proportion is as high as 50% for certain
districts. Landslides are a major hazard along the Western Ghats in Wayanad,
Kozhikode, Idukki, and Kottayam districts. Seasonal drought-like conditions are also
common during the summer months. Kerala experienced 66 drought years
between1881 and 2000.8 Dry rivers and lowering water tables in summer have led to
water scarcity both in urban and rural areas. Other major natural hazards are lightning,
forest fires, soil piping, coastal erosion, and high wind speed. The state also lies in
seismic zone

Disaster Event

Between June 1 and August 18, 2018, Kerala experienced the worst ever floods
in its history since 1924. During this period, the state received cumulative rainfall that
was 42% in excess of the normal average. The heaviest spell of rain was during1-20
August, when the state received 771mm of rain. The torrential rains triggered several
landslides and forced the release of excess water from 37 dams across the state,
aggravating the flood impact. Nearly 341 landslides were reported from 10districts.
Idukki, the worst hit district, was ravaged by 143 landslides.

12
 According to latest reports of the state government, 1,259 out of 1,664 villages
13spread across its 14 districts were affected.9 The seven worst hit districts were
Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitha, Thrissur, and Wayanad,
where the whole district was notified as flood affected. The devastating floods and
landslides affected 5.4 million people, displaced 1.4 million people, and took 433lives
(22 May–29 August 2018).

Immediate Response and Relief Operations

The state government responded swiftly with rescue and relief operations and
saved many lives by rapidly mobilizing the following national forces:

• Kerala Fire and Rescue Services: 4,100 individuals and the entire rescue
equipment deployed

• National Disaster Response Force (NDRF): 58 teams, 207 boats

• Army: 23 columns, 104 boats

13
 • Navy: 94 rescue teams, one medical team, nine helicopters, two fixed wing
aircrafts and 94 boats

• Coast Guard: 36 teams, 49 boats, two helicopters, two fixed wing and 27 hired
boats

• Air Force: 22 helicopters from Air Force and 23 fixed wing aircrafts

• Central Reserve Police Force: 10 teams

• Border Security Force: Two companies and one water vehicle team.

In addition, the fishing community of the state rendered phenomenal voluntary

assistance towards search and rescue in the flood affected areas. Nearly 669 boats
that went out with 4,537 fishermen are estimated to have saved at least 65,000 lives.

The total recovery needs are estimated at INR 31,000 crore (USD 4.4 billion)
including the recovery needs estimated by the JRDNA (Table 1). The assessment,
done across social, productive, infrastructure and cross-cutting sectors, estimates
both private and public loss.

Nava Keralam: Building a Green and Resilient Kerala

Nava Keralam is the government’s vision of converting the crisis into an

opportunity by more explicitly embedding the idea of building a green and resilient
Kerala into the Approach Paper to the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, the Disaster
Management Policy, the State Water Policy, and the Gender Equity and Women’s
Empowerment Policies of Kerala.

The recovery policy framework for building a Green Kerala committed to:

(i) the Chief Minister’s vision of a Nava Keralam (New Kerala), and
(ii) (ii) the concept of ‘build back better and faster’ rests on four pillars:

• Pillar 1: Integrated water resources management (IWRM)

14
 • Pillar 2: Eco-sensitive and risk-informed approaches to land use and
settlements

• Pillar 3: Inclusive and people centered approach

• Pillar 4: Knowledge, innovation, and technology

Essential Building Blocks

Priority actions areas to build a green and resilient Kerala are:

Reviewing Land Use Patterns:

Changing Consumption Patterns:

Sustainable Building Guidelines

Maximize Use of Solar Energy: Green Technology Centres:

Environment and Natural Resource Managers:

Integrate Solid Waste Management Centres:

Greening the Tourism Sector: Creating Green Jobs:

Climate Change Resilience:

Innovations for Greening Kerala

The PDNA has identified several innovative ideas across sectors for the greening
of Kerala as it starts building back better and faster.

Integrated Water Resource Management: Learning from the international best

practice of water resource management from the Netherlands, Kerala can promote
best practices like ‘room for the river’, ‘living with water’, and ‘building with nature’. An
analysis of the sector proposes that the state should launch a Hydrological Crash
Programme for collecting available data using state-of-the-art hydrological software
and build a hydrological model for a pilot basin.

15
 The government should also prepare a master plan for the Kuttanad area, start
an awareness programme on living with water in flood prone areas, and set up a
Kerala Water Partnership to organise dialogues and promote communication for
behaviour change.

Housing, Land, and Settlements: In line with the state government’s vision of a
‘NavaKeralam’, the reconstruction processes envisage an eco-sensitive approach
using construction technologies based on local materials, fulfill the aspirations of the
public, reduce the carbon footprint, and create more local green jobs. To achieve this,
it is proposed be set up 70 housing facilitation centre to assist the house owners
choose designs appropriate to the location, procure materials and provide technical
support to construct houses. Over 17,000 houses will be reconstructed and 2.17 lakh
dwelling units repaired over a period of three years.

Nearly 2,800masons will be trained in disaster resilient construction technologies

and 140 units of small scale building materials production centre will be established to
rebuild and repair the 2.17 lakh houses that were affected by the floods and
landslides. In the long term, it is proposed to review the existing building codes and by
laws for urban and rural areas. Kerala could emerge as the pioneer state to develop
separate guidelines for construction on highlands and slopes for inclusion in the
National Building Code.

The recovery strategy proposes to empower the Local Self Government

Department (LSGD) offices to facilitate the adoption of risk resilient housing designs.
The LSGD will also function as a regulatory body, guiding house-owners on
appropriate structures for specific sites. It will work in close coordination with the
Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment (LIFE) Mission.

Disaster Risk Reduction: The vision set out for Nava Keralam is to ensure zero
mortality due to disasters with minimum economic losses and disruption of services.

To achieve it, the principles of risk-informed programming will be embedded

across all the sector recovery plans with additional investments for disaster
preparedness and response.

