Question : LOSS DUE TO NATURAL CALAMITIES

(a) whether the Government have made any assessment of the annual loss suffered due to the natural calamities in the country since 2000;

(b) is so, the details in this regard, year-wise;

(c) the States identified as natural disasters prone and vulnerable to earthquakes and annual cyclones/floods;

(d) whether the Government have made any review of the existing disaster management mechanism to make it more effective in tackling such eventualities; and

(e) if so, the steps contemplated by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI SWAMI CHINAMAYANAND )

(a) & (b): This being primarily a State subject, the Government of India have not made an assessment of the losses suffered by the State on account of all types of natural calamities.

(c): One or the other part of almost all the States are prone to natural hazards of different types. 382 districts in the country are prone to multiple hazards of which 199 are more vulnerable.

(d) & (e): The Ministry of Home Affairs has taken various initiatives for strengthening the disaster management mechanism in the country. These include capacity building in emergency response; mitigation measures for earthquakes, cyclones and other disasters; strengthening of fire services; making disaster response training an integral part of training of the Central Para Military Forces; awareness generation; building disaster awareness in the curriculum for schools; make disaster mitigation technologies an integral part of engineering curricula; induction/in-service training to officers of All India Services training to officers of All India Services and to other Government functionaries down to the level of village; upgradation of early warning systems; mainstreaming of mitigation measures in the planning and developmental process etc.