Classification, causes and impacts of drought

DROUGHT

Drought is a weather-related natural disaster. It affects vast regions for months or years. It has an impact on food production and it reduces life expectancy and the economic performance of large regions or entire countries.
Drought is a recurrent feature of the climate. It occurs in virtually all climatic zones, and its characteristics vary significantly among regions. Drought differs from aridity in that drought is temporary; aridity is a permanent characteristic of regions with low rainfall.
Drought is a gradual hazard of nature that has a cumulative effect. It is related to a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually for a season or more. This deficiency results in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector. Drought is also related to the timing of precipitation. Other climatic factors such as high temperature, high wind, and low relative humidity are often associated with drought.

Drought may be defined conceptually or operationally.
Conceptually, drought may be defined as a protracted period of deficient precipitation that causes extensive damage to crops, resulting in loss of yield.
Operational definition of drought helps to identify the beginning, end and degree of severity. In this case, the beginning of drought is identified by considering the degree of departure from the precipitation average over a specified time period. Usually, a historical average is considered as a threshold to identify the beginning of the drought. Operational definitions are used to analyze drought frequency, severity, and duration for a given historical period. A climatology of drought for a given region provides a greater understanding of its characteristics and the probability of recurrence at various levels of severity. Information of this type is beneficial in the formulation of mitigation strategies.

Types of drought

1. Meteorological drought: Meteorological drought is defined on the basis of the degree of dryness, in comparison to a normal or average amount, and the duration of the dry period. Definitions of meteorological drought must be region-specific, since the atmospheric conditions that result in deficiencies of precipitation are highly region-specific. Data sets required to assess meteorological drought are daily rainfall information, temperature, humidity, wind velocity and pressure, and evaporation.
2. Agricultural drought: Agricultural drought links various characteristics of meteorological drought to agricultural impacts, focusing on precipitation shortages, differences between actual and potential evapo-transpiration, soil-water deficits, reduced groundwater or reservoir levels, and so on. Plant water demand depends on prevailing weather conditions, biological characteristics of the specific plant, its stage of growth, and the physical and biological properties of the soil. A good definition of agricultural drought should account for the susceptibility of crops during different stages of crop development. Deficient topsoil moisture at planting may hinder germination, leading to low plant populations per hectare and a reduction of yield. Data sets required to assess agricultural drought are soil texture, fertility and soil moisture, crop type and area, crop water requirements, pests and climate.
3. Hydrological drought: Hydrological drought refers to a persistently low discharge and/or volume of water in streams and reservoirs, lasting months or years. Hydrological drought is a natural phenomenon, but it may be exacerbated by human activities. Hydrological droughts are usually related to meteorological droughts, and their recurrence interval varies accordingly. Changes in land use and land degradation can affect the magnitude and frequency of hydrological droughts.Data sets required to assess hydrological drought are surface-water area and volume, surface runoff, streamflow measurements, infiltration, water-table fluctuations, and aquifer parameters.
4. Socioeconomic drought: Socioeconomic definitions of drought associate the supply and demand of some economic good with elements of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought. It differs from the other types of drought in the sense that its occurrence depends on the processes of supply and demand. The supply of many economic goods, such as water, forage, food grains, fish, and hydroelectric power, depends on the weather. Due to the natural variability of climate, water supply is ample in some years, but insufficient to meet human and environmental needs in other years.   Socioeconomic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds the supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply.Data sets required to assess socioeconomic drought are human and animal population and growth rate, water and fodder requirements, severity of crop failure, and industry type and water requirements

 Causes of drought

1. Land and water temperatures cause drought. As overall temperatures increase more water evaporates and severe weather conditions increase. Landscapes and crops need more water to survive and overall the demand for water increases.
2. Air circulation and weather patterns also cause drought. Key events like     El-Nino or La-Nina help contribute to drought in areas
3. Soil moisture levels also contribute to drought. When soil moisture is depleted there is less evaporation of water to create clouds. Surface temperatures rise, more water is needed and less is available which contributes to a more severe drought.
4. Drought can also be a supply and demand of water issue. When a region is growing rapidly the demand for water can exceed the supply. When weather conditions, temperatures or air patterns push a region toward a drought the demand for water by people can offset or worsen the situation depending on how the region reacts. Excessive irrigation contributes to a drought. 
5. If the timing of water doesn’t match the agricultural season there may be too much water when it is not needed it and too little when it is actually needed. Proper storage and collection of water is key to counter balancing this cycle and clearly in the scope of human management.

