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Effects and resilience to natural disasters in rural India

Disasters impacted most livelihoods in the area under study, and food security was recognized as a major concern.
In the immediate aftermath of disasters, there is an extreme shortage of food and food security becomes a chronic issue.
Other studies in Odisha and other parts of India support the argument that natural disasters have impacted the food
security of people disproportionately (Ramakrishna et al., 2014; Duncan et al., 2017; Mishra, 2017). With food insecurity
and the unavailability of clean drinking water, multiple waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and jaundice have been
diagnosed, and vector-borne diseases like malaria are rising; thus, health emerges as a major source of concern for people
in these study areas. A study on the impact of climate change also highlighted that frequent flooding increased the spread
of both vector-borne and diarrheal diseases (Mishra, 2017). Heatwaves, in particular, cause multiple heat-related ailments
such as dehydration, headache, dizziness, and sunstroke, resulting in deaths in extreme cases.
The impact of natural disasters on health is not limited to physical health, and people in our study areas repeatedly
talked about their mental and psychological concerns. Psychological disorders like PTSD are common after a disaster, with
the chances of being affected directly related to the extent of exposure to the disaster (Galea et al., 2005). In the aftermath
of the 1999 super cyclone, studies showed that trauma and depression were widely prevalent among the population (Kar
et al., 2004; Chhotray and Few, 2012; Patel, 2018a). Further, another study substantiates that apart from direct exposure
to disaster, deaths of close ones, low socioeconomic status, and dissatisfaction with relief and rehabilitation efforts have
made people more vulnerable to psychological disorders (Kar et al., 2004). A study by Shultz et al. (2007) pointed out
that the psychological impacts are more expansive in scope, more extended in time, and frequently more debilitating in
severity than the injurious physical impacts of natural disasters. An important finding of our study is the drawback of
the public health system. People in all the study sites had to travel far to reach government hospitals, and the lack of all-
weather roads revealed the shortcomings in infrastructure in rural Odisha and the challenge this poses during emergency
situations in the event of disasters. Another study supports our findings by highlighting that the distance to a health facility
makes people more vulnerable during the disaster (Sam et al., 2017). Heavy out-of-pocket expenditure and debts incurred
in the process aggravate the community’s financial burden and mental health problems. Expenditure on health care also
leads to a decrease in consumption levels of households, as shown in Patnaik et al. (2016).
This study also highlights that the impacts on vulnerable groups such as the poor and older adults, and pregnant and
widowed women are much more severe than impacts on other subpopulations. An important finding of the study is the
challenge faced by disabled people. The income-earning opportunities for the poor, the tribal, agricultural laborers, and
small and marginal farmers are shown to be affected vastly by natural disasters. Lack of resources, adaptive capacities,
and alternate employment opportunities put these individuals at the forefront of desolation from natural calamities
(Mishra, 2017). Paltasingha and Goyarib (2015) revealed that climatic extremes affect small and marginal farmers more
than medium-scale farmers, and they find it difficult to cope. Another key finding of our study is the myriad ways in
which children’s education is also adversely affected by heatwaves, cyclones, droughts, and floods. The use of schools
as shelters in the aftermath of cyclones and floods resulted in the disruption of education for a long period, whereas
heatwaves resulted in changes to school hours. In addition, our study reveals that in drought-affected areas, the cases of
children dropping out of school and becoming employed in brick kiln and construction sites at migration destinations are
a serious concern.
Our findings also contribute to the existing literature on coping mechanisms (Mishra and Mishra, 2010; Chhotray and
Few, 2012; Patnaik et al., 2016). With the increasing intensity and frequency of disasters, people have made an effort to
adapt to natural disasters by undertaking short- and long-term measures. There has been better preparedness since the
1999 super cyclone (people have taken steps to protect their lives and property). In the study areas, people opined that even
though starvation deaths have been averted in recent years, there is a struggle to meet food requirements through various
means (borrowing from neighbors/moneylenders, buying from shops, the PDS, and alternate employment). Help and
assistance provided to people by the community during the time of cyclones and floods is an essential coping mechanism.
Often described as a social capital approach (Mancini and Bowen, 2009), communities tend to offer the first responses
themselves, through family and community groups, with the government subsequently providing support. The importance
of social capital in the event of disasters has been stressed further in other studies (Lo et al., 2015; Sanyal and Routray,
2016). In addition, our study shows that people take loans from local moneylenders, relatives, and self-help groups to
recover from losses caused by disasters and incur debts in the process. Other studies show that due to the absence of the
official credit system, fishermen have been forced to sell fish at low prices in return for loans (Vivekananda et al., 2014).
In addition, selling livestock at low prices and taking up daily wage labor were other measures adopted by the farmers
in the disaster-affected areas of Odisha (Patel, 2018a; Patel, 2018b). Our study furthermore highlights that the short-term
alternate employment opportunities offered as part of government programs (e.g., MGNREGA) were not sustainable and
need proper monitoring in the disaster-prone areas.

12 International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1