India loses 0.4% of its GDP every year to natural disasters, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• Emerging Asian economies, including India, China, and ASEAN-11, are facing increasing natural disasters.
• The region has experienced an average of 100 disasters annually over the past decade, affecting about 80 million people.
• India's disaster-related losses average 0.4% of GDP annually from 1990 to 2024.
• India's vulnerability is mainly due to hydrological disasters like floods and landslides.
• The World Risk Index ranks India second only to the Philippines among Asian economies.

Detailed Insights:

• The types of natural disasters vary by country, with India facing floods and storms, while the Philippines and Vietnam are prone to tropical cyclones.
• China and Indonesia face higher risks from seismic activity.
• Disaster risk finance is becoming a key policy area in the region as economic losses increase.
• An effective disaster response requires a data-driven foundation to understand the specific risks and vulnerabilities.
• The World Risk Index considers exposure (population burden) and vulnerability (structural susceptibility, coping capacity, and long-term adaptation) to calculate overall risk.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Disaster Risk Finance: Strategies and mechanisms to fund disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
• Hydrological Disaster: Disasters originating from weather processes, such as floods and landslides.
• World Risk Index: A metric that assesses the disaster risk of countries based on exposure and vulnerability factors.