Impact of drought
Drought produces a complex web of impacts that spans many sectors of the economy and extends beyond the area experiencing physical drought. This complexity exists because water is integral to society's ability to produce goods and provide services.
Impacts are commonly referred to as direct and indirect.
Direct impacts include:

1. reduced crop, range land, and forest productivity, 
2. increased fire hazard
3. reduced water levels
4. increased livestock and wildlife mortality rates and 
5. damage to wildlife and fish habitat.

The direct impacts influence:

1. crop productivity
2.  income for farmers and agribusiness
3. prices for food and timber
4. unemployment
5. exemption to farmers who borrowed heavily from banks
6. migration

Types of drought impacts are:

1. Economic impacts: The economic impacts of drought are listed below:

1. Droughts destroy growth of crops resulting in poor yields and poor quality crops. Excessive funds are used to provide sufficient water to crops
2. Death of livestock due to lack of food and water
3. Reduced timber production due to wild fires, low productivity of forest land and  and loss of young trees.
4. Loss of fishery production due to damaged fish habitat due to drought.
5. Loss of recreation and tourism
6. Loss to industries manufacturing farm equipment.
7. Loss to hydroelectric power generating companies
8. Loss of revenue to water supply companies
9. Loss to inland river navigation based transport companies
10. Increased cost due to import of food.

      2. Environmental impacts: The environmental impacts of drought are listed below:

1. Environmental impact includes forest fires, soil erosion, damage to life forms and their habitat coupled with decline in air and water quality.
2. Wildlife may migrate to other areas.
3. Increased stress to endangered species
4. Decrease in water level in reservoirs, ponds, lakes and loss of wetlands
5. Dry top soil becomes prone to erosion by wind leading to reduced soil quality and low biological productivity of landscape.
6. Loss of biodiversity and extinction of species

      3.Social impacts: The social impacts of drought are listed below:

1. Disputes due to water shortage and lifestyle changes
2. Revenue loss due to drought causes physical, mental stresses that contribute to loss of human lives due to suicidal tendencies
3. Reduction in recreational activities
4. Mass migration of communities
5. Reduced fire fighting ability
6. Sustenance on basic food leading to malnutrition and high infant mortality rate
7. Steeply declining quality of life in the affected community

QUIZ-I

QUIZ-I

Covering Unit-I & Unit-II

Answer ALL

1. A disaster is a __________, ____________ event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes __________, ___________, and _____________ or environmental losses that exceed the ________________ or _____________ ability to cope using its own resources
2. List four examples of natural disasters
3. How can the impact of disasters be minimized
4. Define disaster, Hazard and the three components of vulnerability
5. What is risk and express risk as a formula
6. List two examples of man-made disasters
7. List the various impacts of droughts
8. List the indirect effects of drought
9. List the negative effects of drought on people. 
10. List the economic impacts of drought
11. Explain briefly, the political impact of drought as a "focussing event".
12. List few environmental impacts of droughts
13. List the various impacts (six typical and ten delayed) of drought on the health of a community
14. List the various disasters that the Indian subcontinent and the northern himalayan region are prone to
15. What percentage of India is prone to drought, earthquake, floods and cyclones.
16. List the various major famines in India
17. What is the average drought frequency in India
18. Who are the worst affected by droughts
19. What are the two broad classifications of disasters in India
20. What is the meaning of Hydrometeorology and list examples of hydrometeorological disasters
21. What are geological disasters also known as 
22. List examples of geological disasters
23. List the common characteristics of natural disasters
24. State the conceptual and operational definitions of drought
25. List the various types of drought
26. List the causes of drought
27. List the various direct and indirect impacts of drought
28. List the economic, environmental and social impacts of drought
29. What is the impact of drought on the health of a community
30. List the initial and delayed responses with regard to psychosocial impacts of drought on people in the affected community
31. Explain in brief the phrase, "differential impacts of disasters"
32. What is meant by "global trends"
33. List the factors contributing to an increasing trend in number of disasters over the past few decades
34. What is an urban disaster
35. Define pandemics
36. List the four types of stability found in complex emergencies
37. List the factors contributing to rapid climate change
38. Why are slums in cities a major center of crime
39. List the reasons for high hazard intensity in urban areas
40. List examples of pandemics that occurred in the past
41. List the characteristics of complex emergencies
42. List the effects of national and international level complex emergencies
43. List the various climate change indicators
44. List the various risks due to climate change
45. List the direct and indirect impacts due to climate change
46. List the impacts that climate change has on ecosystems and environmental relationships
47. List the various causes due to floods and cyclones
48. Where are tropical cyclones generated
49. What is the 'eye' of a cyclone
50. What is the wind direction in a cyclone
51. What is an 'eye wall' and a 'rain band' in a cyclone
52. What causes 'local storms'
53. List the primary, secondary and tertiary hazards due to a cyclone with examples
54. List the damage caused due to local storms
55. Define atmospheric hazards. What are they also known as 
56. What is a cumulative atmospheric hazard
57. List the various atmospheric hazards
58. List the common types of toxic gases encountered in confined spaces
59. Define a cold wave and list the criteria for determining a cold wave
60. List the effects of cold waves
61. Can cold waves be forecasted
62. Define heat wave and heat stress
63. On what basis are heat waves classified
64. List the characteristics of dry heat wave and moist heat wave
65. List the effects of heat wave on the human body
66. List the signs of heat wave
67. ___________% of rainfall occurs in ___________ months in India
68. Define flood
69. Floods in India are caused due to _________________________ basin that carries ___% of total river flow in India
70. List the various causes of floods in India
71. List the various flood prone regions of India
72. Define a road accident
73. List the various causes of traffic accident
74. List the elements of good driving
75. List the effects of a traffic accident

