Disaster Management in India What is a Disaster? A disaster is defined as a disruption on a massive scale, either natural or man-made, occurring in short or long periods of time. Disasters can lead to human, material, economic or environmental hardships, which can be beyond the bearable capacity of the affected society. As per statistics, India as a whole is vulnerable to 30 different types of disasters that will affect the economic, social and human development potential to such an extent that it will have long-term effects on productivity and macro-economic performance. Disasters can be classified into the following categories: 1. Water and Climate Disaster: Flood, hail storms, cloudbursts, cyclones, heat waves, cold waves, droughts, hurricanes. Geological Disaster: Landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes 2. Biological Disaster: Viral epidemics, pest attacks, cattle epidemics and locust plagues Industrial Disaster: Chemical and industrial a...