Geospatial Technologies for Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Assessment along the Indian Coast

Overview

An increase in extreme weather events (EWEs), viz., heatwaves, cold waves, tropical cyclones, floods, lightning, heavy rainfalls, etc. have highly impacted various regions of the Indian subcontinent in recent decades. This has invariably resulted in great loss of life and property, adversely affecting the livelihood of vulnerable communities. While floods and tropical cyclones are two major and recurring disasters, heat waves and lightning-related hazards are steadily on the rise as well.

The mortality per million on a decadal scale, however, has either decreased or remained constant in recent decades. This indicates an enhanced capacity for adaptation due to a decrease in social vulnerability. Social vulnerability has decreased over the past decade primarily due to improved early warning systems, better disaster management, capacity building and awareness in India. Thus, it becomes important to assess the impact of increasing Heat Waves, Cyclones, and Floods vis-a-vis social vulnerability by analysing the Spatio-temporal pattern of both hazards and vulnerability.

Impact-based Forecast for vulnerable communities is one of the main actions taken up by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India for increasing resilience to the outcomes of Climate change. MoES deals with all the five components of the Earth System, viz., Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Cryosphere, Lithosphere and Biosphere and their complex interaction. It holistically addresses all the above aspects relating to the Earth System Processes for providing weather, climate, Ocean, coastal state, hydrological and seismological services. The services include forecasts and warnings for various natural disasters.