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Resilience and mental health impacts of natural disasters in India

2016). Each year landslides lead to road blockages in Ladakh (Hodgkins). Landslides affect socioeconomically vulnerable
people, severely affecting their livelihood and food security in India (NDMA, 2009a), and making daily life a struggle as
key aspects of life get affected. This has potential mental health consequences for disaster-affected people.
While there is a large body of literature on the engineering and geological aspects of landslides, the mortality and morbidity
caused by landslides are not as well documented. We could find a small number of relevant studies, as the documentation
of the health impacts of landslides has been very limited. Mental health impacts were better documented, though some of
the studies are now quite old. According to a study, the Himalayan landslides resulted in the loss of shelter and playing
space and were associated with psychological distress, insecurity, grief, helplessness, and uncertainty in children (Aneelraj,
Kumar, Somanathan, et al., 2016). Studies showed that psychological morbidity was higher among people in the immediate
phase following floods and landslides, as compared to other disasters in Uttarakhand (Nisha, Kiran, and Joseph, 2014;
Srivastava, Goel, Semwal, et al., 2015). People suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, severe levels of depression,
stress, and anxiety, and it was higher for those with lower levels of education (Sharma, 2016). A large number of people
with severe mental disorders were seen wandering in the villages and near-religious places. Some of the shortcomings in
disaster management with respect to mental health treatment included the absence and lack of availability of anti-psychotics,
anti-depressants, anti-epileptics, and mood stabilizers in the district hospitals (Channaveerachari, Raj, Joshi, et al., 2015).
Landslides in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, India, led to deaths and loss of livelihood and mental illness (Sharma, 2016).
4. Mental Health Resilience to Natural Disaster

4.1. Coping and Adaptation
Risk management includes both coping and adapting, and the two concepts are central for adaptation to climate change
in both research and practice. Understanding local strategies used in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from
climate-related disasters will help to define the capacity to adapt to disasters and climate-related events. This approach has
been widely recognized and adopted within the field of climate change adaptation across developing countries as a part of
their response. This section describes a number of mechanisms that are adopted by people to cope with different types of
disasters and, at the same time, to reduce their mental health problems due to natural disasters.
In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the December 2004 tsunami, victims were eager to return to normalcy, while external
medical relief workers were still arriving in large numbers. A study showed that while youth feel stressed due to drought
in Botswana, some of the coping mechanisms they adopt include taking up work in the capital city, engaging in sexual
activities, and accepting that drought is an important characteristic of the climate in the country and the best method to cope
is to train themselves to live with it (Babugura, 2008). Highly exposed survivors resorted to problem-avoidance, fantasy,
self-blame, and sought assistance to cope with the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 (Xu and He, 2012). During power failures
in Australia, elderly clients had often coped better with heat waves than younger people with neurological conditions,
probably because of heat preservation techniques learned during the pre-air conditioning period. Some of the elderly people
pretended to be ill, so they could seek refuge in air-conditioned hospitals (Hansen, Nitschke, Pisaniello, et al., 2011).
Numerous studies indicate the relevance of community support in helping people cope with disasters. A primary
coping mechanism undertaken by people following the 2005 earthquake was to take up refuge with relatives in areas that
either suffered less damage or those that were quickly stabilized (Hamilton and Halvorson, 2007). A factor that played a
major role in avoiding negative mental health outcomes following floods was a rise in social cohesion such that people
shared food with each other as there was a breakdown of caste barriers. While <1% people visited the traditional quack
for mental health issues, drinking and dancing were taken up to deal with stress (Crabtree, 2013).
A study in Odisha, India, showed that people who were emotionally attached to the place, that is, genealogical rootedness,
had strong emotional bonds and respect for ancestors, were alert to disasters that could potentially wreak havoc on their
ancestral houses. People also helped their poor neighbors in reconstructing their houses after the cyclone. After cyclone
“Phailin,” people gave support and priority to the elderly, people with disabilities, and pregnant women in cyclone shelters
(UNDP, 2015). Several factors helped people cope with the tsunami in 2004 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, including
cohesive community, social support, altruistic behavior of the community leaders, and religious faith and spirituality. This
was helpful in mobilizing people to help one another. In contrast to many disaster situations in South Asia, that show how
women find it difficult to cope after natural disasters, this study showed that women were given priority with respect to
social status, their safety, and security among the Nicobarese tribals (Math, Tandon, Girimaji, et al., 2008).
Some studies have observed the significance of mind-body practices in reducing the effect of mental stress. A study
showed that mind-body practices (which include Tai Chi and Qigong, meditation-relaxation, mindfulness-based stress

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