India loses $9.8 billion every year due to disasters

NEW DELHI: India loses $9.8 billion every year due to multi-hazard disasters as its 58.6 per cent land is prone to earthquake and 8.5 per cent area is vulnerable to cyclone.

As per the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's ( UNISDR) Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction ( GAR) 2015, risk profile of India estimates that Average Annual Loss (AAL) from multi-hazard disasters in India is approximately USD 9.8 billion per year, according to a Home Ministry note.

Of this, the AAL from floods is $7.4 billion every year. These figures are not an analysis of the impact of past floods in the country and are not vetted by the government.

A Home Ministry official said the Central government has not appointed any agency to estimate economic losses from disasters. The damage and losses due to natural disasters are assessed by the state governments concerned, as they are primarily responsible for management of natural disasters.

As per the vulnerability Atlas of India published by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation), India is vulnerable to various types of disasters like 58.6 per cent of its land is prone to earthquake, 8.5 per cent is vulnerable to cyclone and 5 per cent vulnerable to flood, the Home Ministry's note said.