India is the world’s second most populous country with more than 1.2 billion people and geographically the seventh-largest country in the world. It has a coastline of more than 7,000 kilometres and its terrain ranges from deserts to plains to the Himalaya Mountains.

India is prone to a number of different disasters, including flooding, flash floods, and landslides caused by cyclones and monsoon rains. The vulnerability to these hazards is aggravated by environmental, social, cultural, economic, institutional and political factors in the country. While India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, 41.6 per cent of the population still live on less than 1.25 US dollars a day.1 The country faces a major threat from the projected changes in climate and trends in climate-related disasters.

Leh is the capital of the Leh District and the largest town in the region of Ladakh, located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India. Mountains surround the city, with an average altitude of 3,500 metres, and the two main roads to Leh are only open on a seasonal basis due to heavy snowfall and frequent landslides. Its economy mainly depends on tourism in the seasonal months.