Flood Management in India

Flood Management in India

The flood management project is proposed for the north-eastern states of India, where the floods are an annual problem. The scheme will provide funds to the state government in flood-prone areas to prepare and implement their flood control project, which will help increase the efficiency of the government's response to floods. Thus, it will help restore livelihoods faster after a flood.

At least 43 years after India’s first and last commission on floods was constituted, there is no national-level flood control authority in the country so far. Rashtriya Barh Ayog (RBA), or the National Flood Commission, was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in 1976, to study India’s flood-control measures after the projects launched under the National Flood Control Programme of 1954 failed to achieve much success.

Observations of National Flood Commission

The National Flood Commission in 1980, made 207 recommendations and four broad observations.

1. First, it said there was no increase in rainfall in India and, thus, the increase in floods was due to anthropogenic factors such as deforestation, drainage congestion and badly planned development works.
2. Second, it questioned the effectiveness of the methods adopted to control floods, such as embankments and reservoirs, and suggested that the construction of these structures be halted till their efficacy was assessed.
3. Third, it said there has to be consolidated efforts among the states and the Centre to take up research and policy initiatives to control floods.
4. Fourth, it recommended a dynamic strategy to cope with the changing nature of floods. An analysis of the report suggested that the problem began with the methods of estimating flood-prone areas of the country.

Natural Causes of Flood

The natural causes of floods are climate change, rapid population growth, deforestation, soil erosion, urbanization, and mismanagement of the land.

Climate Change: As the climate changes on our planet, floods are going to happen more frequently and with more intensity than before. Floods not only happen because of massive downpours or hurricane rains, but also because of a breached dam can overflow onto residential neighborhoods.

Skewed Rainfall Pattern: The heavy rains lead to frequent floods. The skewed rainfall pattern across the country and the increased turbulence in the river channels during peak flow have caused floods in many parts of the country.

Trans-National Rivers: The fact that some of the rivers (like Brahmaputra, many tributaries of Ganga) causing damage in India originate in neighboring countries, adds another complex dimension to the problem.

Earthquakes: India gets affected by earthquakes of varying magnitude periodically. These earthquakes lead to the loss of precious lives and properties. An Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI), prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), showed that about 56% area of India is vulnerable to moderate to major earthquakes.

Human Causes of Flood

Infrastructure failures: Floods can be caused by a breaking or failure of infrastructure that can cause large quantities of water to flood a local area.

Development and infrastructure in flood-prone areas: The development and building of infrastructure in flood-prone areas, such as along rivers, near ocean shorelines, or near river deltas, has led to an increase in vulnerability to flooding because the natural resiliency of these ecosystems has been compromised.

Deforestation: When deforestation occurs in a particular area, there are no more trees to help soak up precipitation and reduce waterflow over the landscape. Without these natural protections, there is an increased risk of flooding and erosion whenever it rains.

Impermeable surfaces: In developed areas, such as in urban areas, there is commonly a large amount of impermeable surfaces like roads and other concrete structures that do not allow water to permeate back into the soil.

Bridge constriction: Sometimes, bridges that have been built over rivers can slow the discharge of water and reduce the river’s capacity to hold more water.

Flood embankments: Flood embankments that are intended to increase the water-holding capacity of rivers can potentially prevent flood water from draining back into the rivers during large precipitation events.