Loss and Damages from Cyclone: A Case Study from Odisha, a Coastal State
Natural disasters such as cyclones result in tremendous loss and damages to life and property of coastal communities. However, studies assessing loss and damages are limited in the literature. This study attempts to document the loss and damages incurred
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uction Cyclones are a significant risk to lives and property in coastal areas, and cause severe loss and damages to communities. In 2018, cyclones resulted in a loss of 56 billion USD globally (Munich RE 2019). India (which is exposed to almost 10% of the world’s cyclones), and particularly its eastern coast, is one of the most vulnerable countries (Government of India 2019). In the last two decades, from 1998–2017, India has lost around 80 billion USD due to disasters and ranks among the top ten countries in terms of absolute losses suffered (Wallemacq and House 2018). Among many cyclones, Phailin (2013) was one of the most disastrous in the recent past in India. It made landfall in Gopalpur in the state of Odisha (IMD
T. Mishra (*) Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India e-mail: [email protected] K. Malakar Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s) 2020 A. Singh et al. (eds.), Development in Coastal Zones and Disaster Management, Disaster Research and Management Series on the Global South, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4294-7_19
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2014), and resulted in a total loss of 1450 million USD to the state (Government of Odisha 2013). This included loss of and damages to housing, public buildings, roads, urban and rural infrastructure, agriculture, horticulture, irrigation, livestock, livelihood (fisheries, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and others), energy/power, forest and plantations. However, the United Nations applauded the efforts of the state as it was well-prepared for the cyclone and evacuated around 1 million people from the coast, which resulted in low fatalities (Senapati 2013). The marine fishing community who reside in coastal areas is one of the most vulnerable to cyclones. In 2013, when Cyclone Phailin devastated many parts of Odisha, the fishing community was one of the most affected (Bal 2018; Government of Odisha 2013; The Hindu 2013). Around 11,000 marine fishermen suffered damages from the cyclone, and the losses of the fisheries sector amounted to 97.53 million USD (Government of Odisha 2013). The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment Report (regarding Phailin) provides a comprehensive assessment of the loss and damages suffered by various sectors in Odisha from the cyclone (Government of Odisha 2013). It provides a state-level estimation of the total damages. However, community-specific studies on loss and damages are also needed to gain an understanding of the impacts of cyclones regarding aspects other than assets, such as time needed to restart livelihood and build houses. This is particularly important in the case of communities having specialized natural resource-dependent livelihoods such as fishing. Thus, this chapter focuses on the vulnerable fishing community and attempts to document both economic and non-economic loss and damages. It studies the losses in livelihood, housing and overall household well-being, for example, occurr
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