Home खास खबर Kerala Flooding: Natural Calamity or Manmade Disaster?

Kerala Flooding: Natural Calamity or Manmade Disaster?

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Disaster of Kerala
DateJuly 2018 – August 2018
LocationKerala, India
CauseHeavy rain
Discharges
Landslide
Deaths483 dead, 15 went missing
Property damage₹40,000 crore (US$4.8 billion) (estimated)

Kerala, a state in southern India, had little cause for celebration as the country was ready to mark its 72nd anniversary of independence. In 2018, the monsoon precipitation exceeded average amounts and became concerning. Districts received 30 percent more rainfall on average, with some districts reporting 70 to 90 percent more.

A bountiful monsoon is considered a gift for India’s agriculture sector. However, severe flooding that ravaged Kerala was caused by multiple periods of excessive and heavy rainfall. Flooding at this level has not happened since 1924, when 2852 mm of rain fell between June and August.

Flooding of this extent has not happened since 1924, when 2852 mm of rain fell between June and August.

By the end of August 2018, there had been over 450 fatalities, over a million buildings destroyed, 10,000 km of highways, and 280 bridges.

Depicting Affected Regions

Approximately 860 km2 of agricultural land, 100 km2 of built-up rural land, and 50 km2 of built-up urban area were shown to be flooded in the maps of flood-impacted areas produced by WRI India utilizing pre- and post-flooding open source satellite imagery and image processing using GIS technology.

After tragedies like these, questions like “are these merely natural calamities or are these man-made disasters?” frequently come to mind. One or the other is not the answer. Even though this was an extraordinary meteorological occurrence, a number of man-made factors, including unsustainable growth, the building of dams, and the destruction of natural infrastructure, further worsened the situation.

Unsustainable Development

Urban floods are real-life examples of the tension that exists between weather-related vulnerability and urban development. As an illustration, consider the two-week shutdown of Cochin International Airport due to floodwaters from the overflowing river that overflowed the runway and breached the perimeter walls.

Furthermore, due to damage, almost 20% of the solar panels at the world’s first solar-powered airport were lost. Due to damage to the airport and the subsequent closure, a total of USD 35 million was lost.

Rising Reserviors

Kerala’s rivers are covered by 53 reservoirs. These are run by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and generate hydropower, which is essential to the state’s economic growth and accounts for over half of Kerala’s electricity consumption.

But because of the state’s unceasing, intense rains, reservoirs upstream and downstream as well as river channels—which, in dry conditions, are capable of absorbing substantial dam releases—were completely full by July. Most of the state is in a high-risk flood zone in the event of reservoir failures or the release of water from upstream catchment dams, which would effect the whole downstream region within an hour. Kerala does not have any flood warning stations, either.

According to a 2017 CAG study, there are no emergency action plans (EAPs) or inundation projections for any of Kerala’s dams that simulate the effects and emergency responses in the case of a dam collapse. Again, Kerala is not the only place where this occurs. According to the CAG report, these EAPs are present in just 7% of India’s major dams.

Although KSEB followed the standard operating procedures of issuing three warnings to district administrators prior to dam release based on inflow-outflow data and heavy rainfall warnings from IMD, local decision-makers were not aware of the potential for cascading flood impacts because the region’s inundation maps and hydrological models were missing.

Loss of Natural Infrastructure

Numerous occurrences of landslides that worsened harm to people and property may be related to widespread development, such as road construction, quarrying, and mining along the Western Ghats’ hillsides.

Evidence from research shows that increased levels of erosion and a discernible shift in the quantity and quality of water are observed in areas where forests are disturbed or replaced with plantations and other silvicultural techniques. In 2011, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) recommended stringent measures to control development and alter the region’s forest cover.

The relevant state administrations and the federal government at the time, however, categorically rejected this, citing the necessity to address the needs of the local population in terms of employment and means of subsistence as well as state economic objectives.

