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Dr. Nibedita S Ray-Bennett is a Lecturer in Risk Management in the School of Management at University of Leicester. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at Kansai University. Dr Ray-Bennett obtained her PhD in Sociology from Warwick University. Her research interests include health security and securitization, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), reflective and systemic response, and caste/class/gender – in the context of ‘natural’ disasters and disaster management. She is the author of Caste, Class and Gender in Multiple Disasters in Odisha (2009, VDM Verlag). In 2015 she provided an Input Paper for the UNISDR’s ‘Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015’. Currently she is co-authoring UNISDR’s ‘Words Into Action Guidelines’ for the Sendai Framework’s Priority for Action 2: ‘Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk’.
Learning from Deaths in Disasters: The Case of Odisha, India
In 1999, Odisha, India was struck by a super cyclone featuring an unprecedented storm surge and torrential rainfall that resulted in widespread devastation and a substantial loss of life. Fourteen years later, the same area was hit by Cyclone Phailin, which despite its severity, claimed relatively few lives. This essay examines the reasons for the starkly different death tolls and considers what lessons could be drawn from the responses to these two disasters.