16
 This includes the revival of the State Disaster Response Force, enhancing the
operational efficiency of the fire and police personnel, setting up robust early warning
mechanisms, employing effective risk and behavioural change communication
strategies, and implementing community-based disaster risk management
approaches.

It is proposed that Kerala integrates DRR across keysectors with the necessary
technical guidance from training institutions and the academia. Important measures
proposed in this regard include the development of a comprehensive land-use
management policy and Act, necessary amendments in the existing building
regulations, ensuring environment impact assessment, and the formulation of special
development control regulations for hills and coastal areas.

3. Explain the Coastal flooding with Storm Surge Assessment ? (A/M 18)
COASTAL FLOODING STORM SURGE ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY
Coastal Flood Assessment due to Sea Level Rise and Extreme Storm
Events: A Case Study of the Atlantic Coast of Portugal’s Mainland .

 Portugal’s mainland has hundreds of thousands of people living in the

Atlantic coastal zone, with numerous high economic value activities and a high
number of infrastructures that must be adapted and protected from natural coastal
hazards, namely, extreme storms and sea level rise (SLR). In the context of climate
change adaptation strategies, a reliable and accurate assessment of the physical
vulnerability to SLR is crucial.
 This study is a contribution to the implementation of flooding standards
imposed by the European Directive 2007/60/EC, which requires each member state to
assess the risk associated to SLR and floods caused by extreme events. Therefore,
coastal hazard on the Atlantic Coast of Portugal’s mainland was evaluated for 2025,
2050, and 2100 over the whole extension due to SLR, with different sea level
scenarios for different extreme event return periods.

17
  A coastal probabilistic flooding map was produced based on the
developed probabilistic cartography methodology using geographic information
system (GIS) technology.
 The Extreme Flood Hazard Index (EFHI) was determined on probabilistic
flood bases using five probability intervals of 20% amplitude. For a given SLR
scenario, the EFHI is expressed, on the probabilistic flooding maps for an extreme
tidal maximum level, by five hazard classes ranging from 1 (Very Low) to 5 (Extreme).
 Sea level rise, as consequence of global warming, has been occurring for
more than a century. For a global temperature anomaly increase of around 1 °C, the
global mean sea level (GMSL) has raised approximately 20 cm since the end of the
19th century, both globally and regionally [1–4].
 Although there is a very low rate of regional uplifting, SLR on the west
coast of Portugal’s mainland is in line with GMSL, with a slow and progressive
response to global warming [5]. On one hand, this is due to the ocean’s thermal
expansion and, on the other hand, yet to a smaller extent, to the ocean mass increase
resulting from the melting of the continental glaciers and of the Greenland and
Antarctica polar ice caps.
 However, the most recent data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate
Experiment (GRACE) satellites’ mission and the Argo float network indicate that, since
the beginning of this century, the ocean mass component increase has already
surpassed the thermal expansion increase.

Materials and Methods

Coastal Flood Forcing - Sea Level Rise Projections

 Data from the Cascais tide gauge (TG), the oldest gauge in Portugal and
in the entire Iberian Peninsula and which has been working since 1882 (see [5] for the
historical records), were used to estimate the first relative SLR empirical projection for
the Portuguese coast by .The gauge is located off the open coast, at a site of low
tectonic activity [18] and reduced glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and with a sea
level in considerable agreement with global SLR records [5].

18
  Furthermore, Antunes [19], based on a daily average data series,
concluded that the relative SLR at Cascais exhibited a rate of 4.1 mm/year for the past
12 years, demonstrating the correlation between the Cascais TG and GMSL rates.
 The Cascais SLR analysis validation was performed by comparing results
with regional and global data models obtained from satellite and global tide gauge
data, after removing the difference of the corresponding vertical velocity rate effect
(obtained from tectonics and GIA) [5].
 For different MSL data series and different methodological approaches,
Antunes [5] showed a set of relative SLR projections for the 21st century, based on
which the author generated a probabilistic ensemble used to compute an SLR
probability density function at epoch 2100. Based on the Cascais TG relative SLR
estimation of 2.1 mm/year between 1992 and 2005 and 4.1 mm/year between 2006
and 2016, Antunes [5] estimated an accelerated SLR model, designated by
Mod.FC_2b.
 The central estimate of this model (Figure 1) shows an intermediate
hazard projection, when compared with other estimations and extreme values
reported by Sweet et al. [4], with a value of 1.14 ± 0.15 m for epoch 2100. This
Cascais TG projection model of SLR was applied to the entire ACPM to produce
probabilistic coastal flood maps, used consequently for coastal vulnerability and risk
assessment.

19
Storm Surge Modelling

Storm surge (SS) is the additional increase of the predicted astronomical tides
caused by meteorological forcing due to storm events, through the joint effect of a
lower atmospheric pressure, with a ratio of −1 cm/hPa, and the persistent effect of
wind friction on the sea surface, depending on its direction and intensity. SS is a tide
level disturbance, usually positive but which can also be negative when high
atmospheric pressure occurs, ranging from a few centimeters to several meters, and
which can last for hours to more than a day. In Portugal, according to an update study
following the methodology of that was based on the analysis of tide gauge data series
from 1960 to 2018, the maximum observed storm surge along the west coast of
Portugal’s mainland exhibited average values ranging from 50 to 70 cm for the
different TGs, and maximum values of 80 cm to 1 m for long return periods (100 years
or more). The maximum value detected by harmonic analysis was 82 cm in the Viana
do Castelo TG on October 15, 1987, and 83 cm in the Lagos TG on March 4, 2013. In
the latter, such a magnitude is only explained by the additional wave setup effect due
to the TG localization and the SW wave direction of the storm event

The developed methodology presents an innovative approach to produce coastal

probabilistic flooding cartography for any considered SLR projection, any coastal force
model coupling, and any DTM spatial resolution, based on a hydrostatic model and
considering that the respective associated parameter uncertainties are provided or
estimated.Considering the Mod.FC_2b projection for the 2050 SLR

4. Explain the Space based input for disaster Mitigation and Management?
(A/M 19)
SPACE BASED INPUTS FOR DISASTER MITIGATION AND MANAGEMENT:

