Flood:

Flood is a state of high water level along a river channel or on the coast that leads to
inundation of land, which is not usually submerged. Floods may happen gradually and also may
take hours or even happen suddenly without any warning due to breach in the embankment, spill
over, heavy rains etc.

There are different types of floods namely: flash flood, riverine flood, urban flood, etc. Flash
floods can be defined as floods which occur within six hours of the beginning of heavy rainfall,
and are usually associated with cloud bursts, storms and cyclones requiring rapid localized
warnings and immediate response to reduce damage. Wireless network and telephone
connections are used to monitor flood conditions.

Causes for flood:

There are several causes of floods and differ from region to region. The causes may vary from a
rural area to an urban area. Some of the major causes are:

1. Heavy rainfall

2. Heavy siltation of the river bed reduces the water carrying capacity of the rivers/stream.

3. Blockage in the drains lead to flooding of the area.

4. Landslides blocking the flow of the stream.

5. Construction of dams and reservoirs

6. In areas prone to cyclone, strong winds accompanied by heavy down pour along with storm
surge leads to flooding.

Usually, any of the following situations should indicate the possibility of flooding:

1. heavy rainfall in/around the vicinity, especially, if the specific location falls in the
pathway of the water-discharge system from the area receiving heavy rainfall.
 2. if there is heavy rainfall/flow of water/accumulation of water, on the other side of a
boundary, e.g. across a dam, side of a river-embankment etc., because, these
boundaries might get breached.

Vulnerability of India to floods:

India is highly vulnerable to floods. Out of the total geographical area of 329 million
hectares (mha), more than 40 mha is flood prone. Floods are a recurrent phenomenon, which
cause huge loss of lives and damage to livelihood systems, property, infrastructure and public
utilities. It is a cause for concern that flood related damages show an increasing trend. The
average annual flood damage in the last 10 years period from 1996 to 2005 was Rs. 4745 crore
as compared to Rs. 1805 crore, the corresponding average for the previous 53 years. This can be
attributed to many reasons including a steep increase in population, rapid urbanization growing
developmental and economic activities in flood plains coupled with global warming. An average
every year, 75 lakh hectares of land is affected, 1600 lives are lost and the damage caused to
crops, houses and public utilities is Rs.1805 crores due to floods. The maximum number of lives
(11,316) was lost in the year 1977. The frequency of major floods is more than once in five
years.

Floods have also occurred in areas, which were earlier not considered flood prone. Eighty
per cent of the precipitation takes place in the monsoon months from June to September. The
rivers a bring heavy sediment load from catchments. These, coupled with inadequate carrying
capacity of rivers are responsible for causing floods, drainage congestion and erosion of river-
banks. Cyclones, cyclonic circulations and cloud bursts cause flash floods and lead to huge
losses. It is a fact that some of the rivers causing damage in India originate in neighboring
countries; adding another complex dimension to the problem. Continuing and large-scale loss of
lives and damage to public and private property due to floods indicate that we are still to develop
an effective response to floods. NDMA's Executive Summary Guidelines have been prepared to
enable the various implementing and stakeholder agencies to effectively address the critical areas
for minimising flood damage.

Warning:
 Flood forecasting and warning has been highly developed in the past two decades. With
the advancement of technology such as satellite and remote-sensing equipments flood waves can
be tracked as the water level rises. Except for flash floods there is usually a reasonable warning
period. Heavy precipitation will give sufficient warning of the coming river flood. High tides
with high winds may indicate flooding in the coastal areas. Evacuation is possible with suitable
monitoring and warning. Warning is issued by the Central Water Commission (CWC), Irrigation
& Flood Control Department and Water Resources Department. CWC maintains close liaison
with the administrative and state engineering agencies, local civil authorities to communicate
advance warning for appropriate mitigation and preparedness measures.

Urban Floods

Urban flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanization leads to

developed catchments, which increases the flood peaks from 1.8 to 8 times and flood volumes by
up to 6 times. Consequently, flooding occurs very quickly due to faster flow times (in a matter of
minutes). Urban areas are densely populated and people living in vulnerable areas suffer due to
flooding, sometimes resulting in loss of life. It is not only the event of flooding but the secondary
effect of exposure to infection also has its toll in terms of human suffering, loss of livelihood
and, in extreme cases, loss of life. Urban areas are also centres of economic activities with vital
infrastructure which needs to be protected 24x7. In most of the cities, damage to vital
infrastructure has a bearing not only for the state and the country but it could even have global
implications. Major cities in India have witnessed loss of life and property, disruption in
transport and power and incidence of epidemics. Therefore, management of urban flooding has
to be accorded top priority. Increasing trend of urban flooding is a universal phenomenon and
poses a great challenge to urban planners the world over. Problems associated with urban floods
range from relatively localized incidents to major incidents, resulting in cities being inundated
from hours to several days. Therefore, the impact can also be widespread, including temporary
relocation of people, damage to civic amenities, deterioration of water quality and risk of
epidemics.

The areas which are vulnerable to flood risk are,

A. places, which have a history of flooding (most important)

 B. area receiving heavy rainfall, with not much naturally sloping landscape
C. areas at the lower levels of naturally sloping landscape where, the higher areas
are receiving heavy rainfall
D. areas around sea-coasts, or, river banks
E. areas downstream of dams etc. As water level upstream of dams might rise, the
dam authorities might be forced to release water (to safeguard the dam) which
might cause flooding of downstream areas
F. areas on the other side of levies (in case, the levy gets breached)
G. low-lying areas (say: foot of an overbridge etc.)

