Handling natural disasters and resilience building: A study in South Asia

In India, the handling of the recent Biporjoy cyclone through the coordination of Central and State disaster management teams is laudable, as not a single casualty was reported. Thousands of people in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions were evacuated and sent to safe shelters hours before the cyclone made landfall in Gujarat. Despite the loss of property, many lives were protected this time. The credit goes to the timely coordination of disaster management teams in the state. This single incident serves as a classic example of effective disaster management in the country, which should gradually become a standard practice for managing future disasters. This paper attempts to discuss the possibility of strengthening existing institutions for disaster management and fostering consensus on common threats, forging collective action unaffected by political rivalries among South Asian countries.