DISASTER RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURES IN INDIA

Disasters have been inflicting heavy damage in terms of deaths, injuries, destruction of our habitat and economic activity. While over the last two decades india has much to share about its successful response in terms of minimising life loss—infrastructure damage, however, have remained very high. the economic impact of these extreme events are required to be evaluated, particularly in the light of growing urban and coastal establishments of the country. Citing case studies of vulnerable built-up facilities, this article presents disaster-resilient infrastructure issues in india.

- Chandan Ghosh

Natural disasters strike countries, both developed and developing, causing enormous destruction and creating human sufferings and producing negative impacts on national economies. Due to diverse geo-climatic conditions prevalent in different parts, various types of disasters such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, volcanoes, etc. afflict vulnerable areas. India is considered one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. India's built-infrastructure is unfortified to combat disasters such as earthquakes, floods, cloudbursts, hailstorms, lightning and even intentional disasters such as terrorism, bomb blasts, cyber-attacks and fire. Unplanned infrastructure growth in the unorganized sector for the last two decades remains more or less unabated. The existing urban infrastructure, particularly in Class-I cities in India, can be harmed during future disastrous events. As the rate and severity of disasters increase, so does the possibility that disruption of critical infrastructure could result in widespread effects. Such impacts are more evident as the vulnerability reduction measures are overshadowed by increasing lacuna in quality construction supervision and non-implementation of National Building Code (2016).