Global Forest Watch analysis demonstrates a notable decline in tree cover between 2001 and 2014. Some of the man-made stress factors for the damage caused by landslides and floods are the removal of forests from the catchment areas of dams, the conversion of these areas to monoculture plantations, and the unlawful construction and farming on slopes higher than thirty degrees.

Flood Risk Resilience

Even though there is no way to totally mitigate the effects of catastrophic flooding occurrences, more preparation and planning can greatly lower the number of casualties and damages to property. A system’s resilience refers to its capacity to withstand, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform, and recover from the consequences of a hazard in a timely and effective manner. This includes using risk management to preserve and restore a system’s fundamental structures and functions.

The Sendai Framework, the Aqueduct Global Flood Analyser, and modeling tools are examples of resources that may be used to prioritize and discuss flood risk management plans and subsequent investments in the state. Scenario simulations under multiple flood return periods can also be employed. Plans for urban and economic growth must increasingly take disaster resilience measures into account for Kerala and other areas vulnerable to severe flooding.

What are the natural causes behind such calamity?

  • An important factor escalating the threat of flooding is climate change.
  • According to global climate change panel forecasts, the Indian subcontinent’s total rainfall is expected to rise by 10% in terms of both quantity and severity by the year 2050.
  • Flooding is caused by a complicated hydrological cascade, of which precipitation is just one component.
  • Extreme weather events, like the record-breaking rainfall and cloudbursts in Kerala this year and in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and Maharashtra earlier, are becoming more frequent.
  • This is partly due to the ongoing degradation of river catchments and heavy siltation of water bodies, which will make these occurrences more common.

What are the man -made factors behind this calamity?

  • Over the past 100 years, Kerala has seen extensive deforestation, unrelenting development, and indiscriminate quarrying, all of which have caused landslides and clogged water channels, increasing the flooding.
  • Nearly all of the 80 or so dams in the areas that surround Kerala are overflowing.
    These states’ governments are unable to come up with a coordinated strategy for getting rid of the extra water.
  • The scenario has worsened and is even impeding rescue and relief efforts due to the incoherent flow of water from dams in Kerala and the neighboring states.

Rescue

Rescue operation at government level.

Kerala Chief Secretary met with senior officers of the Defense Services, NDRF, NDMA, and Secretaries of Civilian Ministries on instructions from ISRO. The center started extensive rescue and relief efforts after making choices during these meetings. In one of the biggest rescue operations, more than 500 boats and the essential equipment were called into duty, along with 40 helicopters, 31 airplanes, 182 rescue teams, 18 defense force medical teams, 90 NDRF teams, and 3 companies of Central Armed Police Forces.The government carried out several rescue missions and gave people in need the materials they needed.

Rescue operation by public

As Control Centers that coordinated assistance and support across multiple areas, WhatsApp groups quickly emerged.The vast majority of people participated in various ways in organizing supplies and aid materials, which contributed to the nation’s ability to maintain peace.

Rescue operation by fishermen

The government estimates that 669 fishing boats from 4,537 fishing villages in the districts of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram took part in the rescue mission. More than 65,000 individuals were rescued by them from different regions. Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister, honored the fishermen. According to Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma, the government will finance the repair of fishing boats that sustained partial damage during the rescue efforts, and new boats will be supplied for those that were entirely destroyed. Estimates indicate that 452 vessels were partially wrecked and seven were entirely destroyed.

What measures are needed to address such calamities?

  • Every place that is vulnerable to flooding needs a flood code with readily deployable plans for dealing with flooding, similar to the current drought code.
  • Floods do appear to have become a regular part of the monsoon season, thus the government’s protocol needs to include adequate flood-proofing measures.
  • While barrages and dams are constructed to prevent floods in other nations, in India they often have the reverse effect due to improper management of the impounded waters.
  • This has made it necessary to significantly improve the accuracy and dependability of weather and flood forecasting systems in order to alert municipal authorities to approaching disasters and enable prompt rescue efforts.

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