India loses $9.8 billion every year due to disasters

New Delhi, May 4
India suffers losses of $9.8 billion every year owing to multi-hazard disasters as 58.6 percent of its land is prone to earthquakes and 8.5 percent vulnerable to cyclone, as per a UN estimate.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's (UNISDR) Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) 2015, a risk profile of India, estimates that average annual loss (AAL) from multi-hazard disasters in India is to the tune of $9.8 billion per year.

According to a home ministry report citing the urban development ministry-sponsored Vulnerability Atlas of India, the country is vulnerable to various types of disasters - 58.6 percent of its land is prone to earthquakes, 8.5 percent is vulnerable to cyclone and 5 percent vulnerable to floods.