Tsunami and the effects on coastal morphology and ecosystems: A report

Tsunamis are one of the most destructive natural hazards that affect the coastal areas. Tsunami waves that impact the coast with enormous energy are capable of destroying the objects on the coast and re-shaping the coastal geography, geomorphology and ecosystem. These waves can also cause extensive damage and disruption to human lives, their livelihood, infrastructure and economic activities. The 26 December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, one of the largest recorded and deadliest tremor, created an unparalleled catastrophic tsunami wiping out thousands of human lives and throwing millions homeless. This event attracted the interest of several geoscientists in India and stimulated extensive scientific research. This article summarizes the tsunami related research work carried out in India during the past four years

Climate change impact on coastal fisheries and aquaculture in the SAARC

Observations in fisheries sciences related to climate change foresee a future with intensified climate change as a consequence of increased greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere because of human activities. The increase in GHGs has resulted in warming of climate systems or global warming. In last 100 years, ending in 2005, the average global air temperature near the earth’s surface has been estimated to increase at the rate of 0.74 ± 0.18°C (1.33 ± 0.32°F) (IPCC, 2007). In the latest IPCC report (IPCC, 2014), climate model projections indicated that the global surface temperature during the 21st century is likely to rise a further 0.3 to 1.7°C (0.5 to 3.1°F) for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to 4.8°C (4.7 to 8.6°F) for the highest emissions scenario. In the past, 15 of the 16 warmest years have occurred since 2001 and rank among the 15 warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature since 1850. Climate change and associated warming is increasingly being felt in many parts of the globe including India. Climate change is predicted to lead to adverse, irreversible impacts on the earth and the ecosystem as a whole. Although it is difficult to connect specific weather events to climate change, increases in global temperature has been predicted to cause broader changes, including glacial retreat, arctic shrinkage and worldwide sea level rise (Mohanty et al., 2010).The Chaliyar river is one of the west flowing rivers of Western Ghats. It has many tributaries such as Karimpuzha. Punnappuzha, Kuruvanpuzha, Tiruanchipuzha, Cherupuzha. etc. with a catchment area of 1535 sq. km. The total discharge of the river is 7775 Mm3, The river which was in a pristine condition before 4 to 5 decades has become highly degraded in the lower stretches by the effluents of Gwalior Rayons and in the upper stretches by various anthropogenic factors like deforestation, high siltation, dynamite fishing and use of copper sulphate for fishing. During the summer months, the water in the river is very low due to high run off during the wet months

Disaster Risk Assessment And Mitigation Strategy For Tropical Cyclone Induced Storm Surge Hazard And Coastal Impacts Of Climate Change In Sri Lanka

Associated with extreme winds, heavy rainfall and storm surge, land-falling tropical cyclones have the potential to cause enormous damage and losses to coastal areas of Sri Lanka. In particular, much of the damage and loss of life results from coastal flooding due to cyclone induced storm surge. Moreover, climate change impacts are likely to exacerbate the impacts of such coastal hazards on existing and future coastal communities and development. Whilst some impacts such as possible sea level rise are gradual and occur over a long time-frame, extreme weather events can occur at any time and can have a significant impact on the coastline. Accordingly, this paper describes an assessment of the risk of the storm surge hazard to the vulnerable communities of Sri Lanka, particularly in view of the coastal impacts of climate change. The storm surge hazard assessment utilizes a database of historical events of tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region. A statistical analysis of the past events has been carried out to identify storm surge scenarios with appropriate recurrence intervals representing short-, medium-, and long-term timescales. A numerical model comprising a parametric cyclone model and a hydrodynamic model based on shallow water equations have been employed to simulate cyclone wind velocity and pressure fields as well as coastal inundation due to the storm surges corresponding to each scenario. An appropriate mitigation strategy for the storm surge hazard based on the aforementioned risk analysis is also outlined. The risk assessment and mitigation strategy described in the paper will be useful in the formulation of disaster management policies, development of preparedness plans, allocation of resources for disaster risk reduction, and in education and awareness activities in regard to the tropical cyclone induced storm surge hazard

