Risk Wise

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Decision support for disaster

risk reduction in India:

remote sensing and GIS-based

operational approach

P.S. Roy, C.S. Murthy, P. Manjusree and M.S.R. Murthy, Remote Sensing

and GIS Applications Area, National Remote Sensing Agency, India

he global risks due to disasters seem to be increasing.

Billions of people living in more than 100 countries are peri-

odically exposed to at least one natural disaster, causing

more than 184 deaths per day.

Diverse geo-climatic conditions,

increasing population and its expansion to vulnerable areas,

unplanned urbanization, inadequate carrying capacity of river

systems, poor drainage characteristics, uncertain monsoon condi-

tions and large areas of dry deciduous forests all contribute to

make India one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

The recurring impacts of these disasters on human life,

agriculture, livestock and the environment triggered the

momentum for adopting disaster risk reduction strate-

gies in a holistic manner. There has been a paradigm

shift in the disaster management approach in recent

years, from relief/crisis-centricity to a focus on preven-

tion, mitigation and preparedness. Recognizing the

importance of disaster management as a national prior-

ity, in 1999 the Government of India set up a

An example of near real-time flood mapping - part of Bhadrak district, Orissa state

Left: IRS-P6 LISS-III FCC 08-July-2007; Right: Flood Map showing submerged villages

Source: Annual flood report, 2007, NRSA, India