GENERAL STUDIES III

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
MODULE - 2
FLOODS
India is one of the worlds most flood-prone countries with 113 million people
exposed to floods. According to a UN report Indias average annual economic loss
due to disasters is estimated to be $9.8 billion, out of which more than $7 billion
loss is due to floods.
In India, around 40 million hectares of land is flood-prone, which is one eighth of
the total area.
The most flood prone areas are the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Indus basins.
IMPACTS
Social
Threat to life
Displacement of population
Increase in poverty poor get poorer
Spread of diseases like cholera, gastro-enteritis, hepatitis and other water-
borne diseases spread in the flood-affected areas.
Mental issues like post-traumatic stress disorder
Schools routinely turn into relief centres and schoolchildren are forced to take
a flood vacation.
Economic
Damage physical infrastructure such as roads, rails, bridges thus affecting
connectivity
Relief and rehabilitation
Loss of development dividend
GDP numbers of flood-prone states show a sharp spurt in annual losses
Environmental impacts
Soil erosion
Affects wildlife for eg. Recent floods in Brahmaputra and its tributaries have
submerged large parts of the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in Morigaon district
(critical habitat of one horned rhinoceros)
Positive contributions - floods deposit fertile silt over agricultural fields which
are good for the crops, replenishes aquifers
Political aspect water disputes
Aggravates landslips and mud slides

CAUSES
Geographical reasons
Concentrated precipitation from monsoon
Weather events like cyclones, cloud bursts and tsunamis
Rise in rived bed due to siltation

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 Changing river course. For eg. River Kosi
Obstructions to flow due to landslides
Synchronisation of floods in the main and tributary rivers
Anthropogenic effects
Deforestation loss of vegetative cover in catchment areas
Indiscriminate destruction of wetlands and mangroves
Lack of climate change resilience
Unplanned urbanisation obstruction to natural drainage of flood water as well
as lack of artificial drainages. For eg. Allowing Mithi river to be choked with
garbage is one of reasons for 2017 Mumbai floods.
Dams and reservoirs mismanagement in one state can lead to disaster in
another. For. Eg. the waters that have inundated parts of Jalore in Rajasthan
flowed from a dam that was opened to relieve pressure, catching many by
surprise.
Poor civil governance leading to encroachment and illegal construction in flood
prone areas.
Unscientific construction and poor maintenance of embankments causes more
destruction when its breached.
Lack of data such as sea level measurement and variation in precipitation
Improper land use planning for eg. Gurugram is one of Indias most important
industrial hubs. But, roads in Gurugram are severely water-logged during each
monsoon season resulting in traffic snarls as it is a lowland area.
Poor information dissemination Warnings issued by IMD and research
institutions are still made available only to civic administrations, which are often
slow to react, and not to the people, who are likely to be affected.
Flood governance in country hasnt gone beyond ad hoc relief measures and
building embankments.
FLOODS IN BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER REGION
This region consists of the rivers Brahmaputra and Barak and their tributaries, and
covers the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur,
Tripura, Nagaland, Sikkim and the northern parts of West Bengal.
The catchments of these rivers receive very heavy rainfall ranging from 1100
mms. to 6350 mms.
Further the hills, where these rivers originate, are fragile and susceptible to
erosion and thereby cause exceptionally high silt discharge in the rivers.
In addition, the region is subject to severe and frequent earthquakes, which
cause numerous landslides in the hills and upset the regime of the rivers.
The predominant problems in this region are cloud bursts followed by flash
floods, soil erosion in the watershed and bank erosion along the rivers,
flooding caused by the spilling of rivers over their banks, drainage congestion
and the tendency of some of the rivers to change their courses.
The plain areas of the region suffer from the inundation caused by spilling of the
Brahmaputra.

