Rising trend of urban floods in India have caused substantial loss of local infrastructure, businesses, and human lives, impacting local, subnational, and national economies.
Reasons for rising Instances of Urban Flooding
- Regional Topography: E.g., Bengaluru is situated on an elevation of about 900 meters and lacks a major river to channel excess water.
- Encroachment and Concretisation: Bengaluru’s past lake ecosystems have been filled up and curtailed.
- Fractured Governance System: E.g., Water in Bengaluru is managed by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board while planning is done primarily by Bangalore Development Authority with ineffective coordination among them.
- Incapacity of existing infrastructure: Stormwater drainage systems designed in the past are either poorly maintained or incapable of carrying increased rain volumes. E.g., Chennai (2023), Kerala (2019).
- Climate Change: Increased temperatures have raised the intensity and frequency of precipitation.
Key Measures to tackle the issue of Urban Flooding
- National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)’s Guidelines on Management of Urban Flooding: Underlines the interrelationship of environment, economy, and development.
- Revamped Governance mechanism: Multistakeholder and interdepartmental Disaster Management Authority headed by a professional.
- City Level Planning: Flood mitigation plan; Cities’ Climate Action Plans, etc.
- Global Best Practices: Hong Kong’s massive underground storage scheme called Tai Hang Stormwater Storage Tank with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres.
