Times of India, the

The United Nations plan to use this successful case study as a model for other cities and countries to follow as part of the global efforts on disaster risk reduction and a UN delegation will visit to document the process followed by the state government...

The New Delhi Metro, which is used by two million passengers per day, is on a high-risk earthquake and flood zone and may lead to a huge loss of life in case of a disaster, says the recently released Global Assessment Report by the United Nations office on disaster risk reduction...

As fears for the thousands of people missing following the recent floods and landslides in India's Uttarakhand state, environmentalists and experts pose the question: was it a man-made disaster? They attribute unplanned development and deforestation as a chief cause for the disaster...

'A small farmer has lost control even over his seed, he buys fertilizers. He is more vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Crop insurance may cover input costs but not the 'man-days' lost that are crucial. In India adaptation measures should be designed with inputs from communities,' said Praveen Singh, assistant professor of human ecology at Ambedkar University...

In a recent review of India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found the body 'to be quite ineffective,' reports The Times of India. The CAG report cites failures to complete a national database for seismic hazard, and draws attention to states which are poorly prepared for handling disaster situations...

'It’s the unplanned settlements with substandard structures and construction material that are most prone to heavy damage even in moderate shaking during an earthquake event. What needs to be understood is that an earthquake in itself normally does not kill, it is the collapsing buildings that do,' reports The Times of India...

'We need to make sure that urbanization is allowed after careful planning and keeping in mind spatial distribution. Development needs to happen away from the city. Also, stronger weather forecast systems are needed and so are evacuation facilities for dwellers of low-lying areas,' says Subimal Ghosh, an associate professor in the civil engineering department of IIT-Bombay...

In India's Bihar State the Disaster Management Authority has initiated a public awareness campaign for disaster mitigation and risk reduction and will be organizing two flood preparedness workshops in collaboration with UNICEF...