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India·Natural disasters

India natural hazards and disaster risk

Earthquakes, storms, volcanoes, floods, and wildfires. Combines the disaster sub-score with the active event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. The Field Manual covers the response protocols.

Disaster sub-score
30High risk
Overall Safe Trip Score 52

Recent signals

  • earthquakeUSGS4d ago
    M 4.7 - 242 km NNW of Qamdo, China
    242 km NNW of Qamdo, China
    Source →
    -1.0
  • floodGDACS4d ago
    Green flood alert in India
    On 28/05/2026, a flood started in India, lasting until 29/05/2026 (last update). The flood caused 2 deaths and 0 displaced .
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS6d ago
    M 4.5 - 46 km ENE of Mawlaik, Burma (Myanmar)
    46 km ENE of Mawlaik, Burma (Myanmar)
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS6d ago
    M 4.6 - 12 km NE of Malakwal City, Pakistan
    12 km NE of Malakwal City, Pakistan
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS1w ago
    M 5.1 - 296 km NW of Nagqu, China
    296 km NW of Nagqu, China
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 5.2 - 36 km SSE of Syriam, Burma (Myanmar)
    36 km SSE of Syriam, Burma (Myanmar)
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.6 - 266 km ESE of Port Blair, India
    266 km ESE of Port Blair, India
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.7 - 184 km NE of Bamboo Flat, India
    184 km NE of Bamboo Flat, India
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 5.0 - 74 km W of Yenangyaung, Burma (Myanmar)
    74 km W of Yenangyaung, Burma (Myanmar)
    Source →
    -3.0
  • wildfireGDACS4w ago
    Green forest fire notification in India
    On 04/05/2026, a forest fire started in India, until 16/05/2026.
    Source →
    -3.0
  • wildfireGDACS2026-04-20
    Green forest fire notification in India
    On 20/04/2026, a forest fire started in India, until 05/05/2026.
    Source →
    -3.0

Foreign-ministry advisories

Practical guidance

What the disaster sub-score covers

India’s natural-disaster sub-score is 30/100 (high band). It combines the country’s long-term hazard exposure (fault lines, tropical cyclone tracks, volcanic chains, flood basins) with the live event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. A score drop usually means a specific recent event; baseline hazard exposure barely moves year over year. The events feed above shows what is currently active.

Seasonality matters more than the headline number

Most natural-hazard risk is seasonal. Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November (peak August to October). Pacific typhoon season is broadly May to October. Indian Ocean monsoon flooding peaks June to September in South Asia. North Atlantic storm surge weights winter months. Volcanic and seismic risk is non-seasonal but clusters geographically; a country’s baseline score factors this in, but your specific itinerary’s exposure depends on which region you visit. The country safety guide’s natural- hazards chapter breaks it down by region.

What to actually do

Three concrete steps that move you out of the “tourist who got caught in it” bucket: enrol in your government’s traveller-notification programme (STEP for US citizens, LOCATE for UK, Smartraveller subscription for AU) so embassies can reach you in a major incident; download offline maps of your destination before you arrive (Maps.me or Google Maps offline) because mobile networks fail first in most disasters; and read the relevant Field Manual response guide for the specific hazard your destination carries. How to survive an earthquake while travelling and the wildfire, flood, and hurricane equivalents are linked from the relevant country safety guides.

Related for India

Long-form context

Travelling safely in India

India is a continent-scale country with continent-scale variation. Framing it as a single destination misses the point: a Goa beach holiday, a Kerala backwater itinerary, a Rajasthan palace circuit, a Ladakh high-altitude trek, and a Delhi-Agra-Varanasi tourist sweep all carry different risk profiles. The country is broadly listed at the standard tier of caution by every major foreign ministry, with partial-area warnings for Jammu and Kashmir, the Indo-Pakistani border, and parts of the northeast. The structural risks for the standard visitor are concentrated and addressable: persistent scam and overcharging patterns in tourist hubs, the world’s most consistent gastric-illness exposure (Delhi belly affects an estimated 60-70 percent of first-time visitors), winter air pollution in the north (Delhi PM2.5 routinely exceeds 500 in November and December), traffic injury risk that dominates everything else, and a women’s safety landscape that is widely discussed but rarely calibrated. This guide unpacks the e-Visa, the regional risk map, the rail and ride-share systems, the gastric and pollution discipline, the women’s safety reality, and the practical contacts that shape an Indian itinerary.

16 min read →

Frequently asked about India

What natural hazards affect India?

India's natural-disaster sub-score is 30/100. It combines long-term hazard exposure (fault lines, tropical cyclone tracks, volcanic chains, flood basins) with the live event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. Currently active events are listed in the recent-signals feed above.

When is hurricane / typhoon season in India?

Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November (peak August to October). Pacific typhoon season is broadly May to October. Indian Ocean cyclone season splits between November to April (southern hemisphere) and April to December (Bay of Bengal). India's specific exposure window is documented in the country safety guide.

What should I do if a natural disaster happens while I am in India?

Three concrete steps before you go: enrol in your government's traveller-notification programme (STEP for US, LOCATE for UK, Smartraveller subscription for AU), download offline maps because mobile networks fail first in major incidents, and read the relevant Field Manual response guide (earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, flood) for the specific hazard your destination carries.