Urban Flooding : What can be done about it – Burning Issues – Free PDF

The News

• It is monsoon time and Delhi has flooded again recently.
• A few days before, We saw Mumbai with horrific images of some of the areas of the city underwater.
• During monsoon, rivers tend to swell in their flood plains. Lakes and wetlands retain excess surface runoff, while forested lands help in soil retention and groundwater recharge but in urban areas all this is missing.

• Is it just Delhi , Mumbai & Chennai?
• Impact of Urban Flooding

What is the reason for Urban Flooding?

• Is climate change the cause? – YES..!!
  • Global warming has already reached 1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level. One of the key manifestations of a changing climate is rainfall variability.
  • The frequency of extreme events such as high-intensity rainfall has increased in the Indian subcontinent.
  • Ex:
    • In Mumbai, this year, within the first five days of August, it received about 78% of the entire month’s rainfall.
    • In Delhi, the precipitation on four discrete days in July and August was about 50% of entire season’s rainfall.

National Flood Commission

• Rashtriya Barh Ayog or the National Flood Commission (NFC) was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1976.
• It aimed to study India’s flood-control measures.

NFCs recommendation

1. In 1980, the NFC made many recommendations and four broad observations:
2. It said there was no increase in rainfall in India and, thus, the increase in floods was due to anthropogenic factors.
3.  It questioned the effectiveness of the methods adopted to control floods.
4. It said there have to be consolidated efforts among the states and the Centre to take up research and policy initiatives to control floods.
5. It recommended a dynamic strategy to cope with the changing nature of floods

Is anything done?

• In 2010, National Disaster management authority had issued guidelines on Urban Flood Management in India.
  • Ex:
    • Create National Hydro-meteorological Network
    • Planning and designing the storm water drainage system
    • Every building in an urban area must have rainwater harvesting
    • Encroachments on the drain should attract penal action
    • Pre-monsoon desilting of all major drains to be completed by March 31 each year.
    • Timely flood hazard assessments should be done etc

What can be done?

Food for Thought

• Cologne in Germany
• Sponge City Concept of China
• C40 Cities network

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