Geography of India: Encyclopedia II - Geography of India - Natural disasters

Geography of India - Natural disasters

India is prone to several natural disasters, responsible for huge losses in life and property. Natural disasters in India include droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe cyclones; and earthquakes.

Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. During the monsoon season, heavy rainfall may cause rivers to distend their banks, often flooding the surrounding areas. The Brahmaputra River is prone to perennial flooding during the monsoon season. Floods are responsible for a number of deaths and property loss in many parts of India. With the exception of a few states, almost all of India is prone to flooding.

Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoon as a source of water. In some parts of India, the failure of the monsoons results in water deficiency in the region causing extensive crop losses. Drought prone regions include south Maharashtra, north Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat and Rajasthan. In the past, failure of monsoons has led to famines causing great damage.

Tectonic plates beneath the earth's surface are responsible for yearly earthquakes along the Himalayan belt and in northeast India. This region is classified as a Zone V, indicating that it is a very high-risk area. Parts of western India, around the Kutch region in Gujarat and Koyna in Maharashtra, are classified as a Zone IV region (high risk). Other areas have a moderate to low risk chance of an earthquake occurring.

Cyclones are another natural disaster, affecting thousands living in the coastal regions. Cyclones are severe and bring with them heavy rains that cut off supplies and relief to the affected areas. On 2004-12-26, a tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and India's east coast resulting in the loss of over ten thousand individuals. Until then India was thought to have negligible activity related to tsunamis, though there is historical anecdotal evidence of its occurrence in the past.

India has one active volcano: the Barren Island volcano which last erupted in May 2005. There is also a dormant volcano called the Narcondum and a Mud volcano at Baratang. All these volcanoes lie in the Andaman Islands.

Landslides are common in the Lower Himalaya owing to labile rock formations due to the young age of the hills. Parts of the Western Ghats also suffer from low intensity landslides. Avalanches occur in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

During the summer months, dust storms cause immense property damage in northern India. These storms bring with it large amounts of dust from arid regions. Hailstones are common in parts of India, and cause severe damage to the standing crops.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Natural disasters", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki