ABSTRACT
Historically, most of the urban growth in post-independence India has occurred through informal mechanisms of land acquisition, building, and infrastructure provision. This has led to the development of poorly planned urban areas with dense infrastructure and congested streets. Such poorly planned cities are not just vulnerable to disasters but also pose challenges in the delivery of disaster relief during times of calamity. Coupled with this is the problem of climate change, which is going to increase the number of disasters in the coming decades. Thus, there is a need to understand the problems of disaster management in the current context and also to plan for future disasters. This chapter examines in depth the disaster preparedness of cities in India. It further explores the changing pattern of disasters likely to affect cities in future and ways through which advanced planning for such disasters could be made. The chapter concludes that urban local institutions are an important component of community engagement in Indian cities and thus, integrating disaster management planning with urban local bodies is needed for proper implementation of disaster management plans in India.