 Natural disasters are extreme events within the earth's system that result
in death or injury to humans, and damage or loss of valuable properties, such as
buildings, communication systems, agricultural land, forest, natural environment etc.
The economic losses due to natural disasters have shown an increase with a factor of
eight over the past four decades, caused by the increased vulnerability of the global

20
society, but also due to an increase in the number of weather-related disasters. For the
management of natural disasters a large amount of multi-temporal spatial data is
required.
 Satellite remote sensing is the ideal tool for disaster management, since it
offers information over large areas, and at short time intervals. Although it can be
utilised in the various phases of disaster management, such as prevention,
preparedness, relief, and reconstruction, in practice up till now it is mostly used for
warning and monitoring. During the last decades space technology has become an
operational tool in the disaster preparedness and warning phases for cyclones,
droughts, and floods.
 The use of remote sensing is not possible without a proper tool to handle
the large amounts of data and combine it with data coming from other sources, such as
maps or measurement stations. Therefore, together with the growth of the remote
sensing applications, Geographic Information Systems have become increasingly
important for disaster management. This chapter gives a review of the use of space
inputs and GIS for a number of major disaster types.

INTRODUCTION

Natural disasters are extreme events within the earth's system(lithosphere,

hydrosphere, biosphere or atmosphere) whichdiffers substantially from the mean,
resulting in death or injuryto humans, and damage or loss of valuable good, such
asbuildings, communication systems, agricultural land, forest,and natural
environment. They are a profound impact of thenatural environment upon the socio-
economic system(Alexander, 1993). It is important to distinguish between theterms
disaster and hazard.

A potentially damagingphenomenon (hazard), such as an earthquake by itself

is notconsidered a disaster when it occurs in uninhabited areas. It iscalled a disaster
when it occurs in a populated area, and bringsdamage, loss or destruction. Natural
disasters occur in manyparts of the world, although each type of disaster is
restrictedto certain regions.

21
 Figure 1 gives an indication of thegeographical distribution of a number of
major hazards, suchas earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical storms and cyclones.
Ascan be seen from this figure earthquake and volcanoes, forexample, are
concentrated mainly on the earth's plateboundaries.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND GIS TOOLS

 Mitigation of natural disasters can be successful only whendetailed
knowledge is obtained about the expected frequency,character, and magnitude of
hazardous events in an area.
 Many types of information that are needed in natural
disastermanagement have an important spatial component. Spatial dataare data with
a geographic component, such as maps, aerialphotography, satellite imagery,
GPS data, rainfall data,borehole data etc.
 Many of these data will have a different projection and co-ordinate
system, and need to be brought to acommon map-basis, in order to superimpose
them. We nowhave access to information gathering and organisingtechnologies
like remote sensing and geographic informationsystems (GIS), which have proven
their usefulness in disastermanagement.

22
  First of all, remote sensing and GIS provides a data base fromwhich the
evidence left behind by disasters that have occurredbefore can be interpreted, and
combined with otherinformation to arrive at hazard maps, indicating which
areasare potentially dangerous.
 The zonation of hazard must be thebasis for any disaster management
project and should supplyplanners and decision-makers with adequate
andunderstandable information. Remote sensing data, such assatellite images
and aerial photos allow us to map the variabilities of terrain properties, such as
vegetation, water, and geology, both in space and time.
 Satellite images give asynoptic overview and provide very useful
environmentalinformation, for a wide range of scales, from entire continentsto details
of a few metres. Secondly, many types of disasters,such as floods, drought, cyclones,
volcanic eruptions, etc. willhave certain precursors. The satellites can detect the
earlystages of these events as anomalies in a time series. Images are available at
regular short time intervals, and can be used forthe prediction of both rapid and slow
disasters.Then, when a disaster occurs, the speed of informationcollection from
air and space borne platforms and thepossibility of information dissemination
with a matchingswiftness make it possible to monitor the occurrence of
thedisaster. Many disasters may affect large areas and no othertool than remote
sensing would provide a matching spatialcoverage.
 Remote sensing also allows monitoring the eventduring the time of
occurrence while the forces are in fullswing. The vantage position of satellites
makes it ideal for usto think of, plan for and operationally monitor the event.
 GIS is used as a tool for the planning of evacuation routes, for thedesign
of centres for emergency operations, and for integrationof satellite data with other
relevant data in the design ofdisaster warning systems.In the disaster relief
phase, GIS is extremely useful incombination with Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) in searchand rescue operations in areas that have been devastated
andwhere it is difficult to orientate. The impact and departure ofthe disaster event
leaves behind an area of immensedevastation.

23
 Remote sensing can assist in damage assessmentand aftermath monitoring,
providing a quantitative base forrelief operations.

In general the following types of data are required:

 Data on the disastrous phenomena (e.g. landslides,floods, earthquakes),

their location, frequency, magnitudeetc.
 Data on the environment in which the disastrous eventsmight take place:
topography, geology, geomorphology,soils, hydrology, land use, vegetation etc.
 Data on the elements that might be destroyed if the eventtakes place:
infrastructure, settlements, population,socioeconomic data etc.
 Data on the emergency relief resources, such as hospitals,fire brigades, police
stations, water houses etc.
In the following sections the use of remote sensing for 4 types ofnatural
disaster is discussed.

Example 1: Flooding
Different types of flooding (e.g. river floods, flash floods,dam-break floods
or coastal floods) have differentcharacteristics with respect to the time of
occurrence, themagnitude, frequency, duration, flow velocity and the
arealextension.

Many factors play a role in the occurrence offlooding, such as the

intensity and duration of rainfall,snowmelt, deforestation, land use practices,
sedimentation inriverbeds, and natural or manmade obstructions. In
theevaluation of flood hazard, the following parameters should betaken into account:
depth of water during flood, the duration of flood, the flow velocity, the rate of rise
and decline, and thefrequency of occurrence.Satellite data has been successfully
and operationally used inmost phases of flood disaster management (CEOS,
1999).

