Humanity is struggling with a shortage of water as well as an excess. As the World Health Organization stated, “Floods are increasing in frequency and intensity, and the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation is expected to continue to increase due to climate change.” Last year, devastating floods in Pakistan claimed 1,700 lives and affected 33 million people. The 2013 floods in Uttarakhand, the 2014 floods in the Kashmir Valley, the 2015 floods in Chennai, and the 2017 floods in Gujarat all caused loss of lives and livelihoods and massive damage to infrastructure. This year too, we saw the devastating effects of rain-induced floods and landslides in several districts of Himachal Pradesh. The Yamuna water level crossed the 208.5 metre mark, breaking a 45-year-old record. All these disasters point to the severity of the situation and the urgent need to tackle it.
As per the Geological Survey of India, over 40 million hectares, which is nearly 12% of the total land area of India, is prone to floods. The severity and frequency of floods has especially affected our cities, where there is little effort made in maintaining natural topography. Cities expand fast and mostly in a haphazard manner, which makes them vulnerable to disasters. Flooding affects the economy too — Indian cities are projected to contribute to 75% of the GDP by 2030. India primarily relies on the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the rules made in pursuance of the Act, to deal with flood management. But this law is meant to deal with multi-hazard risks and is not specifically focused on flood risk management. As per the Act, disasters cannot be predicted. This is not entirely correct, especially with respect to the frequency and intensity of floods.