Assessing Opportunities for Livelihood Enhancement and Diversification in Coastal Fishing Communities of Southern India

"The United Nations Team for Tsunami Recovery Support (UNTRS) based in Chennai,India, is facilitating the process of tsunami recovery in the region through specific interventions in strategic areas. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) as a part of the UNTRS team aims to set clear directions to ensure sustainable livelihoods for fishers. It has a pro-poor focus. With the fisheries sector suffering from both over-capitalization and resource depletion, the livelihoods of poor fishers and fisherfolk communities have been badly hit, and the tsunami has aggravated their misery. While relief measures have helped, what's essential for the long term is to improve livelihood opportunities. They need to be enhanced and diversified. Many development interventions have been attempted. But what's needed is a viable people-centric approach that taps the strengths of coastal fisheries and draws on them. Hence this study on ""Assessing opportunities for livelihood enhancement and diversification in coastal fishing communities of southern India."" carried out by Integrated Coastal Management, Kakinada. The study covers tsunami-affected areas in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The study has analysed a number of inherent strategies of the fishers to enhance and diversify livelihoods, both past and present. It has come out with a planning framework for livelihoods enhancement and diversification. Stakeholders in fisheries can make use of the framework, validate its usefulness, and decide and further develop appropriate tool box. They may then spell out the support and co-operation necessary from other stakeholders.

A Multi-Data Geospatial Approach for Understanding Flood Risk in the Coastal Plains of Tamil Nadu, India

The coastal plains of Tamil Nadu, India, are prone to floods, the most common disaster experienced in this region almost every year. This research aims to identify flood risks in the coastal plain region of Tamil Nadu, delineated through a watershed approach with 5020 micro-administrative units covering an area of about 26,000 sq. km. A comprehensive flood risk assessment covering hazard, vulnerability, and exposure parameters was carried out using multiple datasets derived from field surveys, satellite data, and secondary data sources. The flood hazard layer was prepared on a probability scale (0−1) with the help of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar data coupled with GIS-based water rise modelling using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model (SRTM-DEM) and reports of the District Disaster Management Plans of 13 coastal districts. In addition, the National Resources Conservation Service-Curve Number (NRCS-CN) method was adopted to estimate surface runoff potential for identifying low probability flood-prone regions. The vulnerability and exposure of the population to flood hazards were determined using census and household data-based indicators. The different categories of built-up areas were delineated and intersected with the flood hazard layer to estimate elements at flood risk. An exhaustive field survey was conducted at 514 locations of the study area, targeting deprived communities of all major settlements to validate the flood hazard layer and understand the public perceptions. The amalgamation of results shows that very high flood risk prevails in the northern parts of coastal Tamil Nadu, especially the stretch between Chennai and Cuddalore. In addition, to provide baseline datasets for the first time at micro-administrative units for the entire coastal plains of Tamil Nadu, the study offers a pragmatic methodology for determining location-specific flood risks for policy interventions

Climate change impacts : Implications on marine resources and resource users

The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level. The Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by 0.76° C since 1850. Most of the warming that has occurred over the last 50 years is very likely to have been caused by human activities. In its Fourth Assessment Report projects that, without further action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the global average surface temperature is likely to rise by a further 1.8-4.0°C this century, and by up to 6.4°C in the worst case scenario. Even the lower end of this range would take the temperature increase since pre-industrial times above 2°C – the threshold beyond which irreversible and possibly catastrophic changes become far more likely

