Flood preparedness

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the onset of “slightly delayed” South West monsoon in Kerala on June 4. This is also a reminder for the people living in floodplains in Assam to prepare for annual floods. Multiple waves of floods claimed 179 human lives last year, the highest toll over the period from 2012 until 2022. Losses due to flood damage and destruction of houses, properties, and infrastructure last year were estimated at Rs 10,000 crore. For poor and marginalised individual households affected by recurring annual floods, the losses accumulate and lead to the erosion of savings, which pushes them into perpetual poverty. While post-flood rescue and rehabilitation dominate the disaster discourse and disaster management, the preparations of the community for ravaging annual floods that can go a long way in reducing losses are the elephant in the room. Flood-hit people taking shelter in relief camps or sheds on embankments or highways in many affected areas without managing to bring food, clothes, or other household goods is a common image during floods every year in the state. Camp inmates remain without food until relief is provided by the district administration or any non-government organisation. This is a pointer to the lack of preparedness by the affected people for displacement on account of the submergence of their areas by flood water. About 40% of the state’s total area is flood-prone, but flood plain zones have not been demarcated to regulate encroachment and construction activities in these areas during non-flood periods to minimise flood damage. Once the settlement grows in size, the only viable option for the government is to construct an embankment to protect the settlement, which adds to the cost of flood management. Besides, embankments that have outlived their span are prone to breaches, which make people living near the embankment vulnerable to flooding. Breaches in embankments lead to sudden gushing of flood waters and quick submergence of vast areas as the river virtually starts flowing through the breach. The preparations for floods by people living near embankments, therefore, need to be prioritised in community-based disaster management. The Assam Disaster Management Plan 2022 has highlighted the problem of floods not only coming early to the state but also staying longer. It also mentions unusual rainfall becoming more common with climate change, which calls for a strategic shift in flood management and educating the communities living along the flood plains about the changing pattern of rainfall and associated flood incidence. The disaster management plan lists a comprehensive response plan, which is well structured and meticulous. Being located in a high seismic zone, assessing the preparation for twin disasters occurring simultaneously during several months of floods is a vital need that must not be overlooked. Dissemination of early warnings of floods and dam-induced floods has improved in the state and spreads faster through social media, but the state still lacks mechanisms for pre-disaster evacuation of people and livestock to safety. Construction of temporary shelters needs to be explored to facilitate people’s temporary shifts following an early warning of a flood or storm. This will also encourage people to shift some of their personal belongings to temporary shelters and thereby minimise the loss of property in floods. Such shelters can therefore help build the flood resilience of people, as their savings would not be eroded by buying household goods every year after being lost in multiple waves of floods. This will also help mobilise the capital required for their agricultural investment to boost production and make up for the loss of standing crops. The concept of raised platforms in flood-affected villages was initiated with the same concept of disaster management, although it was poorly implemented. Expanding the idea of raised platforms into a temporary, low-cost mass accommodation with proper sanitation facilities will address the limitation of raised platforms without the basic amenities. This will also prevent disruption of academic activities due to the opening of relief camps, provided safe water transport from shelter houses to educational institutions can be arranged for students and teachers. Adoption of flood-resilient housing architecture, such as that of traditional Changgahrs of the Misings, is seen in the construction of official buildings on flood-prone Majuli River Island, but its adoption in building private houses can go a long way in averting property loss. Innovative ideas can flow if the government initiates month-long preparation by the communities on all aspects of floods and other disasters, such as making a disaster bag ready for every member of the house with food items, clothes, and other essential items. Having a fixed date to conduct drills of picking up the bags by all adult members and taking extra care for minor members and sharing it through social media can create a buzz about the importance of the participation of every single member of the community in flood preparedness.