The damages from climatic extremes in India : do disaster-specific and generic adaptation measures matter?

...This study, therefore, examines the influence of disasterspecific and generic adaption measures in reducing the damages resulting rom the climate extremes like cyclones and floods in India. A district-level analysis was carried out for the state of Odisha, India from 1999 to 2008 using fixed effects for OLS and negative binomial models. Controlling for the influence of exposure and population, three major findings emerge: (1) households and policy makers have learned from the previous disaster experiences, i.e. there is a "learning effect", (2) the disaster risk management programme undertaken by the government has reduced the damages from climate extremes, and (3) generic adaptation interventions are helpful. Since the frequency and intensity of these events are likely to increase because of climate change, these results have policy implications in the context of reducing potential impacts now and in the foreseeable future.