Impact of Drought - social, economic, political, environment, health and psychosocial

IMPACTS OF DROUGHT

Social impact  

The social impacts of droughts are most felt, as they directly involve people in a community and their families.
Health has a direct link to the water supply in any community. Clean water for drinking, cleaning and sanitation help society prevent and manage diseases. Hunger, malnutrition, anaemia and mortality are the indirect effects of drought. Droughts cause low food production. Food nutrition also is a problem, and that leads to vulnerability diseases/illness and deaths. Droughts mean less water avaiable, resulting in lesser dilution resulting in increased concentration of chemicals, nutrients and reduced dissolved content of water. Droughts result in poor living conditions forcing people to migrate to places with better living conditions. When several of the young and working population the region is termed drought vulnerable. Anxiety, stress and depression have a negative effect on people and this results in low esteem and feeling of social isolation.

Economic impact

Economic impacts of drought involve loss of money due to:

1. Additional money required to irrigate crops by spending money to drill new wells or purchase water in tankers from far away places.
2. Low crop yield
3. Farm equipment will not be purchased from businesses and industries
4. Drought implies drier conditions and more bush fires that destroy farms, properties, forests and trees. The
5. government uses additional resources to fight fires and provide emergency services
6. Energy industries lose money because they cannot meet energy demands of the region.

 

Political impact

Droughts have political impacts too. A drought can be considered as an event in hydroligic time as well as political time. A head of a state declares a drought emergency seeking help from the centre. State and central governments come to the rescue of the drought affected region, request the citizens to conserve water to tide over the crisis. At water, the central government acts as an arbiter between regions concerning water allocated to them. These are the recurring political impacts of drought. Drought politics stimulates political and policy change. Drought is a classic example of a "focusing event" that creates a window of opportunity for policy change. Most politicians use drought to push forward their policies and make their preferred political change.

Environmental impact

Soil moisture is important for breakdown of organic matter. Droughts lower the quality of soils, because there is less organic activity, increased wind erosion, and soil insects or organisms perish.
Water bodies (lakes, creeks, ponds and lagoons) are completely dry and cause the death of water animals.
Droughts also affect entire food chains and ecosystems.
Droughts worsen the process of desertification and eliminate any chances of the land to recover
The health and quality of freshwater biomes (ponds, lakes, streams and rivers) are affected and the living organisms are endangered.

Impact on health of community

 Droughts have far reaching effects beyond the farm, including many effects on human health. The potential health effects that occur with drought are:
Droughts can reduce air quality and compromise the health of people due to  dry soils. Wildfires increase the amount of airborne particles, such as pollen and smoke. These particles can irritate the airways and worsen chronic respiratory illnesses, such as asthma while increasing the risk of respiratory infections, such as bacterial pneumonia.
Drought increases the risk of people catching the fungal infection valley fever. The disease is transmitted when spores in the soil become airborne and are inhaled. The condition causes a range of symptoms, including fever, chest pain, coughing, rash, and muscle aches.
In a drought, people may feel the need to reduce hand washing and other hygiene practices to conserve water leading to an increased spread of infectious diseases, such as acute respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.
People whose livelihood is directly tied to the water supply like farmers, horticulturalists and nursery owners may suffer adverse mental health effects during a drought.
Financial-related stress and worry can cause depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental and behavioral health conditions. For example, an increased rate of suicide among people living in farming areas during droughts.
Reduced rainfall can limit the growing season for farmers, and further reduce crop yields by creating ideal conditions for insect infestations that damage crops. This can bring increases in food prices, or shortages of certain foods, potentially leading to malnutrition.
In a drought, farmers may also use recycled water to irrigate fields.  If the process is not properly monitored, crops can become contaminated with pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli
Increase in diseases transmitted by insects, such as West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, are linked with drought, the CDC says. Drought can shrink bodies of water, and cause water to become stagnant, providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

 

Psychosocial impacts of drought on people in the affected community

Studies on flooding and psychological well-being after flooding indicate that although the major stressor of flooding is the disaster itself, the secondary stressors of rebuilding and returning to normal life can pose substantial social and mental health problems for months or years afterward. The problems range from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to clinical depression and anxiety to substance abuse to relationship problems. However, if the affected person believes that they can control their feelings, they will be better prepared mentally to deal with the aftermath of the disaster. It has been found that women who were faced the disaster were likely to suffer from depression and anxiety while men were likely to exhibit violent behaviour and alcohol abuse.
In general, it was observed that there are six typical initial responses:

1. fear
2. numbness and shock
3. confusion
4. difficulty in making decisions
5. desire for information
6. seeking help for oneself and family and helpfulness to others.

Delayed responses, which can surface months later, include:

1. changes in appetite
2. headaches
3. inability to sleep
4. anger
5. suspicion
6. apathy
7. depression
8. withdrawal from family and friends
9. disillusionment with official help and
10. guilt at not having been able to prevent or avoid the emergency

INDEX

UNIT - I

Introduction to disasters

Concepts and definition of:

1. Disaster
2. Hazard
3. Vulnerability
4. Risk
5. Capacity
6. Resilience
7. Definition of Disaster, Vulnerability, Resilience and Risk

Disaster and development

Disaster management

UNIT - II

• Geological disasters
• Earthquake
• Landslides
• Tsunami
• Mining
• Hydro-meteorological disasters
• Floods
• Cyclones
• Lightening
• Thunder-storms
• Hail storms
• Avalanche
• Drought
• Cold wave and Heat wave
• Biological disasters
• Epidemics
• Pest attacks
• Forest fire
• Technological disasters
• Chemical
• Industrial
• Radiological
• Nuclear
• Man-made disasters
• Building collapse
• Rural and urban fires
• Road and rail accidents
• Nuclear
• Radiological
• Chemical
• Biological disaster
• Global disaster trends
• Emerging risks of disasters
• Climate change and urban disasters
• Natural and man-made disasters
  1. Impact of drought
  2. Review of past disasters and drought in India
  3. Classification and characteristics of drought in India
  4. Classification, causes and impacts of drought
  5. Causes and impacts (social, economic, political, environmental, health and psychosocial) of drought
  
  Disaster

1. Classification, causes and impacts (social, economic, political, environmental, health and psychosocial) of disasters
2. Differential impacts of disasters in terms of:
1. Caste
2. Class
3. Gender
4. Age
5. Location
3. Global trends in disasters:
1. Urban disasters
2. Pandemics
3. Complex emergencies and
4. Climate change
4. Cyclones and floods:
1. Tropical cyclones and local storms
2. Destruction by Tropical cyclones and local storms
3. Cumulative atmospheric hazards / Disasters
4. Cold waves 
5. Heat waves

1. Causes of floods
2. Road diasters in India

QUIZ-I

UNIT - III

DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE AND FRAMEWORK

• Disaster management cycle
• Paradigm shift in disaster management
• Pre-disaster
• Risk assessment and analysis
• Risk mapping
• Zonation and micro-zonation
• Prevention and mitigation of disasters
• Early warning systems
• Preparedness
• Capacity development
• Awareness
• During disaster
• Evacuation
• Disaster communication
• Search and rescue
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
• Incident command system
• Relief and rehabilitation
• Post-disaster
• Damage and needs assessment
• Restoration of critical infrastructure
• Early recovery
• Reconstruction and redevelopment
• IDNDR
• Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction

Disaster cycle

1. Analysis
2. Phases
3. Culture of safety
4. Prevention
5. Mitigation and preparedness
6. Community based Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
7. Structured and non-structural measures
8. Roles and responsibilities of:
1. Community
2. Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs)
3. Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
4. State, Centre and other stake-holders

UNIT - IV

Disaster management in India

• Disaster profile of India
• Mega disasters of India and lessons learnt
• Disaster management act 205
• Institutional and Financial mechanism
• National policy on disaster management
• National guidelines on disaster management
• National plans on disaster management
• Role of government (local, state and national levels)
• Government and inter-governmental agencies
• Inter-relationship between disasters and development

