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Abstract
India is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. With its vast territory, large population and unique geo-climatic conditions, in the last few decades the sub-continent has experienced many extreme hazardous events that have turned into disasters. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides are recurrent phenomena in the country. The multi-hazard scenario of India, as depicted by the Vulnerability Atlas of India (produced by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), New Delhi, India), shows that out of the total geographical area of 32, 87,263 sq. km, 54% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes, over 40 million hectares are prone to floods and about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones. Such extreme conditions and frequent disasters have greatly eroded developmental gains and caused loss of people’s lives.