Vulnerability Assessment of State :

Despite the applicable hazards in the state, the vulnerability of an area is specified by the capacity of its social, physical, environmental and economic structures to withstand and respond to hazards. An analysis of the vulnerability in a defined geographic location, an understanding of the socio economic factors and the capability of the community to cope with disasters, will give an understanding to the development and planners to plan for disaster risk reduction against future hazards.

1. Physical vulnerability : The state is handicapped due to inadequate electrification, irrigation facilities, insufficient storage facilities, insufficient marketing & promotion, poor road infrastructure. Basic services like housing etc is also inadequate in certain remote areas. Poor accessibility to infrastructure increases the vulnerability of population during disasters.

2. Housing : In Madhya Pradesh, 56.3 % of houses are vulnerable to disaster impacts (made of mud, stone, unburnt brick wall), which is significantly higher than the Indian average coming up around 39% as per Vulnerability Atlas of India 2007, it means that housing of the state is 17% more unsafe, as compare to the national level. From the technical point of view, the quality and design specifications of houses as well as materials used for housing have a bearing on the vulnerability of houses to earthquakes, cyclones, high wind, floods and fires. As a result, the houses due to their poor type of construction and materials used for the walls and roofs, are vulnerable to disaster impacts and the damage risk to such type of houses is very high. In order to categorize and analyze the housing construction and subsequent vulnerability at the district level, the High, Medium and Low categories have been defined, as per the following:

High level housing vulnerability will be there when the % of Kuchcha houses will be more than 75% in the district. There are a number of districts under this unsafe category. As per housing criteria, Medium level housing vulnerability will be in those districts where Kuchcha houses are between 50 to 75%, as a whole. Whereas, the Low level housing vulnerability will be applicable in those districts, where the % of Kuchcha houses is less than 50 %, at the district level. Please refer the table to know more about it.

3. Urbanization : Madhya Pradesh has the increasing trends of people migrating from rural areas to towns. The increasing influx of poor immigrants adds the additional pressure on the existing infrastructure. Being poor, these immigrants settle in slums or low lying areas, vulnerable to disasters, lacking in basic infrastructure like safe drinking water, sanitation and drainage facilities. Further, weak techno-legal regime and poor implementation of building bye-laws make the population highly vulnerable. Narrow roads, poorly maintained electrical and telephone wires, congested drains make the settlements more vulnerable during disaster time.

4. Socio- Economic Vulnerability : Social vulnerability is one of the major components of the vulnerability leading to multiple shocks, including the repercussions of natural hazards. Social vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to withstand adverse impacts from multiple events to which they are exposed. The economy, population, education etc, all are socio economic factors.

5. Economy : Poor economy, low per capital income and significant poverty contribute to the vulnerability of people. The economy of the state is under developing stage. However, agriculture is the primary sector of the state, it is characterized by low productivity due to the traditional practices, inadequate irrigation facilities and low investments. The lack of alternate occupation and repeated crop failures are making people more vulnerable and marginalized. Since the livelihood helps to improve the coping capacity of the people, therefore the livelihood vulnerability has been categorized on the basis of the following:

High livelihood vulnerability is applicable in those districts where BPL families are more than 50% in the district. The Middle livelihood vulnerability is applicable in the districts where the % of BPL families are in between 35 to 50 %. And the Low livelihood vulnerability is applicable in the districts where the % of BPL families are less than 35% in the district.

6. Education : Education is a very basic requirement that helps to improve the coping capacities of the population. The state‘s literacy rate is still low at around 70%, and further lowers in case of women, which is 60%, whereas the country‘s literacy rate is 74%, which is far better, overall. This data speaks itself the entire story of Madhya Pradesh education, which is directly linked with the vulnerability. It is a well accepted fact that inadequate education becomes a strong detriment for understanding the disaster management. The vulnerability of illiteracy has been classified into 3 broad categories, as per the following:

The districts in which the illiteracy level is more than 35% come under the high vulnerability. Those districts, which have the literacy level between 25 to 35%, come under the medium vulnerability. And the districts, where illiteracy level is less than 25%, come under the low vulnerability pertaining to illiteracy.

7. Health : Health is also the basic requirement and one of the major attributes, to strengthen the coping capacities of the community. The health care system and health infrastructure of the state are inadequate and add to the vulnerability of the people. The medical support plays a very vital role, especially during and after the emergencies, to save lives of the people. In Madhya Pradesh, the health facilities are not up to the mark, as ideally it should be to tackle any crisis situation. The health vulnerability has been categorized district wise, into the following categories:

• High level health vulnerability is applicable in those districts, where the health facilities are available in less than 20 % villages of the district.
• Medium level health vulnerability is applicable in those districts, where the health facilities are available in 20 to 35% villages of the district.
• Low level health vulnerability is applicable in those districts, where the health facilities are available in more than 35% of villages, in the district. More details are available in the Vulnerability table, in this regard.

8. Population : The population is another important vulnerability feature, and plays crucial part in vulnerability analysis. More population also sometime leads to more congestion and hence also increases the vulnerability. It is also observed that where the numbers of people are more, only the selected few ones are sensitized about issues such as disaster management not all, therefore the lack of public awareness also increases the social vulnerability in a way. As per provisional census data of 2011, the population vulnerability has been categorized into following categories: High population vulnerability is applicable in those districts where population density is more than 250 persons/ sq.km. in the district. Moderate population vulnerability is applicable in the districts where the population density is in between 200 to 250 persons / sq. km. in the district. Low population vulnerability is applicable in those districts where population density is less than 200 persons / sq.km. in the district.  

          The State Government of Madhya Pradesh has shifted its focus from reactive response measures to proactive preparedness and preventive mechanisms, with a view to generating synergy, prevent conflict, optimize use of resources and avoid oversight.