Question

Read about the following disasters which have occurred across the world and answer the following questions.

Major Disasters
Year	Disaster	Location	No. of deaths/loss incurred (approx.)
1920	Earthquake	China	2,35,000
1923	Earthquake	Japan	1,42,000
1970	Bhola Cyclone	India and Bangladesh	5,00,000
1984	Release of gas Methyl Isocyanate	Bhopal, India	10,000; 5.5lakh affected
1985	Ruiz Volcanic Eruption	Colombia	25,000
1994	Landslide	Varandha Ghat, Maharashtra, India	20; Breaching of ghat road, Konkan Coast damaged to the extent of 1 km at several places
1995	Rail accident	Firozabad, India	400
1999	Cyclone	Odisha, India	10,000
2004	Tsunami	India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka	2,50,000
2005	Earthquake	India and Pakistan	80,000
2005	Flash Floods	Mumbai, India	1100
2014	Hailstorm	Maharashtra, India	Affected many standing crops, 2700 farm animals dead
2019	Cyclone Fani	Odisha, India	89

1. Classify these disasters into natural and man-made disasters.
2. Which of these disasters occurred due to climatic conditions?
3. Which of these disasters occurred due to geological causes?
4. Can you relate the location of a disaster with its cause?
5. Besides the number of deaths, what other losses might be occurring after the disasters?
6. Comparing the cyclones of 1999 and 2019, can you think of the reasons behind the reduction in the number of deaths?
7. Which of these disasters can be predicted in advance?
8. Of those disasters for which prediction can be made, can the people be evacuated from the area?
9. Why do some people get affected by the disaster in specific regions?

Answer 1

1.  

   Natural Disasters	Man-made Disasters
   Earthquake, Cyclone, Tsunami, Volcanic, eruption, Landslide, Flash Floods, Hailstorm.	Landslide, Release of Gas Methyl Isocyanate, Rail Accident.

2. Bhola Cyclone (India and Bangladesh), Cyclone of Odisha, India; Hailstorm in Maharashtra, India; Cyclone Fani in Odisha, India are disasters that occurred due to climatic conditions.
3. Earthquakes (in China, India, Japan, Pakistan) Ruiz Volcanic Eruption (Colombia), Landslide (Varandha Ghats, Maharashtra, India), Tsunami (India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka) occurred due to geological causes.
4. (i) Release of gas Methyl Isocyanate during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984, India, was an industrial accident caused by human mistake or carelessness. 
   (ii) The tsunami that affected India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka was caused by an earthquake that occurred in the sea-bed off the Indonesian shore.
5. Breaching of ghat road, damage to the coastal road in the Konkan, many standing crops were destroyed.
6. In the two decades between 1999 and 2019, the capacity to cope with disasters, manage them, the ability of the people and organizations have undergone a huge improvement.
7. Cyclones and Tsunamis can be predicted in advance.
8. Cyclones can be predicted in advance and the people can be evacuated in advance.
9. Some people get affected by disasters in specific areas.

• In the case of a cyclone, people in the coastal areas of India are more likely to be affected than those in the interior. 
• People living in seismically active regions are prone to earthquakes.
• The poor, the old people, and children are more likely to be affected by disasters in the same region.
• Densely populated areas are more likely to be affected than sparsely populated areas.
• Sometimes due to social, economic, and political conditions, people are more likely to be affected by the disaster in some regions. E.g. poor people are more likely to be affected by disasters.