Extreme Events and Resilience in the times of Pandemic: A Case Study

For the last thirty years or so, the world is increasingly looking at environmental extremes, many of which are triggered by climate change. Scientists, though divided over the extent and likely damages to be caused by global warming, are unanimous about the need to build in mitigating and adaptive measures in local, national and global policies. However, another likely impact of climate change had remained out of focus till 2020 – the potential for contagious diseases going ‘viral’ and spreading pan-world. COVID19, as we know it, changed all that and globally interest has surged in this area too over the last few months. A handful of researchers are also underlining the threat of multiple shocks attacking a country or society simultaneously and the likely impact of such contagion effect. Using a case study, this paper tries to discuss how resilience to climate extreme events is affected by health extreme events like pandemic and what lessons we can draw from these. The paper starts with a background on extreme events, resilience, damage costs and avoidance costs. Thereafter it looks into the fundamentals of resilience planning and how cyclone management policies have evolved in India over the last two decades. Finally, it examines how the prevalent pandemic has affected resilience activities during a recent severe cyclonic storm in eastern India – bringing to limelight the problems faced during multiple extreme events. The issues discussed has serious implications for future resilience planning and implementation policies across the globe.