INDIA DISASTER REPORT 2013

INDIA DISASTER REPORT 2013

COMPILED BY: Dr. Satendra

Dr. K. J. Anandha Kumar Maj. Gen. Dr. V. K. Naik, KC, AVSM

National Institute of Disaster Management 2014

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India Disaster Report 2013 ii

PREFACE

Research and Documentation in the field of disaster management is one of the main responsibilities of the National Institute of Disaster Management as entrusted by the Disaster Management Act of 2005.

Probably with the inevitable climate change, ongoing industrial development, and other anthropogenic activities, the frequency of disasters has also shown an upward trend. It is imperative that these disasters and the areas impacted by these disasters are documented in order to analyze and draw lessons to enhance preparedness for future. A data bank of disasters is fundamental to all the capacity building initiatives for efficient disaster management. In the backdrop of this important requirement, the NIDM commenced publication of India Disaster Report from the year 2011.

The India Disaster Report 2013 documents the major disasters of the year with focus on the Uttarakhand Flash Floods and the Cyclone Phailin. Other disasters like building collapse and stampede have also been covered besides the biological disaster (Japanese Encephalitis). The lessons learnt in these disasters provide us a bench-mark for further refining our approach to disaster management with an aim at creating a disaster resilient India.

A review of the disasters during the year reinforce the need for sustainable development as also the significance of the need for mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in all developmental activities.

We are thankful to all the members of the NIDM who have contributed towards this effort. Special thanks to Prof. Chandan Ghosh, for providing inputs on Allahabad stampede following a personal visit to the accident site. Dr. Surya Parkash (Associate Professor) and Tapash Kr. Saha Roy (Consultant) for providing inputs on cyclone Phailin, Dr. Saurabh Dalal, (Jr. Consultant) for providing valuable inputs for chapter on Japanese Encephalitis, and Ms. Baljinder Kaur (Jr. Consultant) for proof reading.

We are hopeful that the India Disaster Report 2013 will be useful for all the stakeholders and disaster management practitioners working across the country and prove to be yet another milestone in capacity building and spreading awareness among the vulnerable population of our nation.

Editorial Team

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India Disaster Report 2013 iv

CONTENTS

Pages

1. Introduction

1

2. The Thane Building Collapse

3

3. Uttarakhand Flash Floods

11

4. Cyclone "Phailin"

35

5. Stampede (Datia, Madhya Pradesh and Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh) 54

6. Biological Disaster ? An overview on Japanese Encephalitis

60

7. Lessons Learnt

66

Annexure

l Road Accidents

71

l Other Disasters

80

l NIDM Activities - 2013

98

l NIDM Publications - 2013

113

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India Disaster Report 2013 vi

Introduction

1. INTRODUCTION

The India Disaster Report (IDR), the concept of documenting the events of the respective year from January to December, was initiated in the year 2011. This report, as its name suggests, is a compilation of events, to learn from them so that we can build a resilient society. This report covers two major disasters, for which the respective states requisitioned the Central Government for supplementary support. The list of disasters in which 10 or more human lives were lost are annexed at the end of the report under two headings namely "Road Accidents", and `Other Disasters'. The year 2013 witnessed two major events, the Uttarakhand Flash Floods, mainly affecting the state of Uttarakhand and the Cyclone "Phailin" affecting two coastal states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. They were different from each other and all the stakeholders had lessons to learn from both these events. These events are covered in this report, in detail. In Uttarakhand disaster the response was good and the rehabilitation process is still continuing. In the cyclone Phailin, which was compared to Super Cyclone of 1999, the preparedness and response of all stakeholders was excellent and it received world-wide appreciation. These two events are discussed with a view to understand the causes, management, response, relief operations and to know the gaps, if any, for future planning. With the climate change, the natural hazards are expected to increase and it has to be taken as a wake up call. The frequency with which the cyclones have formed in the recent past, also indicates that the community needs to be prepared and the aim of all the stakeholders should be preparedness for good resilience. So both these events have lessons to teach us in their own way. Besides, the building collapse in the Maharashtra's Thane district, the stampede at Datia, during the Dusehra at Ratangarh temple and the stampede at Allahabad railway station during the Kumbh mela, are covered. Japanese encephalitis, which has been affecting people, every year, in several parts of the country, has also been included in the report as a special issue, as there is need to bring awareness among the disaster managers/administrators and community as a whole, with an aim to reduce its occurrence.

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