Disasters and Climate Change Adaptability at Odisha Coast

Abstract

‘Having become increasingly frequent in the late 1990s, the sustained high level of climate-related events pushed the average number of disasters per year to 329 in the latest 20-year period. This is double the average of 165 events per annum in 1978–1997, although better reporting of disaster data in the latest decades partly accounts for the apparent increase’. (UNISDR Report 1998–2017)

The increasing effect of climate change along the coastal areas has made those habitats very vulnerable. For example, tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal occur in two distinct seasons: the pre-monsoon months of April–May and post-monsoon months of October–November. In the past 2 decades alone, Odisha has suffered two such severe cyclones, that is, Super Cyclone 1999 and more recently ‘Titli’ (2018), which have shattered many lives, livelihood and the economy of Odisha.

Disasters such as tropical cyclones, floods and coastal erosion have resulted from a sea-level rise, which has constantly increased over the past 2 decades. This affects human adaptation of coastal inhabitants in in many ways: by causing environmental degradation and economic hardships and concomitant mental distress. In this regard, some recent developments in disaster mitigation warrants our attention, for example, Odisha is one of the first few Indian states to have developed a public address system for sophisticated early warnings as part of a state disaster reduction plan. This chapter critically reviews the physical impact of disasters on coastal Odisha and human adaption to disasters in reaction to its impacts on environment and economy of Odisha in particular.