1. Factors affecting vulnerability
2. Differential impacts 
3. Impact of development projects such as:
1. Dams
2. Embankments
3. Changes in land-use
4. Climate change adaptation
5. Relevance of indigenous knowledge
6. Appropriate technology and local resources 

  UNIT - V

Applications of science and technology for disaster management

• Geo-informatics in disaster management (RS, GIS & GPS)
• Disaster communication system (Early warning and its dissemination)
• Land use planning and development regulations
• Disaster safe designs and constructions
• Structural and non-structural mitigation of disasters
• Science and technology institutions for disaster management in India
• Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in India

1. Hazard and vulnerability profile in India
2. Components of disaster relief:
1.  Water
2. Food
3. Sanitation
4. Shelter
5. Health
6. Waste management
3. Institutional arrangements:
1.  Mitigation
2.  Response
3.  Preparedness
4. DM act and policy
5. Other related policies
6. Plans, Programmes and legislation

QUIZ -II

Classification, causes and impacts (social, economic, political, environmental, health and psychosocial) of disasters

Classification of disasters:
Disasters are primarily classified as:

1. Natural disasters and
2. Man-made disasters

Natural disasters are caused due to natural phenomena. Examples are:

• Floods
• Droughts
• Cyclones
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Volcanoes
• Landslides
• Avalanche
• Blizzard (Snow storm)
• Wind chill
• Sand storms

Man-made disasters are caused primarily due to human negligence. Examples are:

• Explosions
• Leakage of toxic chemicals
• Pollution
• Deforestation, Forest fires
• Dam failure
• Wars, Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Biological weapons, Chemical weapons, etc.

Natural disasters can further be divided into 

• Hydrometeorological based disasters and
• Geological based disasters

Hydrometeorology is the study of exchange of energy and water between the lower atmosphere and Earth's surface. Examples of hydrometeorological disasters are:

• Cyclone
• Flood
• Drought
• Wind chill
• Snow storm
• Sand storms. etc

Geology is the science of study of the Earth. Examples of geological based disasters are:

• Earthquake
• Volcano
• Landslide
• Tsunami, etc

Earthquake:

The Earth is made-up of rocks, tectonic plates and molten magma at the core. The tectonic plates are in constant motion relative to each other. As the plates move against each other, any irregularity causes an abrupt jerk resulting in tremendous energy being released which is experienced on the surface as an Earthquake.

Volcano:
The Earth's core is made up of molten magma under pressure. When this molten magma finds its way to the surface of the Earth through cracks or fissures it erupts with great force spewing red hot lava. Volcanoes occur under the oceans on the sea bed also. They cause severe damage to life and property. Sometimes volcanoes remain dormant for several years before becoming active again. In the past, volcanoes have occurred in Italy(Mount Etna), Indonesia(Mount Merapi), Japan(Sakurajima), United States(Mount St. Helens), Ethiopia(Erta Ale), etc.

Landslide:
Landslide refers to a type of mass wasting. Examples include:

• Rock falls
• Deep seated slope failures
• Mud flow and
• Debris flow

Tsunami:
Tsunami is Japanese meaning tidal wave or  a  harbour wave. It occurs due to disturbances in the sea floor. It is a series of waves in a water body caused by displacement of large volume of water in an ocean.

Disasters are also classified as:

• Extraterrestrial disasters: These types of disasters are caused by collision of celestial bodies. Space telescope data reveals 4700 potentially hazardous asteroids with diameter greater than 330 feet are present near the Earth. Other types of extraterrestrial hazards are:
• Magnetic storms
• Catastrophic Earth changes
• Meteorite Impacts and
• Impacts from near-earth objects

Man-made disasters:

• These hazards man-made or human induced disasters. They are caused primarily due to human activities leading to loss of life and property along with causing damage to the regions economy and productive capacity. Examples of these disasters are:
• Environmental pollution
• Terrorism
• Destruction of property
• Road & rail accidents
• Explosions
• Chemical spills
• Industrial accidents
• Nuclear accidents, etc.
• Physical hazards that are caused due to developmental activities. Examples include:
• Deforestation
• Desertification
• Loss of natural resources
•  Pollution
• Waste disposal, etc.
• Technological hazards that are caused due to interaction of society, technology and the natural environment. Examples include:
• Explosions
• Wars
• Release of  toxic substances into the environment
• Oil spills, etc

Environmentalists have further categorized technological hazards into:

• Industrial Hazards
• Structural collapse hazards
• Nuclear hazards
• Computer hazards and
• Transportation hazards

Biological hazards or biohazards:

• These type of hazards originate from biological sources. Examples are:
• AIDS
• Malaria
• Severe epidemics in plants and animals (SARS)