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 EXISITNG MECHANISMS OF PREPAREDNESS
NDRF responds to disaster events with relief and rescue.
The work of flood forecasting and warning in India is entrusted with the Central
Water Commission (CWC).
Structural measures include, embankments, reservoirs, watershed
management etc.
Administrative measures include
Flood-plain zoning measures aim at demarcating areas likely to be affected
by floods and specify the types of permissible developments in these areas.
Flood Proofing measures consisted of raising a few villages above pre-
determined flood levels and connecting them to nearby roads or high lands.
SUGGESTIONS
India Meteorological Department should expand its operations from only
providing weather and climate updates to focus on issuing warning on disaster
and developing a calamity management system. Moreover, localised
predictions, which would help civic bodies, traffic police and rescue teams
prepare, are need of the hour.
Include vulnerabilities to climate change and the risks it poses in their decision-
making and planning process.
The subject of flood control, unlike irrigation, does not figure as such in any of the
three legislative lists included in the Constitution of India. Flood management
should be given legislative backing so that the State Governments will be
accountable to take proper measures.
Facilitating timely evacuation of the people and livestock, and shifting of movable
property to safer grounds by having advance warning of incoming flood. Contour
mapping of river basins will allow identification of safe elevations to which people
and livestock can be evacuated.
Enforcing flood plain zoning regulation to prevent encroaching and illegal land use
practises.
Short term solutions should include shelters, food, fodder, safe water, access to
health support and protection to weak sections of the society.
Recurring floods have shown that funds are used to address immediate civic
pressures rather than plan for long-term infrastructure creation. National
Disaster Mitigation Fund should be set up to take preventive and mitigative
measures.
Managing embankments - Embankment breach resulting in flooding the safe
areas is routine. We need a paradigm shift in the way these embankments are
managed. It is important to involve the community that is close to the
embankment in its management. Only then can we break the build-and-forget
mentality that currently rules the bureaucracy. Efficient embankments can also
be used evacuation routes.
Channelising flood water through functional drainage system rather than trying
to contain it.
Better coordination with neighbours

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 FLOODS AND DROUGHTS: DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Floods represent a major paradox. Nearly all Indian towns and cities are water-
scarce in dry seasons and prone to severe flooding during monsoons. Cities
like Delhi, which witness floods every monsoon, are also some of the most water-
stressed in the world. This is a serious indictment of the poor state of Indias water
management.

Flood waters in urban areas should be stored for use during non-monsoon
seasons, both in terms of groundwater and surface storage. This is essential if
expanding Indian cities are to have year-round water security and control floods.
These are controllable with proper planning including functional drainage systems,
storing excess of floodwater for use in dry seasons and coordinated water and land
use planning. Singapore, another monsoon country, has for the most part solved
urban drainage and water security problems by installing a proper and functional
drainage system and then collecting all rainwater for urban use. Therefore, the
important point to note is that many of the measures needed to contain floods are
more or less similar to those for mitigating droughts.
URBAN FLOOD
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) states that, 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.
Urban areas > high population centres of economic activity vital infrastructure
more chances of secondary effects like infection > more losses
MAJOR REASONS FOR URBAN FLOODING
Global warming has altered rainfall patterns; that, along with melting glaciers
and rising sea levels, has increased the risk of urban floods in India.
Unplanned urbanisation, with little regard for natural drainage patterns and
topography, and the near-total absence of soft areas (not concretised) have
contributed to increasing flood damage in Indian cities.
The practice of reclaiming wetlands for development and drainage
congestion due to careless solid waste management and construction debris,
have made things worse.
Along with this, the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events
due to climate change, have resulted in higher chances of urban floods in India.
Adding to all of these, poor civil governance due to explosive increase in urban
population, have resulted in urban water bodies getting heavily polluted,
encroached and illegally mined.
SOLUTIONS
Efforts at reducing urban floods must begin with the planning process. Authorities
must conduct vulnerability assessments, demarcate no-development areas
(wetlands, flood plains etc.) and build urban drainage infrastructure in sync with
natural drainage patterns. To fix existing conditions in the cities, necessary
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retrofitting should be done. Providing porous pavements to allow infiltration of
water and large tanks to store rainwater could effective measures. Further, it will be
important to upgrade waste collection as carelessly handled garbage and
construction debris are a major cause of clogged water outlets.
An effective and localised early warning system for metro cities.
Appropriate flood warnings can then be issued to urban residents through
announcements on television and radio, and through SMS.
A sustainable solution will require more than planning and technical intervention. It
requires stakeholders to work together. Also, design and technical interventions
are rendered meaningless when there is no single cohesive entity to ensure these
are deployed and used in an effective manner. The lack of cohesion means that
every authority approaches the problem from its own perspective and often results
in urban mess. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a Standard Operating
Procedure, by giving specific responsibilities to various authorities concerned,
creating accountability.
It may not be possible to prevent floods entirely but it is possible to mitigate their
impact. An integrated approach to managing floods requires a sound
understanding of the patterns that rivers and its tributaries display during the
monsoon. The impoverishing annual losses should lead to a more integrated view
of the problem, drawing upon technologies to both mitigate flooding and provide
rescue and relief.