The most common kinds of loss that are caused during flooding include:

a. Lack of water: Its an irony, that a disaster which mean water everywhere, results in lack
of water to drink and sanitation. Lack of proper drinking water and sanitation causes
widespread outbreak of diseases.
b. Lack of food: Most of the food items get damaged, causing a severe shortage of food.
This shortage could be for the food to be consumed in the near future, or, even standing
crops could be damaged, causing long-term food shortage.
c. Lack of utilities: Utility services might have to be turned off, for the fear of electrocution,
as, there is water everywhere.
d. Widespread damage to structure
e. Drowning: People, livestock, goods etc. might get drowned.
f. Snakes and other creatures: Some of the dangerous creatures which usually stay
underground would be forced to come up, as their natural habitat becomes unlivable.
These could prove dangerous to human beings and cattle.
g. Submerging of vehicles and other equipments: Vehicles and other equipments might get
permanently damaged as they remain submerged under water for prolonged duration.

Typical Adverse Effects:

The most important consequence of floods is the loss of life and property. Structures like
houses, bridges; roads etc. get damaged by the gushing water, landslides triggered on account of
water getting saturated, boats and fishing nets get damaged. There is huge loss to life and
livestock caused by drowning. Lack of proper drinking water facilities, contamination of water
(well, ground water, piped water supply) leads to outbreak of epidemics, diarrhoea, viral
infection, malaria and many other infectious diseases. Flooding also leads to a large area of
agricultural land getting inundated as a result there is a huge crop loss. This results in shortage of
food, and animal fodder. Floods may also affect the soil characteristics. The land may be
rendered infertile due to erosion of top layer or may turn saline if sea water floods the area.

Most of the flood affected areas lie in the Ganga basin, Brahmaputra basin (comprising of
Barak, Tista, Torsa, Subansiri, Sankosh, Dihang and Luhit), the northwestern river basin
(comprising Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, Beas and the Ghagra), peninsular river basin (Tapti,
Narmada, Mahanadi, Baitarani, Godavari, krishna, Pennar and the Kaveri) and the coastal
regions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Orissa and Kerela. Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
Orissa are some of the states who have been severely prone to floods.

Our country receives an annual rainfall of 1200 mm, 85% of which is concentrated in 3-4
months i.e June to September. Due to the intense and periodic rain, most of the rivers of the
country are fed with huge quantity of water, much beyond their carrying capacity.

Possible Risk Reduction Measures:

1. Mapping of the flood prone areas is a primary step involved in reducing the risk of the
region. Historical records give the indication of the flood inundation areas and the period
of occurrence and the extent of the coverage. Warning can be issued looking into the
earlier marked heights of the water levels in case of potential threat. In the coastal areas
the tide levels and the land characteristics will determine the submergence areas. Flood
hazard mapping will give the proper indication of water flow during floods.

2. The first step is to keep the drainage system clean. This allows water to be carried down
very fast. Choked drains cause a significant reduction in the ability and speed of the water
to be drained away. In most situations of urban flooding this is a major cause. The
drains might get choked due to throwing of solid-wastes inside storm drains. These solid-
wastes might include construction material, plastics, paper etc. This is a clear example,
how human activity can amplify the process of flooding. Drains might also get choked
due to falling tree-leaves etc.
3. General clean-up of streets is also important. As rain-water falls down the street, it rushes
into the storm drains. if the streets are not clean, the rain water trying to go into the drain
carries solid wastes into the drain with itself, which then obstructs the flow of water by
the drainage system.
4. Rain water harvesting system: As more rain-water tries to flow down the drains, it puts
that much more stress on the drainage system. Instead, if there are several rain-water
harvesting systems, the rainfall falling in that much area would try to go to the sub-soil of
the region locally, rather than straining the drainage system. Lower is the amount of
water trying to go through the drainage system, the easier it is for the drainage system to
drain off the water.
5. Desilting: The drains should be desilted before the onset of the rainy season. This
prevents the drains from getting choked. And, it also inceases the holding capacity of the
drain, as, accumulated silt prevents that much more water from being accumulated in the
drains.
6. Inspection and repair of dams, levees, embankments etc: Before the onset of seasons
causing accumulation and/or carrying of heavy volume of water (such as rainy season),
these structures should be thoroughly inspected for possible weak-spots, and, these
should be repaired.
7. Afforestation: Forestation helps in binding the loose soil. The most major impact of this
is, as flood-water races through, it might take loose soil with it. This loose soil will now
choke the drains, as well as water-harvesting systems, thus, rendering both of these as
ineffective. On the other hand, trees will prevent soil to flow with the water, as, the roots
of the trees will act as binding force. Another major impact that afforestation provides is
by reducing the impact of flowing water. This has impact on large-scale flooding, such as
overflowing river. As water charges forward, its speed is reduced to some extent due to
resistance offered by trees. This can reduce the force of the charging water thereby,
reducing structural damage due to weakening in the force with which water hits various
structures.
8. Local lowlands (say: foot of an overbridge) should have storm drains, so that water does
not get accumulated there. These drains should have some kind of mesh covering, so that
only water can flow in. Leaves and other solid debris should not go in these drains.
9. Local embankments around low-lying houses etc: Lets say, for some reason, your house
is at a level lower than its vicinity (e.g. road-level). This can happen, because, say: you
have constructed a basement which is obviously lower than the road-level, or, over a
period of years, the road-level has risen due to repeated tarring etc. In such cases, you
should create a local embankment between the street/road and your property, so that
water can not flow down from the street/road inside your house. These embankment
might be permanent in the form of concrete structure.
Flood hazard map of India