New Delhi: India has emerged as a leading nation in disaster response, after it swiftly directed its rescue and relief efforts in quake-struck Nepal.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that Indian planes were on their way to Nepal in less than an hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high level meeting on April 25 to assess the Nepal situation. A massive 7.9 earthquake hit the Himalayan nation a little before noon on that day.
Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) that India used technology extensively to respond to natural calamities. The 10,000 strong National Disaster Response Force can meet any situation round the clock, he added.
Responding to questions on India’s preparedness, Rijiju said that the government has allotted 612.2 billion rupees to the State Disaster Response Fund to provide assistance to people affected by natural calamities for the next five years, economictimes.indiatimes.com reported.
He said 58.6 percent of India’s land was prone to earthquake, 8.5 percent vulnerable to cyclone and 5 percent to floods, as per vulnerability Atlas of India published by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council under the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation ministry.
The minister also said that the government has not appointed any agency to estimate the economic losses from disasters.