Taucate, yas and plan for the next

The severe cyclones Takte and Yas that hit India earlier this year made the country’s biggest cyclones. West Coast, Gujarat, And this East Coast, Orissa, on May 17 and May 26, 2021, respectively. Both storms caused heavy damage to infrastructure, agricultural fields and homes. The Indian government reports that, taken together, an estimated 199 people were killed, 37 million were affected, and the economic loss was ₹320 billion (US$4.3 billion). In addition, a crop area of ​​0.24 million hectares was affected, and about 0.45 million houses were damaged. In addition, 2.5 million people were shifted to cyclone shelters and relief camps in both these states. The already diminishing green cover has been affected by the massive uprooting of trees in urban areas. Thus, during the COVID-19 pandemic, these cyclones led to additional financial responsibility for the state governments. Health costs also need to be measured.

more frequent

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the increase in sea surface temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean and geo-climatic conditions in India have led to an increase in the frequency of destructive cyclones in coastal states, which account for 7% of global tropical cyclones. . , 2013 data. Every year, about five to six tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea; Of these, two to three become serious. The Indian coastline is approximately 7,500 km; There are 96 coastal districts (those touching or close to the coast), 262 million people exposed to cyclones and tsunamis. The World Bank and the United Nations (2010) estimate that about 200 million city residents in India will be exposed to hurricanes and earthquakes by 2050. Between 1891 and 2020, 130 of the 313 cyclones that crossed India’s east and west coasts were classified as severe cyclonic storms. The west coast experienced 31 cyclones, while 282 cyclones crossed the east coast. 97 cyclones hit the Odisha coast, followed by Andhra Pradesh (79), Tamil Nadu (58), West Bengal (48), Gujarat (22), Maharashtra/Goa (7), and Kerala (2).

economic cost

Among natural disasters, cyclones are the second most frequent occurrence, accounting for 15% of India’s total natural disasters during 1999-2020. During the same period, 12,388 people were killed, and the damage was estimated at $32,615 million. Cyclones are the second most expensive in terms of cost of damage, accounting for 29% of total disaster-related losses (62%) after floods.

In addition, they are the third deadliest disaster in India after earthquakes (42%) and floods (33%). However, the deaths due to cyclones declined from 10,378 in 1999 to 110 in 2020; The significant drop was due to better early warning systems, cyclone prediction, and better disaster management activities such as timely evacuation, rehabilitation and relief distribution. But these measures are not enough to achieve a zero-lethal approach and reduce the economic damage caused by cyclones.

Between 1999 and 2020, cyclones caused significant damage to public and private properties, increasing losses from $2,990 million to $14,920 million in the absence of long-term mitigation measures. In addition, there has been a nine-fold increase in the damage caused by cyclones during the same period.

As stated earlier, cyclones have increased the financial burden of governments through increased spending to implement effective cyclone preparedness measures.

As a result, direct government spending on natural disasters increased by 13 times. A 2014 Asian Development Bank report estimated that India would lose about 1.8% of its GDP annually by 2050 from climate-related events.

India lost around 2% of GDP and 15% of total revenue in 1999-2020. According to the Global Climate Risk Index Report 2021, India is ranked the seventh worst-hit country globally in 2019 due to the frequent occurrence of extreme weather-related events. Further, the report showed that India lost around 2,267 human lives, while the loss in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2019 stood at $68,812 million. In the same year, India ranked first in terms of human deaths and economic losses related to extreme weather. events (Eckstein and others., 2021).

Remedy in Odisha

After the 1999 super cyclone, the Odisha government took various cyclone mitigation measures which included setting up disaster warning systems in coastal districts and building evacuation shelters in cyclone-prone districts. Other steps were the setting up of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), holding regular cabinet meetings for disaster preparedness and the creation of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF).

All these activities have helped in reducing the toll from cyclonic storms like Hudhud, Fani, Amphan and Yas. Yet, Odisha’s disaster management model is inadequate to mitigate the economic damage caused by the cyclone. Therefore, the Government of India should adopt some measures to reduce the disaster damage and death rate.

necessary steps

First, it is imperative to improve cyclone warning systems and improve disaster preparedness measures. Second, the government should widen the cover under shelterbelt plantations and help regenerate mangroves in coastal areas to reduce the impact of cyclones. In addition, it is important to adopt cost-effective, long-term mitigation measures, including building cyclone-resilient infrastructure, such as building storm-wave-resilient embankments, canals and improving river connectivity to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas. . Third, setting up disaster resilient power infrastructure in coastal districts, providing concrete homes to poor and vulnerable households and creating large-scale community awareness campaigns is essential. Finally, healthy coordination between the Center and the states concerned is essential for collectively designing disaster mitigation measures. Only such a collective mitigation effort by the Center and the states can help in reducing the financial burden of the states and can also be effective in reducing the deaths due to disaster.

Yashobanta Parida and Joyita Roy Chowdhury are Assistant Professors in Economics at Flame University, Pune. Prakash Kumar Sahu is a lecturer in economics at Vikram Deb (Autonomous) College, Jeypore, Odisha. Views expressed are personal