Page 75 - IJPS-6-1

International Journal of Population Studies

REVIEW ARTICLE

A review of disasters in Jammu and

Kashmir, and Ladakh region in India

Sangram Kishor Patel *, Ankit Nanda , Govind Singh , Sunita Patel
2
1
1
3
1 Population Council, Zone 5A, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India
2 Independent Consultant and Formerly with Population Council
3 Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Abstract: India has always been a disaster-prone country, with multiple states afflicted by
different types of disasters. The impact of these disasters is exacerbated when an area is
prone to multiple types of disasters. This study attempts to understand the impact of natural
and man-made disasters on the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh region
in India as well as it also examines the resilience mechanisms adopted by the people, and
identifies measures taken by the government in response to these disasters. To understand these
disasters’ dynamics, we conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. The
review suggests that J&K and Ladakh region is afflicted not only by multiple natural disasters
such as floods, earthquakes, avalanches, and landslides but also by the terrorism and violence,
which has caused unparalleled death and destruction. These natural and man-made disasters
ARTICLE INFO have adversely affected most aspects of life and development in the region. To mitigate the
risks, effective disaster risk reduction and management systems, early warning systems and
Received: February 11, 2020
Accepted: March 28, 2020 infrastructure need to be strengthened. In addition, community engagement needs to be
Published: April 7, 2020 enhanced with the goal of addressing the grievances of the population and engaging them in
the design and implementation of sustainable development programs.
*CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Keywords: Natural disaster; Man-made disaster; Conflict; Terrorism; Violence;
Sangram Kishor Patel,
Senior Program Officer, Jammu and Kashmir; Ladakh; India
Population Council, Zone 5A,
IHC Lodi Road, This article belongs to the Special Issue: Environment and Population Dynamics in South Asia
New Delhi - 110 003, India.
sangramkishor@gmail.com 1. Background
CITATION Disasters are a global phenomenon. Natural and man-made disasters have had an impact on
Patel SK, Nanda A, Singh G, the development, economy, and health of both developing and developed nations and have
et al. (2020). A review of put pressure on populations across the world. The United Nations International Strategy
disasters in Jammu and for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) defines the term disaster as “a serious disruption of the
Kashmir, and Ladakh region in
India. International Journal of functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic,
Population Studies, 6(1):69-81. or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community
doi: 10.18063/ijps.v6i1.1180 or society to cope using its own resources” (UNISDR, 2009). Disasters that are the result
Copyright: © 2020 Patel, et al. of natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and droughts are called natural
This is an Open Access article disasters. Those that are the result of anthropogenic activity such as industrialization, wars,
distributed under the terms global terrorism, political conflicts, and economic crises are defined as man-made disasters
of the Creative Commons (Shaluf, 2007). A combination of natural and man-made disasters has affected most countries
Attribution-NonCommercial
4.0 International License around the world and resulted in large-scale mortality and morbidity, destroyed livelihoods,
(http://creativecommons.org/ creating millions of refugees, and migrants. Around 1.3 million people died due to natural
licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting disasters between 1996 and 2015, with low-income countries recording mortality rates that
all noncommercial use, were 5 times higher than high-income countries (UNIDSR and CRED, 2016). On the other
distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the hand, in the year 2016, global terrorism – a man-made disaster – caused 25,673 deaths and
original work is properly cited. losses of $84 billion to the global economy (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2017).

International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1 69