Background
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India is one of most disaster-prone countries in the world.
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Numerous disasters faced by the country has resulted in loss of lives and livelihoods and also caused significant damage to infrastructure and disruption of critical services.
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These socioeconomic losses associated with these disasters have caused undo years of growth and development, especially affecting most vulnerable and marginalised populations.
Disaster Risk Reduction database
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India often refers to global databases and snapshots of disaster events for reporting disaster losses.
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However, these databases work under various limitations and are not able to produce accurate analyses.
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In this background, India is planning to create uniform and credible national-level disaster database.
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It will consist of locally obtained and validated data which will aid scientific analyses and suitable policy interventions to reduce disaster risks.
Significance of database
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It will help in assessing and tracking risks and progress towards disaster resilience without which India will not be able to meet its developmental goals.
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It will also be step forwards towards implementing Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda to address disaster risks, outlined during Asian Ministerial Conference on DRR (AMCDRR) in November, 2016.