Multichannel and multi sensor data sources from GOES andPOES satellites
are used for meteorological evaluation,interpretation, validation, and assimilation
into numericalweather prediction models to assess hydrological and
24
hydrogeological risks (Barrett, 1996). Quantitative precipitationestimates (QPE)
and forecasts (QPF) use satellite data as onesource of information to facilitate flood
forecasts in order toprovide early warnings of flood hazard to communities.

Earth observation satellites can be used in the phase of disasterprevention, by

mapping geomorphologic elements, historicalevents and sequential inundation
phases, including duration,depth of inundation, and direction of current. Earth
observationsatellites are also used extensively in the phases
ofpreparedness/warning and response/monitoring.

The use of optical sensors for flood mapping is seriously limited by theextensive
cloud cover that is mostly present during a floodevent. Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) from ERS andRADARSAT have been proven very useful for mapping
floodinundation areas, due to their bad weather capability. In India,ERS -SAR has
been used successfully in flood monitoringsince 1993 and Radar sat since 1998
(Chakraborti, 1999). Astandard procedure is used in which speckle is removed
withmedium filtering techniques, and a piece-wise linearstretching. Colour
composites are generated using SAR dataduring floods and pre-flood SAR images.

For the disaster relief operations, the applications of current satellite systems are
stilllimited, due to their poor spatial resolution and the problemswith cloud covers.
Hopefully, the series of high resolutionsatellites will improve this. Remote
sensing data for floodmanagement should always be integrated with other data in
aGIS. Especially on the local scale a large number ofhydrological and hydraulic
factors need to be integrated.

One of the most important aspects in which GIS can contribute isthe generation
of detailed topographic information using highprecision Digital Elevation Models,
derived from geodeticsurveys, aerial photography, SPOT, LiDAR (Light
detectionAnd Ranging) or SAR (Corr,1983 ). These data are used intwo and
three dimensional finite element models for theprediction of floods in river
channels and floodplains.

25
5. Describe the Landslide Hazard Zonation with one of the Case studies.
Landslide
Landslide is a common natural hazard that usually occurs in tectonically active
mountain belts like Himalayas. Landslides are one of the most frequently occurring
disasters affecting human life and property in and debris under the action of gravity
which can be categorized into various types on the basis of failure characteristics.

The term “landslide hazard zonation” applies in general sense to division of the
land surface into homogenous areas or user defined domains and the ranking of these
areas according to their degrees of actual or potential natural hazards from landslides or
other mass movements on slopes.

A CASE STUDY OF UTTARKASHI DISTRICT, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA

 Landslides are one of the most important types of natural hazards during
monsoon in the Himalayan mountainous region of India. These affect adversely both
human and animal lives, cause enormous damage to properties, and blocks
communication within and outside the region and lead to an additional financial
burden on the state and national economy.
 The occurrence and intensity of landslides have increased enormously
during the last two decades in Uttarakhand. Landslide hazard zonation mapping is,
thus, one of the important issues for urban and rural development planning in the state
in general and mountainous region, in particular.
 This paper presents the outcome of the study conducted along the
Yamuna and Bhagirathi (Ganges) river valleys in Uttarkashi district that suffers
frequent landslides every year.
 The main source of the data for this study consists of Survey of India
Topographical sheet, geological map, Cartosat DEM and ground control points
(GCPs) of previous landslide locations occurred in September 2010. Analytical
Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) techniques have used to
evaluate the stability of landslide disaster to produce landslide hazard zonation map.

26
  Arc GIS, Global Mapper, Google Earth pro, and Microsoft Excel software
were used to generate various thematic layers and statistical analyses, respectively.
Six parameters, i.e., land use land cover, road proximity, drainage, geology, slope and
landslide locations were used for hazard zonation.
 The zonation designates into five categories, viz., “very low hazard”, “low
hazard”, “moderate hazard”, “high hazard” and “very high hazard”. The generated
thematic maps of these parameters were standardized using pair wise comparison
matrix known as AHP. A weight for each criterion was generated by comparing them
with each other according to their importance.
 The final hazard zonation analysis revealed that a large part (26.33%)
area of these tehsil falls under very high to high hazard zone, 16.93% in moderate
hazard zone, 8.58% in low hazard zone and 48.16% under very low hazard zones.
Such hazard zonation maps provide guidelines to develop master plan for the town
planning for its sustainable development.
 The very low hazard zone represents slope between 0-15°, land use either
a wasteland with a scrub or without scrub, distance to road proximity is 50 m and
drainage distance proximity 50m.
 This study evidences significance of the use of a GIS database created
from existing digital map, satellite data, AHP, MCE technique and field investigations
for the assessment of landslide hazard zones in disaster prone Himalayan
mountainous region.
 According to Geological Survey of India (GSI 2009) 0.49 million 2 km or
15% of land area of the country is vulnerable to 2 landslide hazard. Out of this 0.098
million km is located in North-eastern region and rest 80% is spread over the
Himalayas, Nilgiris, Ranchi plateau, and Eastern and Western Ghats. Predictive
modelling of landslide hazard has emerged as a major research field that has been
enhanced by the use of new technological advancements such as GI Science, remote
sensing, GPS data and subsequent incorporation of pair wise comparison matrix
known as AHP applied to spatial data.
 Hence an increasing number of researchers and institutions are working
towards improving existing modeling procedures relate to landslide hazard mapping at

27
 medium and regional scales. The pair wise comparison method was introduced by
Fechner in 1860 and developed by Thurstone in 1927. Based on the pair wise
comparison, (Saaty 1980) proposes the AHP as a method for multi-criteria decision-
making (MCDM) that involves qualitative data. It has been applied during the last
twenty-five years in many decision making situations and has been used on a wide
range of applications in many different fields.
 The method uses a reciprocal decision matrix obtained by pair wise
comparisons so that the information is given in a linguistic form. It provides a way of
breaking down the general method into a hierarchy of sub-problems, which are easier
to evaluate. The pair-wise comparison method is more advanced, enabling a relatively
reliable examination of real world conditions. Using this method, a matrix is developed
in which every criterion attains a value based on its importance in relation to all other
criteria and the weight of its relative importance is calculated for each criterion. The
application of AHP method, Himalaya.
 The term “landslide” basically means a slow to rapid downward movement
of instable rock developed for landslide susceptibility mapping has done by (Barredo
et al., 2001; Mwasi 2001; Nie et al., 2001; Yagi 2003) while the use of weighted linear
combination (WLC) technique was reported by (Ayalew et al., 2000; Nagarajan et al.,
1998) used temporal remote sensing and GIS techniques to zonate the landslide
hazard in part of Western Ghats in India has adopted multiple regression methods
and GIS technique for landslides hazard zonation using four factors: lithology, slope
angle, precipitation and land use.
 The prime objective of the study was to undertake hazard zonation
mapping and analysis for rural/urban development and planning in hilly area using
GIS, to use spatial AHP Model for making ratio matrix of suitable sites for landslide
hazard zonation map, for the disaster management of tehsil and block, for the
generation of awareness among decision makers.