Biohazards are further categorised into:

• Pathogens (Example: Anthrax, Small Pox, Influenza, Plague etc)
• Toxins 

Social hazards originate from social systems such as:

• Population explosion
• Famine
• Warfare
• Conflict
• Terror attacks
• Holding people hostage etc

Causes of disasters:

• Earthquakes are mainly caused by slippage within geological faults but also due to volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts and nuclear tests.
• Landslide is a geological phenomenon that includes a wide range of ground movements like rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flow that occurs offshore, coastal and onshore environments.Gravity is the primary driving force along with contributing factors like slope stability.
• Tsunami is a series of water waves caused by displacement of large body of water. The 2004 Indian ocean tsunami was the deadliest in human history causing the death of 2,30,000 people in the countries surrounding the Indian ocean.
• A volcano is a rupture in the Earth's crust that allows hot magma and volcanic ash from the Earth's interior to erupt on the Earth's surface.
• A flood is an overflow of water that submerges vast areas of land. Floods occur in rivers when flow capacity exceeds the capacity of the channel
• Landslides also called a landslip or mudslide occurs when the slope changes from a stable to an unstable condition due to groundwater pressure, weakening of a slope due to saturation from snow melt or heavy rainfall. Landslides are also caused due to deforestation, mining at the foot of the slope, excess withdrawal of ground water, construction activity and explosive activity in the vicinity
• Droughts are caused due to less or no rainfall combined with excessive withdrawal of groundwater.
• Snow storms and sand storms occur in cold and desert regions respectively. Snow storms occur in the cold mountainous regions and consist of freezing winds combined with snow reducing visibility and related hazardous conditions. Sand storm is a meteorological phenomena in arid and semi-arid regions. Sand storms may cause asthma and other related respiratory problems. Sand storms or dust storms involve transport of fine sand particles from one place to another. A sand storm can transport and carry large volumes of sand unexpectedly.

Impacts of disasters:
Disasters may have the following effects on communities as listed below.

1. Social impacts: The social impacts of a disaster refer to the tangible and intangible effects on a society and the expenses to rebuild the society to the stage that existed before the disaster occurred. The most common social impacts on a community involve:
1. increased mental health issues
2. alcohol misuse
3. domestic violence
4. chronic diseases and
5. short-term unemployment
2. Economic impacts: Any disaster destroys tangible assets such as buildings and equipment. Disasters have severe short-term economic impacts. The costs of disasters rise exponentially with economic development. Disasters affect the infrastructure of a community in a manner that all other projects requiring funds are stopped and diverted to reconstruction and rehabilitation work
3. Political Impacts: Disasters fundamentally test a government's preparedness and capacity to deal with a disaster. Government's should be aware of natural disaster risks in their region and set regulatory measures in place before the disaster occurs. If a government has done a poor job responding to a disaster they may be voted out or political unrest may occur in response to a disaster.
4. Environmental impacts: Disasters have a profound effect on the environment. They cause a temporary or permanent effect on the environment depending the type of disaster. Earthquakes modify the topography of the terrain, Volcanoes release several tons of carbon-dioxide and other toxic gases. In addition, they destroy the local landscape and anything that comes in contact. Floods cause widespread destruction of the local region and habitat. They also cause loss of life and severe erosion.
5. Health impacts: Disasters impact the health of affected people in several ways. People may suffer from physical injuries that may be temporary or permanent. Affected people may suffer psychologically and suffer from mental illnesses. The health effects may last much longer than the disaster itself. The health effects of a disaster are unavoidably linked to the social and economical effects of any disaster.
6. Psychosocial impacts: Psychosocial impacts refers to the effect caused by the environment on the social and or psychological aspect on an individual or community due to a disaster. Several psychiatric disorders may affect psychological and social aspect of the affected individual's life. Disasters may diseases such as PTSD, depression, extreme stress, anxiety and a range of mental diseases.

Review of past disasters and drought in India

REVIEW OF PAST DISASTERS IN INDIA

The Indian subcontinent is highly vulnerable to cyclones, droughts, earthquakes and floods. Avalanches, forest fire and landslides occur frequently in the Himalayan region of northern India. On an average, about 50 million people in the country are affected by one or the other disaster every year, besides loss of property worth several million.

In the 1970s and the 80s, droughts and famines were the biggest killers in India. Floods, high winds and earthquakes dominate the reported injuries, with increasing numbers in the last ten years. The period from 2001 to 2011 has been associated with a large number of earthquakes. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and avalanches are some of the major natural disasters that repeatedly and increasingly affect India. The natural disasters directly impact economies, agriculture, food security, water, sanitation, the environment and health each year.

