On 29 November 2017, a deep depression detected in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka rapidly intensified into acyclonic storm off the coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Cyclone Ockhi, as it was named, took the life of hundreds of fishers, injured many and destroyed fishing vessels. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, adopted by the World Conference on Disaster Reduction,just weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami killed 228,000 people, sought substantial reduction of disaster losses, in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities and countries through an emphasis on disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the pre-disaster stages rather than on reactive emergency relief. The issues and principles discussed in the HFA are particularly relevant to the lives of small-scale fisher communities, in the coastal villages affected by Cyclone Ockhi. The approach of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) that developed in subsequent years combines mitigation, prevention, preparednesswith response and recovery across institutions of government, the private sector and civil society. India’s own Disaster Management Act, 2005 was a response to the unprecedented damage caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami and the gaps it revealed in the country’s preparedness for dealing with natural disasters.Although national and state disaster management authorities and plans were formulated, their success has been mixed in the face of recurring cyclones along the Bay of Bengal coast. The need for assessing disaster impacts, developing effective disaster response in an emergency situation, and to develop new approaches to disaster preparedness is addressed in the FAO Guidelines for the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector on Damage and Needs Assessments in Emergencies. TheVoluntary Guidelines for SecuringSustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) discuss applying the relief-development continuum conceptto emergency response and disaster preparedness and the concept building back better’ to relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery, especially to reduce vulnerabilities to potential future threats. ICSF with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has recently undertaken a study of the Cyclone Ockhi. Itassessesthe response to Cyclone Ockhi, both at theinstitutional and community level, reviewsdisaster management strategies adopted by concerned actors and examinesif the loss of lives could have been minimized by a more coordinated institutional response. In keeping with the internationally recognized DRM approach, the study reviews the various mitigation and relief plans in place at the central, state and district level and their effectiveness. Considering that so many fatalities occurred at sea, the studylooks into fisheries management issues of relevance to cyclone preparedness. The study suggests improvements in disaster preparedness and fisheries management. The Workshop is organized to share the study and communicate the lessons learnt with the community, authorities both the state and centraland other stakeholders.