CYCLONE MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
The subcontinent with a long coastline of more than 7500 kilometres is exposed to
nearly 10 per cent of the worlds tropical cyclones.
The disaster potential is particularly high during landfall in the North Indian Ocean
(Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) due to the accompanying destructive wind,
storm surges and torrential rainfall.
Storm surges cause the most damage as sea water inundates low lying areas of
coastal regions and causes heavy floods, erodes beaches and embankments,
destroys vegetation and reduces soil fertility.
EXISITNG MECHANISMS FOR PREPAREDNESS
NCRMP aims to strengthen the structural and non-structural cyclone mitigation
efforts and reduce the risk and vulnerability of the coastal districts which are prone
to cyclones.
Forecasting and warning system
SOLUTIONS
The structural measures include construction of cyclone resistant buildings, road
links, culverts, bridges, canals, drains, saline embankments, surface water tanks,
communication and power transmission networks, etc. Non-structural measures like
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early warning systems, communication and dissemination, management of coastal
zones, awareness generation and disaster risk management and capacity
development, should be dealt with separately.
MANAGING STORM SURGES bio shields, Coastal Regulation Zone, coastal
infrastructure
Managing WINDS Cyclone shelters, evacuation routes, effective information
dissemination
MANAGING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL Various structural and administrative
measures to mitigate floods

DROUGHTS
Droughts refer to a serious shortfall in availability of water, mainly, but not
exclusively, due to deficiency of rains, affecting agriculture, drinking water supply
and industry. Any lack of water to satisfy the normal needs of agricultural,
livestock, industry or human population may be termed as a drought.
Drought is a natural hazard that differs from other hazards since it has a slow onset,
lasting effects, affects a large spatial extent, and cause little structural damage.
Its onset, end and severity are often difficult to determine and its often called a
creeping disaster because its effects are not felt at once.
CAUSES
Groundwater depletion and deforestation, especially in the upstream
catchment areas
Monsoon Deficient rainfall, slow onset, early retrieval, and prolonged
monsoon break days
Lack of water harvesting and over-irrigation
Groundwater exploitation and depleted water tables
Poor cropping choices and patterns
Climate change and associated effects
EFFECTS
Economic impacts
Loss of income and purchasing power
Macroeconomic indicators at the national level are adversely impacted.
Reduction in agricultural production
Inflation
Unemployment
Environmental impacts
Lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes and ponds
Cause loss of forest cover, migration of wildlife and their greater mortality
Increased stress among endangered species
Loss of biodiversity
Increased soil erosion

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 Forest fire
Social impacts
Migration of the population
A loss of social status and dignity
Malnutrition
Poverty
Loss of livestock
Farmer suicides
Withdraw of children from schools and child marriages
Distress sale of land property

DROUGHT MANAGEMENT
Drought management encompasses three vital components namely,
1. drought intensity assessment and monitoring;
2. drought declaration and prioritization of areas for drought management and
3. development and implementation of drought management strategies.
DROUGHT PRONE AREA DELINEATION
Factors that can be used for delineating drought prone areas are: -
Rainfall
Cropping pattern (past 3 to 5 years);
Available supplement irrigation (well, tank, ponds, ground water etc.);
Satellite derived indicators (last 10 years);
Soil map;
Ground water availability map;
Cattle population and fodder demand;
Socio-economic data;
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 Other water demands like for drinking, industrial use etc.; and
Collection and creation of data base and spatial framework for analysis
MONITORING OF DROUGHT
Having delineated drought prone areas and their gradation one could move on to
the criteria for monitoring relevant indicators. State Governments monitor drought
by obtaining information on the key indicators of drought from various
departments. This includes information on rainfall, reservoir/lake water levels,
surface water / groundwater, soil moisture and sowing / crop conditions from
the revenue administration and other departments.
DROUGHT DECLARATION
Traditionally in India, District Collectors recommend the declaration of drought
only after crop production estimates.
Financial Assistance is provided through the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) /
state disaster response fund maintained by the state under the administrative
jurisdiction of state disaster management departments.
To promote management of relief measures in near real time it is necessary to
declare early season drought by end of July, mid-season drought (growing
season) by end of September and end season by November.
DROUGHT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
MITIGATION
Judicious use of surface and groundwater
Cloud seeding in drought prone regions of India
Micro irrigation systems
Post-harvest management
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (iwmp)
Crop insurance
Capacity building
Community awareness
RESPONSE AND RELIEF
Contingency plan
Relief employment
Water resource management
Food security
Gratuitous assistance
Relief through tax waivers and concessions
Cattle camps and fodder supply
Health and hygiene
Effective long-term solution for drought is water conservation.

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 PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTIONS
1. The frequency of urban floods due to high intensity rainfall is increasing over the
years. Discussing the reasons for urban floods, highlight the mechanisms for
preparedness to reduce the risk during such events. (2016)
2. With reference to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines,
discuss the measures to be adopted to mitigate the impact of the recent incidents
of cloudbursts in many places of Uttarakhand. (2016)
3. Drought has been recognized as a disaster in view of its spatial expanse,
temporal duration, slow onset and lasting effects on vulnerable sections. With a
focus on the September 2010 guidelines from the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA), discuss the mechanisms for preparedness to deal with likely
El Nino and La Nina fallouts in India. (2014)

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