Maharshtra : natural hazards and disaster management
Earthquake
The most seismic active region in the Maharashtra is the west coast – Western Ghats. The Koyna-Warna and the Bhatsa areas are located in this region and an earthquake with magnitude 6.5 is already occurred on 11 December, 1967. Based on past earthquakes the west coast and West Ghats belt is highly prone to seismic movements. The major spots where seismic activity noticed during last few years are near Ratnagiri, along the western coast, Koyna Nagar, Bhatsa and Surya areas of Thane district.
south-east Maharashtra isolated activity has also occurred in Latur-Osmanabad districts. Near Dhule, Akola, Jalgaon and Amravati in North Maharashtra the seismic activity could be occurred due to movements of faults exist in the complex system of river Narmada, Tapi and Purna lineaments. It is observed that in north-east corner of Maharashtra, Nagpur and Bhandara districts may have shocks because of faults associated to Ramtek and Sakoli Basins.
Flood
Maharashtra is largely vulnerable to floods. It may be noted that there are many manmade reasons for the occurrence of floods. Analysing the floods in Maharashtra, one observes that most floods in Maharashtra are flash floods due to nallah-overflows and poor drainage systems. Very few floods, like the one in Konkan in 1983, are due to heavy rains in the region. The floods of 2005 and 2006 have shown that almost all the districts in the State are vulnerable to floods. Floods kill by destroying houses, crops and food stocks. They strip farm lands, wash away irrigation systems and erode large areas of land or make them unusable otherwise.
Cyclone
The coastal areas are risk prone to cyclones. Maharashtra has a coastal belt of over 720 kilometers between Gujarat to Goa. Thus the Konkan region including Mumbai becomes prone to cyclones. There are a large number of marine fishing villages / hamlets with fishing boats, engaged in fishing in this coastal belt. Cyclones make impact by killing people, damaging property, crops and infrastructure. In the rural areas, the damage is primarily to lives, crops and to housing. It may also affect the irrigation infrastructure. The damage to forest and plantations, when it occurs, has a long term effect, and also takes a much longer period for restoration. In urban areas, both transport and communication receive a serious damage, in addition to loss of life and shelter. In the Arabian Sea, severe cyclonic storm have been recorded in past which have affected Maharashtra – Goa coast. Mumbai is a coastal city which has faced many threats of cyclones in the recent past. It has faced peripheral impact in 1982, 1988 and October 1996, and has been hit on two occasions by cyclones (1948 and June, 1996). The data indicate that the city is prone to cyclones. The most recent to hit the State was cyclone Phyan in 2009 which had affected the coastal districts in the State.
Drought
Maharashtra has traditionally remained a drought-prone state. Almost 70 percent of the State’s geographical area lies in semi-arid region rendering it vulnerable to water scarcity. Almost all the districts in Pune, Aurangabad, and Nashik divisions experience drought frequently. Most of the state’s 148 Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) talukas are in these districts. These talukas receive 600 to 750 mm rains from the southwest monsoon (June to October). Failure of monsoon affects both Kharif and Rabi crops in these areas. Not only the poor rainfall affects crops, but also the unevenness of rains within the monsoon months (long dry spells) could be very damaging for crops. The evaporation rate is high, and only in September the precipitation exceeds evaporation. In many parts, hard basalt rock in the region does not allow filter or storage of water. So when there is scanty rainfall, the scarcity of water both for drinking water and cultivation is acute.
Landslide
In Maharashtra, often landslides are triggered by heavy rains in the Western Ghats. Major landslide major incidents have occurred in monsoon seasons due to anthropogenic development along the landslide prone regions. Landslide have primarily results in loss of life and property, but has more importantly led to secondary and tertiary impacts such as chemical accidents, road accidents, rails accidents, flood, fire, gas leaks, etc.
The Konkan region – districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg and parts of Thane and Pune area are vulnerable to landslides. The foothills of the Sahyadris are dotted with many small and big villages all along the Konkan region which are vulnerable to landslides.
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