Assam floods: Drainage congestion and choking of local water bodies are largely responsible for urban flooding, says river specialist.
The Assam floods experts suggest are due to “climate change, population growth, poor planning, and receding rivers” Drainage congestion and choking of local water bodies are largely responsible for urban flooding, says river specialist Pradip Pujari.
Here are videos shared by netizens of the horrors of the 2022 Assam floods
Heart wrenching video of #AssamFloods 😭😭😭
#AssamFloods2022 Emergency help needed in Assam pic.twitter.com/ljMpubjtf1— MAHREEN KHAN (@MAHREENKHAN786) June 27, 2022
All media platforms are now concentrating on Assam. Great! That's exactly what is needed.
But they're not expected to roam arround vacationing MLA's who're spending maybe a million/day together. There are other priorities that needs the nation's attention. #AssamFloods2022 pic.twitter.com/SpV0jOGe2M— Jinu (@Jinu_twts) June 24, 2022
Year after year, Assam is ravaged by floods and nothing much has been done to change this. Experts say faulty flood control measures, population pressure, shrinkage of water bodies, and unregulated construction have made the situation worse.
Experts have pointed out that floods in the two river basins of Brahmaputra and Barak have occurred in the past, but the unprecedented destruction witnessed in recent years can be primarily attributed to faulty flood control measures, population pressure, shrinkage of water bodies, unregulated construction, and lopsided development strategies.
“Flood predictions and early warnings do not reach the vulnerable population on occasions”, said Environmental scientist Dr. Partha Jyoti Das in an interview with PTI.
While the devastating floods hit Assam yearly where life comes to a complete standstill in Assam, pummeled by merciless rain triggering landslides and floods, the intensity of which has only been increasing with more death and destruction to property.
The growing population and construction in flood areas may have affected Assam’s flood devastation.
Environmental scientist Dr Partha Jyoti Das told PTI that the devastating floods in May and June have taken immense areas of countryside under its grip this time when compared to the last few years, and the toll registered in the early-monsoon deluge has not been this high in the recent memory.
“Growing population and construction in flood-prone areas are some of the reasons behind the burgeoning damage in the state. In several places, breach of embankments has caused widespread destruction. Add to that, frequent flash floods leave people with little time to protect life and property,” he explained.
Flood predictions and early warnings do not reach the vulnerable population on occasions, thus giving them no scope for preparations, the environmentalist said.
“Drainage congestion in low-lying areas, which is a result of rapidly changing land-use practices, the fast pace of urbanization and expansion of human habitat all around, at the cost of natural waterways, have also intensified the flood situation,” Das said.
The recent floods in Assam have ravished the state, claiming over 174 lives, besides damaging crops across 2,35,845.74 hectares and five million people affected according to a spokesperson of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Brahmaputra basin is among the most flood-prone areas in the world
An official of the Water Resources Department stated that the Brahmaputra basin is among the most flood-prone areas in the world, followed closely by the Barak, and with nearly 100 tributaries and sub-tributaries feeding them, the two rivers make 40 percent of Assam helpless during the floods.
A series of factors, both natural and anthropogenic, add to the woes, he said.
“Highly potent monsoons, seismic activities leading to a change in the course of the river and rise in the river bed, and the unique geo-environmental setting of the rivers, particularly the Brahmaputra basin in the Eastern Himalayas, are some of the reasons why the flood situation keeps deteriorating in Assam,” the official added.
Faults in the drainage system of Assam
Urban flooding in places such as Silchar, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Nalbari, and Tinsukia has also laid bare the faults in the drainage system of the state.
Drainage congestion and choking of local water bodies, which had earlier served as an outlet for flood waters, are largely responsible for urban flooding, river specialist Pradip Pujari told PTI.
Deforestation and dynamiting hills add to flood situations
Assam University’s former professor of environmental science Dr Abhik Gupta said hill cutting and deforestation, along with climate change, compound flood problems.
Das said a combination of strategies is being discussed by authorities to find a permanent solution.
Water Resources engineers have always advocated the construction of large storage reservoirs but this is fraught with risk, considering the geo-ecological fragility of the region, he maintained.
“Non-structural measures like issuance of flood warnings can play an important role in reducing damages. Use of geo-synthetics for fortifying embankments is also being considered as an option,” he said.
Das, however, asserted that people might still have to put up with floods, at least to a certain extent, despite the adoption of all possible measures to minimise the scourge, as “technological fixes have certain limitations against natural processes”.
“Reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience while taking into account the impact of climate change should be at the core of flood management along with the exploration for a feasible technological solution,” he added.
Harteerath Singh Ahluwalia said, “Countless scars, bruises, rashes on the skin and sleepless nights yet we remain in Chardikala because the light of Guru Nanak is seen in all the people of #Assam no matter what their religion is.”
#AssamFloods: Countless scars, bruises, rashes on the skin and sleepless nights yet we remain in Chardikala because the light of Guru Nanak is seen in all the people of #Assam no matter what their religion is. #AssamFloods2022 pic.twitter.com/bjg8Vs7Yd1
— Harteerath Singh Ahluwalia (@HarteerathSingh) June 26, 2022