Earthquake in Delhi, 2010 Diaster in Delhi

8th June: This scary estimate comes from the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), which is set to launch a global campaign on Tuesday to make cities more safer and resilient to natural calamities. Leave alone other cities, the national capital, the report says, is the least prepared to cope with a major natural disaster.

Executive Director of NIDM P G Dhar Chakravarty said mayors and local government leaders from more than 100 cities across India and seven countries of South Asia will collect, discuss and commit themselves to making urban centres safer to the risks of natural disasters. The list includes earthquake, flooding, flash foods, tropical cyclones, drought, wildfires and heat waves.

The event will be organised in collaboration with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

In 2000-09, earthquakes accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the deaths by disasters. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are among the eight most populous cities. These cities, according to ISRD, are at the risk of being severely affected by an earthquake.
“The severity of the impact of natural hazards is linked to unplanned urban development, ecosystems decline and failing infrastructure such as insufficient storm drainage and poor quality of building stocks.

Asked how would the huge-unplanned illegal constructions in Delhi aggravate the impact of earthquakes, Chakravarty said: “People will have to demand right to safety that would usher systemic changes.”

He also expressed concern over the rapid growth of population in the urban areas. He said cities in the Krishna-Godavari region face a threat from a possible rise in the sea level. Mumbai, Kolkatta, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai and Buenos Aires are “the most vulnerable to storm surge”.