DISASTER MANAGEMENT: ROLE OF INDIAN ARMED FORCES IN ADDRESSING DISASTERS IN COASTAL REGIONS OF INDIAINTRODUCTION1. A natural disaster is an event of nature that causes a sudden disruption to the normal life of a society and causes damage to property and life to such an extent that the normal social and economic mechanisms available to the society are inadequate to restore normality. In recent years, India has faced a series of disasters in the form of earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones and other ocean disasters. Floods and coastal disasters have been the most prominent and recurring events in the recent past, be it the floods in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Mumbai and Chennai, the 2004 tsunami or the recent cyclone Hudhud.2. These disasters have led to enormous losses of life, property and infrastructure. After dealing with such disasters for a long time in a disorganized manner, mainly using the services of the Indian Armed Forces, India finally passed the National Disaster Management Act in 2005. 3. India has a coastline 7,516 kilometers long, of which approximately 5,700 kilometers are subject to natural disasters. cyclones, tsunamis and other disasters coming from the sea/ocean. Much has been written and discussed about disaster management in various forms of literature such as books, Internet, magazines, articles and documents. However, most research has focused on earthquakes or floods, and so far only limited research has been conducted on coastal disasters and the role of the military in addressing such crises. There is limited published material on the topic available on DSSC, so most references come from Internet sites that contain a large amount of information. The study material is collected from the following