Data collection and integration

In order to develop a landslide hazard zonation map, various thematic layers

were generated using 53 J/6 toposheet. Cartosat Satellite data used for creating

28
 digital elevation model (DEM) which was further used for preparing drainage and
slope map. Information regarding litho-logical formations of the study area is based on
(Rai 1993). After a heavy downpour in September 2010 incidence, many landslides
occurred. The location of these landslides was captured using GPS. All these
information layers were integrated and analysed under Arc GIS Environment.

Selection and preparation of criteria maps

In this study, six criteria were selected. The principal criteria that were used for
hazard zonation are land use cover, road proximity, drainage, slope, geology and
landslide locations. These criteria were used for the preparation of criteria maps and
final hazard zonation map.

29
 Landslide hazard can cause serious damages to people and social economic
progress. Therefore, tools for landslide mapping on the regional/local scale are
needed in order to remedy and prevent these damages.

6. Explain in detailed about Earthquake vulnerability assessment of Buildings and

Infrastructure of their case study.

EARTHQUAKE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF BUILDINGS AND

INFRASTRUCTURE: CASE STUDIES

 Earthquake Vulnerability Assessment of Buildings in Uttarkashi Township

of Uttarakhand using RADIUS
 Uttarkashi Township is the district headquarters of Uttarkashi district, and
is one of the most vulnerable towns in Uttarakhand when it comes to various natural
disasters. The natural calamity in the form of floods and landslides were the most
recent events that struck the town. Also, the town is seismically vulnerable too with the
calamity of 1991 earthquake in the region. The present study tries to put things on
perspective about the seismic vulnerability of buildings in the region, estimating the
damage if an earthquake of seismic intensity and magnitude of as in 1991 struck the
town again.
 The study area is the municipality town administratively divided into nine
wards. The Ward No. 3 of Gyansu and Ward No. 5 of Gangori making the western and
eastern boundary respectively. There is also a good settlement on the southern bank

30
of the river, but the municipality only covers the northern bank of the river with the
area of 2.51 sq. kms. The town has crescent shape with a considerable amount of
longitudinal variation.
 Thus the average length of town is manifold of the average breadth. The
perimeter of the town is 15.86 km, mostly covering the lengths along the River
Bhagirathi in the south and southeastern extremities, while the Varunavat Parvat
marks its northern boundary. The town is located in the longitudinal valley of river
Bhagirathi, the south and southeastern boundaries are marked by the Bhagirathi,
while a small area in the north-eastern flank of town is drained by Asi Ganga, a
tributary of Bhagirathi.

31
Methodology Adopted

1. The collection of ground data with the help of the door-to door sampling survey
of each ward in which mainly the information regarding the occupancy and condition of
the different building is collected in the Uttarkashi municipality.

2. Data on past seismicity is collected to understand the magnitude, seismic

intensities and recurrence of earthquakes. Based on these data the scenario of a
hypothetical future earthquake is created. To choose the scenario earthquake, the
local seismic potential, past events, recent seismic events, geology and other factors
are taken into perspective, depending on the future urban planning and management.

3. The satellite data in the form of Google satellite imagery is taken to visually
interpret the land use, drainage, lithology and other characteristics of the landform.
The ward map obtained from the municipality is geo referenced, rectified from the
boundary and scale errors and then digitized with the help of the satellite image.

4. Ground classification is the next step in earthquake hazard analysis. In-depth

study of geological structures is conducted around the town, including the soil types in
various wards. The contour map of the town is put into perspective while doing a
ground survey in which vulnerability of different building is analyzed keeping in mind
the slope factor and soil types, along with the information data obtained during the
primary survey.

5. An inventory of the buildings, lifelines and infrastructures is prepared, and

vulnerability classes for them are decided, from the past earthquake event as well as
the hypothetical earthquake in both towns. Damages to the lifelines are calculated
based on these vulnerability curves.

Estimated Building Damage

The study area of Uttarkashi Township is firstly put into the scenario earthquakes
irrespective of the historical events in the town. Then the town is put into a worst-case
scenario by producing the event of Nepal Earthquake of April 2015 to the respective
study area (however, there is the possibility of even worse, seismically speaking).

32
 When considering the building damage, the severe damage and building collapse are
only taken into account. The partial damage being ambiguous to interpret is excluded
from the analysis

Estimated Building Damage in Uttarkashi (1991) Scenario

According to 2012-13 survey of Municipal Corporation, Uttarkashi, the town has

3184 buildings in total. There was significant damage to many buildings in the past
earthquake of 1991 here in the township that is discussed in preceding section. The
number of buildings has grown since then, but so is the craft in the building. Now,
most of the buildings are reinforced concrete frame building with brick infill
construction and are taking over the stone masonry construction that is more
prevalent at the time. The scenario taken has the same occurrence time as the
original earthquake on 2:53 AM in the morning.

The present study analyses and calculate the damages to a prospective

earthquake of same magnitude and intensity as that of Uttarkashi strikes it again. The
damages well exceed from the previous damages that the town experienced in 1991
due to the unplanned extension of town now and a significant increase in population.

