Angie's blog

 India's Coastal Hazards India has a very long coastline, and it measures about 7,516.6 km bordering the mainland and the islands with the Bay of Bengal in the East, the Indian Ocean on the South and the Arabian Sea on the West.  Around 76 percent of India's coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis , while 59 percent of the country is vulnerable to earthquakes, 10 percent to floods and river erosion, and 68 percent to droughts . The latest evidence of this vulnerability occurred in May 2020, as the strongest storm recorded in decades in the Bay of Bengal cyclone Amphan hit, forcing several million people to evacuate.  India’s more than 7,500 square kilometers of coastline are at high risk for impacts of climate change related to sea-level rise. Sea levels along the Indian coast have risen by 8.5 centimeters during the past 50 years, and scientific prediction suggests that 36 million Indians are likely to be living in areas experiencing chronic flooding by 2100....

 Thunderstorms in India Thunderstorms are common in the  eastern and northeastern parts of India. Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, and States in NE India get affected by severe thunderstorms during premonsoon months of March to May.  They usually travel from northwest to southeast direction and are called “Norwesters”.  The highest annual frequency (100-120 days) is observed over Assam and Sub Himalayan West Bengal in the east and Jammu region in the north. The lowest frequency (less than 5 days) is observed over Ladakh region. In the plains Gangetic West Bengal and Bangladesh record between 80 and 100 days of thunderstorm annually. In 2018 Dust packed high winds emanating from a huge severe thunderstorm complex tore down trees and damaged homes across north central India. At least 100 deaths were reported from the winds.  Officials said that the action plan has both short-term and  long-term measures for mitigation of lightning in Keral...

  India's Mass Wasting Hazards India has the highest mountain chain on earth, the Himalayas, which are formed due to collision of Indian and Eurasian plate, the northward movement of the Indian plate towards China causes continuous stress on the rocks rendering them friable, weak and prone to landslides and earthquakes. The slow motion of the Indian crust, about 5 cm a year accumulates stress to which natural disasters are attributed. Some landslides make unique, and unparalleled catastrophes. Landslides and avalanches are among the major hydro geological hazards that affect large parts of India besides the Himalayas, the Northeastern hill ranges, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Eastern Ghats and the Vindhyans, in that order, covering about 15 percent of the landmass. The Himalayas alone count for landslides of every fame, name and description big and small, quick and creeping, ancient and new. The Northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems of a bewildering va...

 India's Volcanic Activity India has a list of six volcanoes including the  Barren Island volcano which also happens to be the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia.  Barren Island is an island located in the Andaman Sea. It is the only confirmed active volcano in the Indian subcontinent, and the only active volcano along a chain of volcanoes from Sumatra to Myanmar. It is a part of the Indian Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and lies about 68 miles northeast of the territory's capital, Port Blair. The first recorded eruption of the volcano dates back to 1787. Since then, the volcano has erupted more than ten times, with the most recent one being in 2020. This volcanic island stands in the midst of a volcanic belt on the edge of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates.   A conventional way of classifying magmatic volcanoes is by their frequency of eruption. They are called active if they erupt regularly. Dormant or inactive volcanoes are...

Seismicity Of India India has a varying degree of seismicity or regions ranging from the Stable Continental Region in the south with strong 6.0 earthquakes to the Himalayas, NE India, Indo-Burma and Indian Ocean regions with large 7.0, great 8.0 and mega 9.0 earthquakes. The whole country has been divided into four zones viz. zone V, IV, III and II according to the seismic zoning map of India prepared by Bureau of Indian Standards based on the historical seismicity and strong ground motions. Out of these zones, Zone V exhibits the highest seismic risk and zone II has the least. NICEF has set out disaster risk reduction, climate change and social cohesion as priorities to be addressed in its Country Programme for 2018-2022. The areas that are of focus are strengthening the capacities of state disaster management governance systems and institutions and building community capacities, including children, to lead disaster risk reduction. They integrate risk reduction strategies into the edu...

 India's Tectonic Plates The Indian tectonic plate is located in the north east hemisphere. And bounded with four major tectonic plates. North of the Indian plate is the Eurasian plate, to the south east, And Australian plate, to the south west, as well as the African plate and to the west the Arabian plate.  As the Indian plate is still active today and drifts at a velocity of about 5 cm per year, earthquakes occur in the northern part of the plate. Low to five magnitude earthquakes were registered in the urban areas of India, the largest recorded earthquake occurred near New Delhi in 1950 and had a magnitude of 8.5.  Over 65 % of the country is prone to earthquakes of a Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale level of VII or more.  T he Himalayan region is prone to disasters like earthquakes and landslides, while the plain mostly is affected by floods almost every year. The desert region is affected by droughts and famine, while the coastal zone is susceptible to cyclone...