Coping with disasters in shimla: a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract

Despite recent achievements in the field of disaster management, the increase in death and damage points out that there is a need for a realistic and practical plan. Advances within single disciplines, alone, cannot solve the challenges in disaster management. As various disciplines have become increasingly diversified, a more complete understanding of the vulnerability and mechanism in which disaster happens is needed, so that adequate strategy is identified. This paper explores the emerging consensus among scholars and practitioners for multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches to disasters and emergency management. It explains why such this strategy is deemed necessary and highlights the benefits of moving beyond explanations emanating from single or separate fields of study. To achieve this aim, the expertise of sciences, social sciences and language is combined. There has been recent progress in these individual disciplines, but multidisciplinary approaches must be implemented to tackle disasters in the future. The geographical location of Shimla is such that it is environmentally fragile and ecologically highly vulnerable to multiple disasters. It lies in Himalayan region located in the Zone IV and V making the region liable to experience the earthquake of intensity MSK VIII or more. In addition to it, river Satluj, Giri, Pabar rivers renders the population living on the banks of these rivers susceptible to floods. Now days due to the increasing developmental activities, the landslides are on the rise. Further the Shimla being enriched with the green cover leads to irreparable losses during summers due the incidents of forest fire. Keeping these problems in view, this paper comprises three objectives. They are: a) to record the spatial temporal incidences of disaster in the Shimla, b) to analyse the causes and impact of disasters in the Shimla and c) to suggest measures of mitigation based on multidisciplinary perspective. The investigation leads to analysis that the disasters are on the rise. Hence, there is a need of multidisciplinary research to mitigate disasters and to prepare the community by way of capacity building to respond in a better way by adopting appropriate measures to reduce the adverse impacts.