On the other hand cyclone Nada was a welcoming gift for people of Tamil Nadu who hadn’t witnessed good rains for quite some time and dealing with water shortages. Cyclonic Storm Nada though a relatively weak tropical storm, yet caused severe flooding in Tamil Nadu.  By 1st December it had moved quite close to Tamil... Read More

On 27th November 2016, a low pressure area formed north of Sumatra over northeast Bay of Bengal . It rapidly strengthened drifting northwest and was classified as a depression on 28th November by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).   On 29th November, the storm reached cyclonic storm intensity, and was assigned the name Nada, the... Read More

Amateur Radio volunteers or so called ‘Ham Radio Operators’ provided crucial communication support to the American Red Cross and independent shelters in Sevier County, Tennessee in USA ; which recently suffered heavily from ravages of fire. The authorities effectively used the services of these volunteers to maintain essential communication links.     Maintaining stable and... Read More

A sudden outbreak of “thunderstorm asthma”, on Monday night (21st November 2016), saw 8500 people treated in hospitals across Melbourne. Four deaths have been reported after suffering asthma attacks. The unprecedented   freak emergency pushed Melbourne’s hospital system to its limits, and it is possible some other deaths are yet to be linked to ‘thunderstorm asthma’.... Read More

Many of the impacts of the 2011 disaster are hidden away in private spaces of everyday life. The tragedy has put enormous strains on family relationships. Traditionally three generations or more of family units were living together in the close knit rural village societies of Fukushima region. Relocation to cramped temporary housing meant separation for... Read More

The 9.0 magnitude typhoon of 11th March 2011 caused a 15 M tsunami that travelled as much as 10 meters inland.  The impact of disaster was enormous.   There were 15,890 deaths and 2,590 missing and presumed deaths; and 6,152 injuries in 12 Japanese prefectures. The tsunami also caused one death in Papua, Indonesia and... Read More

The residents of Fukushima region of Japan were devastated by the major 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the resultant Tsunami in 2011. The complications due to nuclear accident / release of radiation severely impacted socially in the region. At 5.59am local time on November 22, Fukushima region was again hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, triggering... Read More

Emergency response system and resilience are among the most crucial dimensions of smart and future cities design due to the increase in various disruptions caused by frequent man-made and natural disasters.   Mayor Malini Gaud, post her participation in three-day event on disaster management held in New Delhi, announced that the civic body will soon... Read More

Article 1 – The Sendai Framework marked a paradigm shift in how to tackle Disaster Risk Reduction. The focus shifted to ‘Disaster Risk Management’ rather than ‘Disaster Management ‘, emphasizing the protection of livelihoods as well as saving people and property. The worldwide implementation of the Sendai Framework received a major boost when the Prime... Read More

What is Sendai Framework? (Part 4)       Sendai Framework, Priorities and Targets Priority 1. Understanding disaster risk Disaster risk management should be based on an understanding of disaster risk in all its dimensions of vulnerability, capacity, exposure of persons and assets, hazard characteristics and the environment. Such knowledge can be used for risk... Read More