Available Online at http://www.recentscientific.com International Journal of CODEN: IJRSFP (USA) Recent Scientific International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Research Vol. 11, Issue, 08 (B), pp. 39445-39453, August, 2020 ISSN: 0976-3031 DOI: 10.24327/IJRSR Research Article VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS OF CYCLONE HAZARDS AND THE CHANGING DIMENSIONS OF DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT IN ODISHA ALONG THE EAST COAST OF INDIA Jitendra Kumar Behera and Gopal Krishna Panda Dept. of Geography, Utkal University Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar – 751004 Odisha India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2020.1108.5505 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Odisha is one of the most vulnerable states for the hazards of the tropical cyclones along the east th coast of India since time immemorial. The low pressure systems developing over the Bay of Bengal Received 10 May, 2020 and South East Asian region makes a landfall along the Odisha coast and travel inland. Very often Received in revised form 2nd these cyclonic hazards had turned in to disasters affecting the life, livelihood and property of the June, 2020 people. Strong wind, torrential rain, flooding and unusual storm surges accompanied with the Accepted 26th July, 2020 th cyclones cause severe devastations with the destruction of dwellings, damage to infrastructure and Published online 28 August, 2020 standing crops besides loss of life along the track of its movement and adjacent areas. Odisha’s exposure to these extreme events, people’s perception and human response, adaptations, its risk Key Words: mitigation and management has undergone a sea change in the twenty-first century keeping at pace Tropical Cyclone, Disaster Risk Index, with the scientific innovations and international guidelines. This study makes an attempt to assess Vulnerability, Resilience, Sendai the vulnerability of the state to the tropical cyclones based on a Disaster Risk Index. Time series and Framework spatial analysis is used to study their trend and impacts. Content analysis is used to study the innovative strategies of disaster risk reduction of achieving the zero casualty as per the Sendai framework and community resilience. The findings of the study indicate an increasing vulnerability of the state to more number of severe cyclones. But however, the revised strategies in crisis management and community based disaster preparedness have been the key to the success in reducing disaster risk in the state. Copyright © Jitendra Kumar Behera and Gopal Krishna Panda, 2020, this is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION droughts and floods. 7.4 million People are affected annually out of which 40.5% due to floods and 18% due to cyclone. It is Cyclone is one of the natural hazards that have capability to reported that about 50,000 mortalities have occurred due to risk lives, loss of property and infrastructure. Odisha is one of natural disasters in Odisha within a span of 38 years from 1970 the most vulnerable states in India as far as cyclones are to 20071.” It is a well known fact that natural hazards are concerned. In view of its tropical location and the long triggered by natural forces but losses due to these extreme coastline, Odisha has been recurrently affected by cyclones events are mostly the acts of man. “The Indian subcontinent is which are often followed with floods. Generally two cyclone the worst affected part of the world as per the death toll seasons prevail over Odisha. One is during pre-monsoon period statistics. Out of 9-recorded cases of heavy loss of human lives (i.e. April, May and June up to onset of monsoon) and another accounting to 40,000 or more by cyclones during the past 300 is in the post monsoon season (i.e. October to December) in years, 7 cases (77%) occurred in Indian subcontinent2”. The terms of seasonality of occurrence. The cyclones which had social and economic losses due to these disasters in Odisha had landfall in Odisha coast normally originates in the Bay of been very high and often immeasurable. The poor and the Bengal and adjoining seas and dissipates on the land. The marginalized people like the small and landless farmers, cyclones of land origin and land dissipation or sea dissipation agricultural laborers and daily wage earners are the most are negligible. Most devastating cyclones had occurred in sufferers by these events. Odisha has 30 districts and the Odisha in the months of May or October and their impacts have coastal districts have been most affected when the cyclones been so severe that it has been able to cripple the economy of have their landfall along the coast. The interior districts like the state. The 1999 super cyclone has been the best example of Jajpur, Anugul, Dhenkanal, Kendujhar, Sambalpur, Gajapati, it. “The state suffers from extreme weather like storms, *Corresponding author: Jitendra Kumar Behera Dept. of Geography, Utkal University Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar – 751004 Odisha India International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 11, Issue, 08 (B), pp. 39445-39453, August, 2020 Bolangir and Kalahandi also experience the wrath of the (ISDR) defines vulnerability as “the set of condition and cyclones in the form of heavy and torrential rain leading to process resulting from physical, social, economic and floods. “Countries bordering the Indian Ocean are confronted environmental factors which increase the susceptibility of a with one of the most serious storm surge problems of any place community to the impact of hazards6. Disaster impact data have on the Earth. This is particularly true in the northern Bay of been collected from the Annual Reports of the Odisha State Bengal where the unique combination of a large astronomical Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and office of the tide, a funneling coastal configuration, low flat terrain and Special Relief Commissioner. Besides these sources, frequent severe tropical storms occasionally produce storm population and settlement related information and maps are surges that kill thousands of people3”. Disasters are natural and collected from the offices of the Director of Census Operations, human caused events that have an adverse impact on Bhubaneswar. The study makes use of descriptive statistics and community, region, or nation. Events associated with a disaster time series analysis of the cyclonic events and their impacts. can overwhelm response resources and have damaging Simple probability analysis is used for estimating the economic, social or environmental impacts4. A natural probability of occurrence based on magnitude and seasonality disaster is a hazardous event that causes large number of of occurrence of the cyclonic events. Spatial analysis is also fatalities and/or overwhelming property damage5. used with the help of ARC GIS to study the pattern of vulnerability and risk at the district level using disaster risk Objectives index. The strength and weakness of the cyclone mitigation The study aims to analyze the nature and characteristics of the programs are studied based on SWOT and Content Analysis cyclonic hazards which had affected Odisha state in terms of along with focus group discussion of the measure stakeholders, magnitude, frequency and periodicity of the events. The study disaster managers and community leaders. also aims to explore the impact of these extreme events in terms of exposure, casualty besides the spatial pattern of risk ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS and relative vulnerability at the district level. The study also Tropical Cyclones and their Classification investigates the new dimensions of cyclone risk reduction and its mitigation measures. However the specific objectives of the A cyclone is an intense vortex or a whirl in the atmosphere study are given below. associated with intense low pressure area at the center with numerous thunderstorms and very strong winds circulating 1. Time series analysis of cyclonic disturbances along the around it in an anti-clockwise direction in the Northern Odisha coast with reference to their magnitude and Hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the Southern frequency during the last century from 1900 to 2017. Hemisphere. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when 2. Periodicity analysis and seasonal pattern of vulnerability moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor of cyclonic disturbances affecting Odisha coast. contained in the moist air. The term ‘tropical’ refers to both the 3. Spatio-temporal analysis of the vulnerability and risk of geographic origin of these systems, which form almost the state at the district level in relation to the cyclonic exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and their formation disasters in maritime tropical air masses. Depending on its location and 4. Assessment of the cyclone risk mitigation strategies and strength, a tropical cyclone is called by many other names, such community resilience in the state focusing on community as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical based disaster preparedness, emergency management and depression and simply cyclone. While tropical cyclones can post disaster rehabilitation and resettlement. produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are Besides the above objectives, the study aims to answer some of also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surges. the basic questions pertaining to the cyclonic activity and They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their disaster risk management in Odisha such as: strength over land after their landfall along the coast. This is the reason for coastal regions receiving a significant damage i. What is the trend of cyclonic activities and landfall from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively less along Odisha coast? affected. Heavy rains often produce significant flooding inland, ii. Whether there is a seasonal shifting of cyclonic activities and storm surges bring extensive coastal flooding up to several in view of recent climate changes? kilometers from the coastline depending on the coastal iii.