33
7.With reference to one of the case studies Explain the Drought Assessment?
DROUGHT ASSESSMENT - CASE STUDY

Assessment of Meteorological Drought- “A Case Study of Solapur District,

Maharashtra, India”

Meteorological drought is a big disaster for any type planning of agriculture in

India. By the analysis of 60 years rainfall data of Solapur district, which is taken by
agricultural department, maximum years have no drought, in relation to deviation from
long term average rainfall (±19 %, no draught, moderate drought between deficiency -
20 to -59 % and deficiency more than -60 % severe droughts). Severe drought
occurred only in three years, moderate drought occurred in about ten years and for
maximum years no draught intensity of rainfall condition has occurred. To get the
intensity of drought, parameters are used which are suggested by IMD, 1971.
Minimum intensity of rainfall is found in 1968 and maximum intensity of rainfall in
1956. In spite of having normal rainfall for maximum years, Solapur faces water
scarcity problem for maximum part of the year. It is necessary to prepare a
management plan for the development of water resources to reduce water scarcity

Agriculture is one of the most important activities, engaging more than 70 percent
populations in India. Indian economy is inextricably linked with the agriculture and its
prosperity is entirely dependent on the amount of rainfall received.

The rainfall is one of the most important and governing factor in the planning and
operation strategies of any agricultural activity for any area.

1. The rainfall patterns have high intra seasonal variability. Also, there is high
spatial variability of rainfall over districts of Maharashtra.

2 . It is very important to study the changing trend of annual precipitation to

analyze the cycle of rainfall and drought

3. The changing pattern of rainfall is also investigated by computing seasonality

Index of rainfall. The relative seasonality of rainfall represents the degree of variability
in monthly rainfall throughout the year 4-7.

34
 Factors effecting runoff is evapo transpiration and infiltration 8-12 . Drought is a
threat to the food security and human mortality all around the world.

On an average 18% of the geographical area of India is vulnerable to droughts.

Meteorologically ± 19% deviation of rainfall from the long term mean is considered as
normal in India.

Deficiency in the range of 20 to 59 % represents moderate and more than 60 %

severe drought 13. Solapur is an administrative district of Maharashtra in India. It lies
in between 170 10' to 180 32' north latitudes and 740 42' to 760 15' east longitudes
and covers an area of 14,895 sq. km. It is divided into 11 tehsils and total population
of 43, 15,527 as per 2011 census. The climate of Solapur district is dry as daily mean
maximum temperature range between 300 c to370 c and minimum temperature range
between 180 c to 210 c with the highest temperature about 450 c in the month of May.

The annual average rainfall is 561.78 mm (last one decade) in Solapur district.
Rainfall is uncertain and scanty. The monsoon period is from the second week of June
to end of September bringing rains from the south-west monsoon. The major river in
the district is Bhima and Sina, Nira, Mann and Bhogawati are its tributaries. The
Bhima and Sina run towards the southeast from north-west. The Nira and Mann flow
towards nearly east. During the dry season all the rivers are nearly dry. The district is
situated on the south east fringe of Maharashtra state and lies entirely in the Bhima
and Seena basins. The whole of the district is drained either by Bhima river or its
tributaries.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The present study is based on the rainfall data collected for sixty years from
Agricultural Statistical Information State, Socioeconomic Review Solapur District.
Yearly intensity of drought is determined using the criteria suggested by IMD (1971)
which is based on percentage deviation of rainfall from its long term mean and it is
given by (Eq.)

35
 Where,

Di is the percentage deviation from the long term mean,

Pi is the annual rainfall, mm and µ is the long term mean of annual rainfall, mm

By the interpretation of rainfall data and drought frequency, Solapur has a normal
rainfall which fluctuates in between 442.41 to 663.61 mm annually and no drought in
maximum years. Moderate and severe droughts have found in few countable years,
which is a natural trend. The results suggest for preparation and execution of proper
plan of rainwater harvesting and artificial recharging structures.

36
8. Explain in detailed about Forest fire with one of the case study.
The most common hazard in forests is forests fire. Forests fires are as old as the
forests themselves. They pose a threat not only to the forest wealth but also to the
entire regime to fauna and flora seriously disturbing the bio-diversity and the ecology
and environment of a region. During summer, when there is no rain for months, the
forests become littered with dry senescent leaves and twinges, which could burst into
flames ignited by the slightest spark. 

A Case Study on the Four National Park of Uttarakhand:

 Forest fire is not a new concept in present era but nowadays the threat of
forest fire looms large over the vast cover of green vegetation. As the global
temperature is rising, increasing incidents of forest fires are increasing the
temperature of earth. The forests are prone to the wildfire because of large spell of
winter in which the precipitation is scanty. Every year India witnesses many incidents
of forest fire in a vast geographical area. This is one of the biggest threat to our
biodiversity and wild life. Every year many animals lost their life in wild fire. India has
104 national parks and more than 500 Wild Life Sanctuary. These national parks and
wild life sanctuary are under the great threat of wild fire.
 Uttrakhand is a Himalayan state which holds a large number of species of
wild flora and fauna. Some of these wild animals and plants hold a great importance in
our environment. Every year uttarakhand witnesses a large number of wild fires. Being

37
an ecologically sensitive zone, these wild fires damages a large geographical area of
state.Uttarakhand has 45.32% of its geographical area under the forest cover. It is the
only north Indian state to have more than 33% of area under forest cover. When we
include permanently snowbound landscapes and alpine pastures as forests, the total
area recorded as forests is as high as 71.05%.
 The present study is about the forest fire analysis in the four national
parks of Uttarakhand. These national parks are: Jim Corbett National Park, Govind
wildlife sanctuary and national park, Nanda Devi forest division, Rajaji Tiger reserve.
From 2005 to 2015, in last ten years, total 601 incidents were reported in these four
national parks and wild life sanctuaries. Among these the Rajaji National Park
witnessed most of the fire incidents about 66.39% percent of the total reported fire
incidents.
 Uttrakhand has witnessed a number of fire incidents in the past. Being a
Himalayan state, the ecology of uttarakhand is quite sensitive. Uttrakhand has a large
area under its forest cover. It has highest number of forest cover in the northern
states. Uttarakhand also an abode of many flora and fauna which are protected by
national park, sanctuaries and bio-sphere reserve. Some of these flora and fauna are
even listed in IUCN (International Union of Conservation and Nature) as critically
endangered and endangered. Forest fire increases the rate of extinction of species.
As per FSI Uttarakhand forest are divided in the following types:

1. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest

2. Tropical Dry deciduous Forest
3. Subtropical Pine Forest
4. Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest
5. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest
6. Plantation/Trees Outside Forest

These forests are prone to forest fires. The duration of forest fire in state is from
February to June. The peak fire incidents are reported in the May and June. The forest
fire in state is categorized in three types:

1. Ground fires

38
 Ground fire spread on the top of organic matter. It mostly consume matter like
duff, musk or peat present beneath the surface litter of the forest floor
2. Surface fires
Surface fire spread very rapidly and mostly survive upon the small vegetation
and surface litter. 
3. Crown fires
The Crown fire burns the top trees and shrubs without having any close link
with surface fire.

REASONS FOR FOREST FIRE:

Lack of Rain and moisture in the forests: Uttrakhand receives a good amount of
precipitation but it is concentrated in mostly in the monsoon months and leave a long
spell of nine months without rain. In this long spell the deciduous forests become
vulnerable to forest fire. The rain and snow is important to maintain the moisture in the
ground which helps in preventing the forest fire. If winter do not get sufficient amount
of rain, it makes the forests floor and biomass too dry and extremely vulnerable to fire.

1. Uttarakhand is in the lap of Himalayas and villages in uttarakhand are in the

middle of forests of Himalayas. Uttarakhand have large expense of chir pine
forest. As a traditional practices the people are burning there near places to
reduce the slippery chir pine needle and to ensure a fresh green grass for their
live stocks. When the ground has sufficient moisture, the fire remain control but if
the there is no winter rain, it can go out of control.
2. Burning of agricultural biomass in agricultural fields is very common in entire
north India. Sometime the fire escapes from the fields and reaches into forests
and national parks
3. A large area of uttarakhand is hilly terrain which makes it very difficult to control
forest fire. To reach a site which is often away from road head is difficult. Many
places in national parks and forests have no foot track and bridge path to reach
site.

39
 4. Technology has helped in the detection of fires in but there are still a lot of
challenges like mobilisation of department of workforce on a particle site because
of less number of vehicle and fire extinguishing equipment.

FOREST FIRE MITIGATION MEASURES:

1: The national park authorities and forest department officials have to create
awareness generation programs in the villages which are surroundings of the national
parks and wild life Sanctuaries.

2: The national park authorities must follow rotational burning controlled burning
of forest floor so that the litter and bio mass would not accumulate in an areas.

3: During the peak season of the forest fire burning national park authorities can
create master control room to monitor the situation.

4: The forest department and national park official must create watch towers in
the surroundings of national parks.

5: The forest department can create a crew stations for tackling the situation
immediately so that the forest fire can be control easily in its initial phases.

6: All ground crew stations must be connected to the wireless communication

network so that they can get proper information from master control room

7: The forest department official and other persons must be equipped with
efficient firefighting tools.

8: The national park authorities must adopt a suitable techniques to reduce fuel
load on forest floor

9: The national park authorities must continue their awareness campaign about
forest fire and its impact on wild life.

40
9. Explain the Field Works Related to Disaster Management?
FIELD WORK RELATED TO DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Over the past 30 years, the planet has seen a steady rise in weather-related and
geological natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami, and last week’s devastating Hurricane Sandy. There have
also been large-scale disasters of man-made origins, such the 9/11 World Trade
Center attacks. While these situations culminated in staggering amounts of damage
and the loss of life, many hard lessons were learned from them and a new urgency to
save lives in future disasters is gaining momentum. For those who want to choose an
altruistic and truly life-saving career path, there are many opportunities in the
professional field of disaster management. Three of the most prominent U.S.
organizations in the field are FEMA, the American Red Cross and the National Guard.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a part of the United States
Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for federal emergency relief
when local and state authorities become overwhelmed in a declared State of
Emergency. The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization led by
volunteers and offers services in five areas besides domestic disaster management:
helping the homeless and the needy; the organization of blood drives; education for
preparedness, health and safety; communication and comfort services for military
members and their families; and international relief and development. The U.S.
National Guardis a reserve military force made up of part-time members who hold full-
time civilian jobs. Among the many duties they perform, they provide security and
transport during evacuations and have engineers to address dangerous situations and
trouble spots. Between the three organizations, the enlistment and volunteer
attendance is in the tens of thousands, with plenty of demand for those with skills that
can be applied to disaster management. Of the various career positions in disaster
management, here are five:

1. Emergency Management Director

This position consists of developing emergency response plans beforehand and
hiring and assigning workers to execute specific duties during emergencies and

41
 disasters. Emergency management directors respond to both natural and man-made
disasters, which include terrorist threats on domestic soil. They also communicate with
local and state law enforcement and fire departments. An undergraduate degree is not
mandatory, however experience within the military and/or law enforcement is usually
desired. The mean annual salary of this position is $62,850, according to the United
States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

2. Emergency Management Specialist

This position involves leading response efforts during emergencies and
disasters. Emergency management specialists also provide training to workers on
emergency response teams. Specialists travel a lot to affected disaster areas where
there expertise is needed. For the majority of specialist positions, an undergraduate
degree is needed. The mean annual salary of this position is $56,900, according to
the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

3. Floodplain Management Specialist

An example of an emergency management specialist area of expertise, this
position consists of the prevention of flooding in flood-prone areas through community-
based education and management plans. It also requires inspection of areas to
ensure they adhere to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations.

4. Technological Hazards Program Specialist

Another example of a particular emergency management specialist position,
though this one deals with nuclear power plants. This specialist works under the
direction of Homeland Security’s Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP)
program, designing emergency response plans and evaluating local, state and federal
capabilities to execute the designed plans. This specialist works in close proximity to
the power plant and regional authorities, and participates in all REP emergency
exercises.

