Super-Cyclone Affected Coastal Orissa: A Social Vulnerability Approach Pradeep Kumar Parida* Abstract While an event like a super-cyclone in coastal Orissa may trigger-off or catalyse a disaster, the roots of disaster lie in the society-induced vulnerability associated with the geo-political features of the places and people concerned. This study reveals the fact that disaster is a result of 'human conditions'. ft also emphasises how the organisation of a society and its economic and political arrangements contribute to increasing its vulnerability to disasters. The super-cyclone disaster brought to the fore critical issues related to stratification, poverty and inequality in Indian society, particularly, in rural Orissa. Disaster and its Hazardous Character Natural disasters are growing in number and intensity and their impacts are increasingly devastating across the world. Recent major catastrophic events: in 2008, the China earthquake and the Myanmar cyclone; in 2005, the earthquake at the borders of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, as well as Hurricane Katrina along U.S. Gulf Coast in 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami; in 2001, the Gujarat earthquake and in l 999, the Orissa super cyclone 1 are stark reminders of the global importance and implications of natural disasters. The cost of disasters-financial and human-is steadily rising, with the world's poorest communities paying most of the price (Palakudiyil and Todd 2003). Due to the increasing impact of natural disasters, particularly on the world's poor, the United Nations designated the 1990s 'International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction'. The main objective of this action was to reduce * F;iculty Member, Department of Sociology, Pondicherry (Central) University, Puducherry, India, 605 014. E-mai I: pradceppurida2003@yahoo.com Review of Development and Change, \ol. XIII, No.2, July-December 2008, pp. 159-180