Biological disasters
Topic: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Natural Hazards and Disasters: Causes, Consequences and Management"
Meaning
Biological disasters are caused by living things. In NCERT's grouping of natural disasters (Class 11 Table 6.1), this class covers attacks by locusts and other colonisers, meaning creatures that invade an area in huge numbers. It also covers diseases spread by fungi, bacteria and viruses, such as bird flu and dengue. These disasters harm crops, animals and people. In crowded places they can spread fast.
Example
In 2019-20, swarms of desert locusts attacked crops in Rajasthan and Gujarat. In March 2020, COVID-19 was notified as a disaster under the Disaster Management Act 2005, so disaster-response money and powers could be used against it.
Don't confuse with
- Pest attack as a notified disaster: this is one item on the government's list of disasters that get relief funds. Biological disaster is NCERT's broader class, and it also includes disease epidemics.
Related concepts
- Disaster
- Natural hazard
- Vulnerability
- Classification of natural disasters
- Human-made disasters
- Bhopal gas tragedy