5. Fire Inspector and Investigator

One of the most well known positions in regards to disaster management, fire
inspectors enforce fire codes in all residential, commercial and government buildings,

42
 and develop evacuation plans. They also investigate and examine evidence in the
wake of fires to determine their cause. Generally, a high school diploma is sufficient
academic training. This position earns a median annual salary of $52,230 according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

10. Explain the fluvial and pluvial flood with one of case studies.

FLUVIAL FLOOD

In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers

and streams and the deposit sand land forms created by them. When the stream or
rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term Glaciofluvial or
fluvioglacial is used.

Fluvial, or riverine flooding, occurs when excessive rainfall over an extended

period of time causes a river to exceed its capacity. It can also be caused by heavy
snow melt and ice jams. The damage from a river flood can be widespread as the
overflow affects smaller rivers downstream, often causing dams and dikes to break
and swamp nearby areas.

There are two main types of riverine flooding:

Overbank flooding occurs when water rises overflows over the edges of a river
or stream. This is the most common and can occur in any size channel from small
streams to huge rivers.

Flash flooding is characterized by an intense, high velocity torrent of water that

occurs in an existing river channel with little to no notice. Flash floods are very
dangerous and destructive not only because of the force of the water, but also the
hurtling debris that is often swept up in the flow.

 In September 2013, heavy rain caused catastrophic river flooding along

Colorado's Front Range.

 The severity of a river flood is determined by the amount of precipitation in an

area, how long it takes for precipitation to accumulate, previous saturation of

43
 local soils, and the terrain surrounding the river system. In flatter areas,
floodwater tends to rise more slowly and be more shallow, and it often remains
for days. In hilly or mountainous areas, floods can occur within minutes after a
heavy rain. To determine the probability of river flooding, models consider past
precipitation, forecasted precipitation, current river levels, and temperatures.

PLUVIAL (SURFACE FLOOD)

A pluvial, or surface water flood, is caused when heavy rainfall creates a flood
event independent of an overflowing water body. One of the most common
misconceptions about flood risk is that one must be located near a body of water to be
at risk. Pluvial flooding debunks that myth, as it can happen in any urban area — even
higher elevation areas that lie above coastal and river floodplains.

There are two common types of pluvial flooding:

 Intense rain saturates an urban drainage system. The system becomes

overwhelmed and water flows out into streets and nearby structures.

Run-off or flowing water from rain falling on hillsides that are unable to absorb the
water. Hillsides with recent forest fires are notorious sources of pluvial floods, as are
suburban communities on hillsides. Torrential rain caused extensive pluvial flooding in
the United Kingdom during the summer of 2007.

Pluvial flooding often occurs in combination with coastal and fluvial flooding, and
although typically only a few centimeters deep, a pluvial flood can cause significant
property damage. 

 Torrential rain caused extensive pluvial flooding in the United Kingdom during the
summer of 2007.

 Pluvial flooding often occurs in combination with coastal and fluvial flooding, and
although typically only a few centimeters deep, a pluvial flood can cause
significant property damage. 

44
MITIGATION MEASURES
Increasing the capacity of sewer and drainage systems require large
investments. There are many advantages in handling as much of the rain volume on
the surface as possible. Flood map results (such as water depths and flow paths) are
obtained by using our modelling software. These results form the basis for
establishing a strategy to manage surface runoff within existing and planned
developments. Key green spaces are identified and locations of new green areas are
proposed. Conclusions are drawn with respect to which areas are safe to develop and
which should be avoided – from a pluvial flood perspective. In new developments, the
degrees of freedom are higher with regards to land use and elevation planning. In
such cases, there is a higher possibility of making space for water. With our software
and knowledge, different elevations and land use scenarios can be simulated in order
to find the best possible ways to reduce the impact of heavy rain. Specific sustainable
urban drainage solutions (SUDS) such as swales and retention ponds can also be
simulated to investigate the flood reducing effect.

CLIMATE CHANGE
The impacts on pluvial flooding effects of climate change are becoming more and
more prominent and its future impacts can be predicted to a large extent. Some places
will become drier, whereas others will become wetter with intensified rainfalls. At DHI,
we have access to the latest results obtained from a wide range of regional climate
models. Applying bias correction and statistical downscaling, climate model data can
be used to simulate an ensemble of future extreme rainfall events in urban areas. In
so doing, we can evaluate the impacts of climate change on the pluvial flood situation.

Flood safety planning

Planning for flood safety involves many aspects of analysis and engineering,
including:

 Observation of previous and present flood heights and inundated areas,

 Statistical, hydrologic, and hydraulic model analyses,
 Mapping inundated areas and flood heights for future flood scenarios,

45
  Long-term land use planning and regulation,
 engineering design and construction of structures to control or withstand flooding,
 Intermediate-term monitoring, forecasting, and emergency-response planning, and
 Short-term monitoring, warning, and response operations.

Case studies
1) On the morning of Friday the 3 November 2017, the state of Chennai, Tamil
Nadu in India, was severely affected by a low pressure area that had formed over Sri
Lanka and South West Bay of Bengal bringing heavy and incessant rain falls to
Chennai and Tamil Nadu. This has exacerbated the flooding caused by rains since
Thursday. Fishermen venturing into the sea have been warned and advised not to go
into the sea for fishing. North east monsoon is strengthening and officials have
predicted more rain and thunder showers to continue for next three days in most
places over the northern coast, Southern Tamil Nadu including Chennai city. The
southern districts of coastal Tamil Nadu have recorded heavy showers in last 24
hours. According to local authorities five people are recorded to have died due to
heavy rain related incidents.

Two eight year old girls were electrocuted while playing outside their home in
Kodungaiur as the electricity lines fell into the water. In Chennai city school and
colleges have been closed due to the rains and heavy rain affected other districts in
Tamil Nadu since last three days. Chennai has been facing water logging, traffic jam
and flash floods in several places. The day to day normal lives of the people have
been severely affected due to heavy rain falls. In several places the electricity supply
was stopped due to heavy rainfall.

2) On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due

to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala
in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and 140 are missing.

46