Vulnerability of south east coastal villages of India on sea level rise

Sea level rise is one of the evident ill effects of climate change. As per the fifth assessment report of IPCC the rate of sea level rise has increased in recent years as compared to the previous years. The rapid rise in sea level can have devastating effects on the densely populated coastal areas, mainly by way of inundation of low lying habitats. Inundation of highly populated coastal areas exposes the location to coastal hazards and increases the risk to both life and belongings of people at the location. Therefore, identification of vulnerable areas becomes necessary for coastal zone management. The present study maps the Low Elevation Coastal Zones (LECZ) of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and estimates the vulnerability of each coastal village based on population and elevation. The coastal villages with high percentage of low elevation zones and high population density are the most vulnerable areas and a vulnerability index is formulated as a product of these two variables. Landforms along Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu coast include low lying alluvial plains, bays, tidal mudflats, creeks, ridges, bars, spits, mangrove swamps, marshes, and lagoons, which are subject to sea level rise. Maps for the study were produced using ArcGIS 10. The boundary maps were collected from the DataMeet project and the elevation data from ETOPO1. Population density data were collected from the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Increase in water level leads to higher rates of erosion that result in beach loss, enhancing the vulnerability of the coastal area to hazards. The analysis shows that Losari Gutlapadu and Sadayankuppam are the most vulnerable villages in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively. Mapping of the vulnerable areas act as advisories and can help the state governments to develop mitigation strategies

Community Based Planning in Post-Disaster Reconstruction:A Case Study of Tsunami Affected Fishing Communities in Tamil Nadu Coast of India

In the past few years, natural disasters have been taking more lives and, especially more in the lesser-developed countries. There have been debates in the scientific world on what could be the best ways to mitigate disasters and reduce their impacts. In addition, there is a growing concern about finding the best way of restoring normal lives in the disaster affected communities. Traditional top-down approaches practiced by local governments, aid-agencies, and NGOs have now been replaced by community-based disaster management approaches. International aid-agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP, CIDA, USAID etc., emphasize on the involvement of the community for development purposes and long term sustainability. However, experiences from catastrophic disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 or the Hurricane Katrina of 2005 revealed post-disaster scenario to be chaotic and at times insensitive to local cultures and needs of victims. Literature review of past theories indicated the widening gap in disaster management approaches for establishing effective models to deal with recurrent mega-disasters. To address some of the gaps and issues related to disaster management strategies and approaches, an ongoing reconstruction process of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 was evaluated in the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, India. Four underlying objectives were set. The first was to review the evolving disaster paradigm and related theories and concepts in literature and to build connections with planning models and community based planning. Gaps in the literature were identified and a ‘common framework’ to study both the domains of environmental planning and disaster management was designed. The ‘framework’ was designed using other interdisciplinary planning frameworks, and suffices the second objective of this dissertation. The third objective was to assess an ongoing reconstruction process using an appropriate methodology and suitable indicators. Environmental issues and disaster related problems have risen over the last decade with its effects worsening in the developing countries. Despite technological advancements, it seems almost impossible to make disaster related losses negligible. However, losses can be minimised with proper interventions and community preparedness. Case studies were carried out within disaster affected fishing communities in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India

The state and civil society in disaster response: An analysis of the Tamil Nadu tsunami experience

ReportCAREEuropean Union's Humanitarian Aid Department

Climate Change Vulnerability in Agriculture Sector: Indexing and Mapping of Four Southern Indian States

Agriculture is the sector most vulnerable to climate change due to its high dependence on climate and weather conditions. Climate change is a main challenge for agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods for millions of people in India. Among India’s population of more than one billion people, about 68% are directly or indirectly involved in the agricultural sector. This sector is particularly vulnerable to present-day climate variability. In this paper an attempt is made to map and analyze the vulnerability to climate change in different districts of four south Indian states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. We have taken five sources of vulnerability indicators: socio-demographic, climatic, agricultural, occupational and common property resources vulnerabilities to compute the composite vulnerability index. The composite vulnerability index suggests that, Adilabad, Chamarajanagar, Thiruvarur and Kasaragod are the most vulnerable districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively, whereas Hyderabad, Belgaum, Thoothukkudi, Kottayam are the least vulnerable districts