TNIE | Need Long-term Community Resilience

India has become good at saving lives. What convinced you that survival alone is no longer enough?

India deserves credit. Early evacuations and disaster response systems have reduced mortality. But what we saw on the ground is that while people survive the event, their livelihoods, education, health, and dignity continue to erode afterwards. For example, poor households can lose up to 85% of their annual income from a disaster; extreme weather events occurred on 86% of days in 2023, and back-to-back shocks leave little time to rebuild. Yes, we are saving lives, but many families are stuck in a permanent recovery loop. That is why survival is no longer enough.

You say 85% of districts are exposed to major hazards. How is this reshaping everyday life in ways policy makers still underestimate?

The biggest underestimation is the extent to which disasters now intersect with development. Floods are shutting schools for weeks. In drought-prone areas, 20–25% of school absenteeism is linked to climate stress like water collection. Health systems are disrupted. Livelihoods become unstable. Migration rises. What policymakers often see is an event. Families experience a continuous erosion of stability. If recovery takes two decades but shocks recur every few years, families never rebuild their asset base. They sell livestock, pull kids out of school, or take high-interest loans to survive. Over time, this becomes intergenerational poverty, not just temporary distress.

You warn of “disaster aid fatigue”. Are we at risk of becoming emotionally numb?

There are signs of fatigue. First responders told us it is becoming harder to raise funds after floods, especially in remote areas. When disasters happen so frequently, public empathy can be dulled. But that is exactly why we must shift the narrative. We must invest before the disaster, in preparedness, local capacity, and financial buffers.