minimised. And finally, significant changes

have taken place in the pattern of natural disasters over the years. There has also been a change in the perception of natural disasters and hazards. Previously, hazards and disasters were seen as two closely associated and interrelated phenomena, i.e. areas prone to natural hazards, were more vulnerable to disasters.

Hence, people avoided tampering with the delicate balance that existed in a given ecosystem. People avoided intensification of their activities in such areas and that is how disasters were less damaging. Technological power has given large capacity to human intervention in nature. Consequently, now, human beings tend to intensify their activities into disaster prone areas increasing their vulnerability to disasters.

Colonisation of flood plains of most of the rivers and development of large cities and port-towns like – Mumbai and Chennai along the coast, and touching the shore due to high land values, make them vulnerable to the occurrence of cyclones, hurricanes and tsunamis.