 Different natural hazards because varying levels of physical damage to infrastructure and agriculture with implications for their indirect and secondary impacts. Drought causes heavy Crop and Livestock losses over wide areas of land.  Floods and Cyclones cause extensive whereas damage to both infrastructure and agriculture, depending on their timing relative to the agricultural cycle. Earthquakes can cause wide spread devastation of infrastructure and other productive capacity over relatively large areas.

During the period 1980 - 2010 India faced disasters in the form of floods (in 1980, 1982, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009), drought (in 1982, 1987, 2000 and 2002), earthquake (in 1993, 2001 and 2004), epidemics (in 1984 & 1988), storm (in 1990, 1996, 1998 & 1999)

India is a country highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Enormous population pressures and urbanization have forced people to live on marginal lands or in cities where they are at greater risk to disasters and the damage they can cause. Each time a flood, a regional drought or a devastating earthquake occurs, millions of Indians are affected. In addition to large-scale displacement and the loss of life, these events result in the loss of property and agricultural crops worth millions.

In India, 68 percent of the land is drought prone, 60 percent is prone to earthquake, 12 percent is prone to floods and 8 percent to cyclones. This amounts to almost 85 percent of the land area in India  vulnerable to natural hazards. The main natural disasters in India includes floods, earthquakes, droughts, and cyclones while the minor natural hazards in India are landslides, avalanches, hailstorms, forest fires and bush fires.

These disasters have been categorized into following five sub-groups depending on origin. They are:

1. Water and Climate Related Disasters Ex:Floods and Drainage Management, Cyclones, Tornadoes and Hurricanes, Hailstorm, Cloud Burst, Heat Wave and Cold Wave, Snow Avalanches, Droughts, Sea Erosion and Thunder and Lightning. 
2. Geologically related disasters Ex:Landslides and Mudflows, Earthquakes, Dam Failures/Dam bursts and mine fires
3. Chemical , Industrial & Nuclear related disasters Ex: Bhopal gas tragedy
4. Accident related disasters Ex:Forest Fires, Urban Fires, Mines Flooding Oil Spill, Major Building Collapse, Serial Bomb Blasts, Festival related disasters, Electrical disasters and Fires, Air, Road and Rail Accidents, Boat Capsizing and Village Fire.
5. Biologically related disasters Ex:Epidemics, Pest Attacks, Cattle epidemics and Food poisoning.

DROUGHT IN INDIA

India has a largely monsoon dependent irrigation network. An erratic pattern, both low (less than 750 mm) and medium (750 - 1125 mm) makes 68 percent of the total sown area vulnerable to periodic droughts. Severe and rare droughts occur in arid and semi-arid zones once in almost every 8-9 years. Drought is a perennial feature in some states of India. 16 percent of the country’s total area is drought prone and approximately 50 million people are annually affected by droughts. In fact, persistent drought with less than average rainfall over a long period of time gives rise to serious environmental problems.

Drought in India has resulted in millions of deaths in the past three centuries. Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on climate to irrigate crops. The southwest monsoon is essential for crops and its failure results in below average crop yields.

Sometimes, droughts have led to major famines for example:

1. The Bengal famine of 1770 (one third of population in affected area dead)
2. The famine in 1876-1877 (five million people dead)
3. The 1899 famine (4.5 million people dead)

Drought strikes India every eight to nine years. Drought impacts the poorest the hardest. 

Global trends in disasters

GLOBAL TRENDS IN DISASTERS

Data and statistics are important in understanding the impacts and costs of disasters. Systematic disaster data collection and analysis can be used to inform policy decisions to help reduce disaster risks and build resilience. The term, "Global Trends" refers to a change in the situation that affects many countries of the world. Generally, the world has been witness to an increasing in the number of disasters as listed below-

1. According to statistics from United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the number of disasters has increased significantly in recent years. This has been possible due to accurate recordings and better communication technology.
2. Population growth has led to more people living in potentially hazardous locations.
3. Countries in the developing world are more vulnerable because of their low coping capacity.
4. The number of Earthquake events has not increased in the past decades and is fairly stable.
5. An increase in number of floods and wind storms has is seen. This may be due to global environmental changes or climate change.
6. Around fifty to seventy volcanoes erupt every year. Eruptions of a very large magnitude are rare. The trend also shows an increase in the number of people affected indicating the growing population density in the developing world.
7. An increase in the hurricane activity in the Atlantic has been linked to global warming.
8. It has also been proposed that a natural cycle in the Atlantic called Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) to explain the high number of major hurricanes.
9. The USA has a long term trend of falling hurricane related deaths and increasing economic costs
10. People living along the coast are at risk from hurricanes.
11. Increasing coastal populations causes increased risk from hurricanes
12. Scientists believe that increased global warming will lead to more unpredictable weather and an increase in weather events.
13. Hazards associated with El-Nino are well known such as drought in Indonesia and flood in Peru
14. Summer of 2007 witnessed wide spread flooding in the UK. This was linked to La Nina conditions in the pacific.

