NCERT Class 11 Geography Natural Hazards And Disasters

NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS

You might have read about tsunami or seen the images of horror on television set immediately after it happened. You may also be aware of the severe earthquake in Kashmir on both sides of theLine of Control (LOC). The damage caused to  human life and properties during these episodes has moved us all. What are these as phenomena and how they are caused? Howcan we save ourselves? These are some questions which come to our minds. This chapter will attempt to analyse some of these questions.

Change is the law of nature. It is a continuous process that goes on uninterruptedly involving phenomena, big and small, material and nonmaterial that make our physical and sociocultural environment. It is a process present everywhere with variations in terms of magnitude, intensity and scale. Change can be a gradual or slow process like the evolution oflandforms and organisms and it can be as sudden and swift as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes and lightening, etc. 

Similarly, it may remain confined to a smaller area occurring within a few seconds like hailstorms, tornadoes and dust storms, and it can also have global dimensions such as global warming and depletion of the ozone layer.  Besides these, changes have differentmeanings for different people. It depends upon the perspective one takes while trying to understand them. From the perspective of nature, changes are value-neutral (these are neither good nor bad). But from the human perspective, these are value-loaded. There are some changes that are desirable and good like

NATURAL DISASTERS AND HAZARDS IN INDIA

It was discussed in one of the previous chapters that India is vast and diverse in terms of its physical and socio-cultural attributes. It is largely due to its vast geographical area,  environmental diversities and culturalpluralities that scholars often described it using two meaningful adjectives like the‘Indian-subcontinent’ and the ‘land of unity in diversity’. Its vastness in terms of natural attributes combined with its prolonged colonialpast, continuing various forms of social discriminations and also equally large population have enhanced its vulnerability to natural disasters. These observations can alsobe illustrated by focussing on some of the major natural disasters in India.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are by far the most unpredictable and highly destructive of all the natural disasters. You have already learnt the causes of earthquakes in your book Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT, 2006). Earthquakes that are of tectonic origin have proved to be the most devastating and theirarea of influence is also quite large. These earthquakes result from a series of earthmovements brought about by a sudden release of energy during the tectonic activities in theearth’s crust. As compared to these, the earthquakes associated with volcaniceruption, rock fall, landslides, subsidence, particularly in the mining areas, impoundingof dams and reservoirs, etc. have limited area ofinfluence and the scale of damage.

Exercise

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) Which one of the following states of India experiences floods frequently?

    (a) Bihar

    (b) Assam

    (c) West Bengal

    (d) Uttar Pradesh

(ii) In which one of the following districts of Uttaranchal did Malpa Landslide disaster take place?

     (a) Bageshwar

     (b) Almora

     (c) Champawat

     (d) Pithoragarh

(iii) Which one of the following states receives floods in the winter months?

     (a) Assam

     (b) Kerala

     (c) West Bengal

     (d) Tamil Nadu

(iv) In which of the following rivers is the Majuli River Island situated?

     (a) Ganga

     (b) Godavari

     (c) Brahmaputra

     (d) Indus

(v) Under which type of natural hazards do blizzards come?

     (a) Atmospheric

     (b) Terrestrial

     (c) Aquatic

     (d) Biological

2. Answer the following questions in less than 30 words.

(i) When can a hazard become a disaster?

(ii) Why are there more earthquakes in the Himalayas and in the north-eastern region of India?

(iii) What are the basic requirements for the formation of a cyclone?

(vi) How are the floods in Eastern India different from the ones in Western India?

(v) Why are there more droughts in Central and Western India?

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 125 words.

(i) Identify the Landslide-prone regions of India and suggest some measures to mitigate the disasters caused by these.

(ii) What is vulnerability? Divide India into natural disaster vulnerability zones based on droughts and suggest some mitigation measures.

(v) When can developmental activities become the cause of disasters? 

Project/Activity

Prepare a project report on any one of the topics given below.

(i) Malpa Landslide                               (v) Tehri Dam/Sardar Sarovar

(ii) Tsunami                                         (vi) Bhuj/Latur Earthquakes

(iii) Orissa and Gujarat Cyclones           (vii) Life in a delta/riverine island

(iv) Inter-linking of rivers                         (viii) Prepare a model of rooftop rainwater

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 11 Geography Natural Hazards And Disasters