New Delhi: Massive rains have triggered landslides and floods in Kerala’s Wayanad. So far, it has claimed the lives of more than 250 people with hundreds of people reportedly missing, not to mention the huge destruction of property the calamity has caused. The picturesque place in ‘God’s Own Country’ is reeling due to the fury of nature. In such a scenario, a question that is doing the rounds is: When can we call an incident a natural disaster? In this article, we will try to explore the answer to this question.
When is an incident a natural disaster?
The Disaster Management Act of 2005 stated that a calamity, or catastrophe whose magnitude is high and which can be natural or manmade can be termed as a ‘disaster’. It can also take place due to accident or negligence leading to significant loss of lives and the destruction of the environment and property. While a natural disaster includes a flood, cyclone, landslide, urban flood, tsunami, or earthquake, a man-made disaster can be biological, chemical or nuclear. But in India, there is no official provision to declare an incident as a natural calamity.
According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, a natural disaster is a calamity which is caused by nature rather than humans and which leads to a great loss of human life or destruction of the properties and the natural environment along with the public infrastructure. It can be the result of a weather and climate event or a landslide, earthquake, and other natural occurrences. While natural disasters can take place anywhere on this planet, certain types of disasters occur in specific geographic regions.
The 10th Finance Commission (1995-2000), while examining a proposal of calling a disaster ‘national calamity’ stated that the situation and other factors including its magnitude, the kind of help needed, the state’s ability to tackle the situation etc severity need to be taken into account while defining a calamity. Some states in March 2023 wrote to the National Disaster Management Authority demanding that lightning should be declared as a ‘natural disaster’ since it causes deaths more than any other disaster in India. At present, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, floods, fires, tsunamis, landslides, hailstorms, cloudbursts, avalanches, frosts and cold waves are considered disasters that the State Disaster Response Fund covers, with the Centre contributing 75 per cent of the fund.
According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, a natural disaster is a calamity which is caused by nature rather than humans and which leads to a great loss of human life or destruction of the properties and the natural environment. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