However, with respect to specific disasters, the global trend observed is discussed below

Urban disasters

The term 'urban disaster' is misleading. It could refer to a natural disaster like flood or earthquake occurring in an urban area or man-made disaster like overpopulation in an urban area or an industrial accident like an explosion or chemical leakage seiously affecting an urban area. Whichever the case, the impact is loss of economy, loss of jobs and destruction of natural resources. There has been a steady increase in the number of urban disasters leading to destruction of infrastructure. Unplanned and unscientific methods of mining and construction has led to sporadic but steady increase in number of Earthquakes, landslides and land subsidence incidents throughout the world. Overpopulation has led to conflicts and wars between countries over natural resources. Global environmental issues like global warming and sea level rise are primarily affecting urban areas resulting in them being termed as urban disasters. Spread of urban areas causing 'urban sprawl' and 'heat island effect' are primarily environmental issues of concern and if these issues are not addresses in time before they will actually become 'urban disasters'. Hence the global trend concerning urban disasters is steadily increasing.

Pandemics 
 A pandemic is defined as a sudden outbreak that very widespread and affects a whole region, a continent, or world due to a susceptible population. A pandemic causes a high degree of mortality. Ex- small pox and tubeculosis. A pandemic is basically a global epidmeic. It is an epidemic that spreads to more than one continent. A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. HIV/AIDS is an example of one of the most destructive global pandemics in history. Influenza pandemics occurred in-
-Spanish influenza (1918) killed 40 - 50 million people
-Asian influenza (1957) killed 2 million people
-Hongkong influenza (1968) killed 1 million people
Evidence suggests that the possibility of pansemics has increased over the past century because of increased global travel and integration, urbanization, changes in land use and greater exploitation of the natural environment. It is predicted that these trends will continue and intensify in future. A few pandemics in the recent past were malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, SARS in 2003, Ebola virus in 2013 and avian flu pandemics has seen sporadic outbursts in the past. Pandemics appear to be increasing in frequency because of increasing emergence of viral disease from animals. Some geographic regions with a high risk of origin  of a pandemic (sprak risk) lack in preparedness to handle the disease. Influenza is the most likely pathogen to cause a severe pandemic.

Global emergencies 
The term 'complex emergency' has no clear definition. It is often the result of a combination of political instability, conflict, social inequity, underlying poverty and violence. Complex emergencies are essentially political in nature and erode cultural, civil, political and economic stabilities of society. They can be worsened by natural hazards. Cities in the developing world exhibit the characteristics of complex emergencies. Complex emergencies have been defined as crises resulting from a combination of instabilities interacting with each other. Complex emergencies combine internal conflict with large scale displacement of people, mass famine and food shortage and fragile or failing economic, political and social institutions. Complex emergencies display four main types of instability-

1. Political instability
2. Economic instability
3. Environmental instability and
4. Demographic instability

Complex emergencies are present virtually in every part of the world. However, they are prevelant in areas without proper governance, poverty, lack of education in the community, unhygenic living conditions, etc.
Armed conflicts have been a major cause of disruption in the last decade. There has been an increase in the number of political conflicts has increased from 2006 to 2016 as per statistics published by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (UNOCHA).

Climate change 
Climate change refers to a change in the global or regional climate patterns.
A direct relationship exists between climate and health. Climate change will be responsible for almost 250,000 additional deaths due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress. Climate change has also contributed to increased frequency of natural disasters. The current warming trend is of the human activity since the mid 20th century. The increased levels of green house gases has caused the Earth to warm up in response. The current warming is occurring around ten times faster than the rate of ice-age-recovery warming. Rapid climate change is evident through
-Global temperature rise
-Warming oceans
-Shrinking ice sheets
-Glacial retreat
-Decreased snow cover
-Sea level rise
-Declining arctic sea ice
-Extreme events and
-Ocean acidification
Trends show an increase in warming of the world's climate. This temperature will not be uniform across the globe over time. This implies a shorter and milder winter followed by longer and hotter summers. This adversely affects agriculture and ecosystems. Climate change also results in an increase in frequncy and duration in rainfall. Increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves result in drought. Climate change also causes frequent intense storms (cyclone).