Even with all our technology and the inventions that make modern life so much easier than it once was, it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we’re still at the mercy of nature.(Neil deGrasse Tyson)
A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population’s resilience and on the infrastructure available. As the summer season in its intermediate period, floods, flash floods, avalanches etc. and other natural calamities could become a reality and cannot be ruled out. Soon after the devastation caused by the floods during septeber,2014 in Kashmir valley, it became clear that, while technical systems for early warning and disaster-proof structures were necessary, it is also important to strengthen people economically and socially. Vulnerability to such impacts was one of the main causes of the massive losses. If losses are to be minimised in future, a reduction of this vulnerability is necessary. Vulnerabilities include conditions and circumstances, such as age, gender, education, race, health, access to facilities and power dynamics, of an individual or group that makes it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. On the other side, the capacity to resist, or to recover from such a hazard can increase, or decrease, over time and with changing conditions.
It has been observed that people living in places that have poor development indicators, such as low literacy, poor nutrition levels, lack of access to health and education, lack of assets and poor infrastructure, are far more vulnerable to disaster impacts. Disasters occur frequently enough in the developed world, but when compared to developing countries, the distribution of deaths and injuries is remarkably uneven.
There is also a disproportionate impact on the weaker sections of the community, mainly women, the elderly and children. A statistical study of 141 countries found that women were more likely to die than men in countries with low social and economic rights for the former. As their empowerment grew, this effect disappeared. It is the inequity in daily lives, and not just during the disaster, that contributes to the high vulnerability of women and the concomitant risks that they face. Their vulnerability has also been linked to the fact that they have less access to skills and assets, information and decision-making powers. In addition, they are not considered part of the power structure, even at the household level. They suffer material losses, such as kitchen utensils, that are very small and therefore invisible. They are less able, or take longer, to recover and rehabilitate. Though natural calamities do not discriminate between genders, their impacts become discriminatory. Women are considered unworthy of being provided with the knowledge and information that they could use to save lives and prevent injuries. This makes the situation worse, because it is usually women who take responsibility for the ailing and children. Ownership of assets is critical to the empowerment of women, and affects their bargaining power. Studies in South Asia have shown that women owning land could negotiate their right to work for income, mobility and avoid spousal violence. Women are able to increase the productivity of their assets, from meeting basic needs of food and water, to savings and credit, agricultural productivity, crop diversification and preventive health for the entire family. By putting assets in the hands of women, it is possible to reduce poverty and improve the overall health and education of children. Major natural disasters can and do have severe negative short-run economic impacts. Disasters also appear to have adverse longer-term consequences for economic growth, development and poverty reduction. But, negative impacts are not inevitable. Vulnerability is shifting quickly, especially in countries experiencing economic transformation – rapid growth, urbanization and related technical and social changes. Natural disasters cause significant budgetary pressures, with both narrowly fiscal short-term impacts and wider long-term development implications. Reallocation is the primary fiscal response to disaster. Disasters have little impact on trends in total aid flows. Vulnerability to natural hazards is determined by a complex, dynamic set of influences, such as economic structure, stage of development and prevailing economic and policy conditions. To understand and assess the economic consequences of natural hazards and the implications for policy, it is necessary to consider the pathways through which different types of hydro-meteorological (climate-related) and geophysical hazard impact on an economy, the different risks posed and the ways in which societies and economies adapt to or ignore these potential threats. The eclectic approach adopted in this study, employing largely qualitative methods, is particularly useful in exploring the many complex and dynamic pathways through which extreme hazardous events influence an economy and its financial system and also for identifying areas and issues where further investigation including quantification would be worthwhile. To encapsulate with the quotation ‘We learn from every natural disaster. Whether it’s a fire, flood, or any other natural catastrophe we learn something from it so we can respond to the next one better.”
( The author is Section Officer at the Central University Of Kashmir. Views are his own)
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