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Flood UPSC | Floods and droughts | Geography of India| UPSC | UP-PCS | State PCS

Table of Contents:
  • What is a flood?
  • Cause of flood in India
  • Flood-affected areas
  • Impact of Flood
  • Way to tackle flood

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges the areas that cause the loss of life and economy. A flood can be from a river flood, a dam burst, cyclonic flood, ocean storms, etc. In India, a flood is mainly caused by monsoon bursts in low-lying areas. 
Flood in urban cities because of poor planning as per a UN report poor planning in Urban areas causes a 3 % GDP loss every year
The following are the reasons for the flood:

  • Climate Change:
    • Uncertainty in Monsoon: 
      • Heavy rainfall in a very short duration of time causes floods in low-lying areas.
    • Cyclonic rainfall also causes the flood
  • Encroachment of flood room areas
  • Unplanned and unscientific mining in hilly areas causes the silting of drainage channel bed causing a reduction in the depth of the river bed and as a result overflow of the river cause flood in surrounding areas.
  • Unplanned construction in Urban areas such as colonies, transportation infrastructure, concretization utilization of areas, and improper solid waste management in urban areas leads to choking of natural and human-made drainage channels that lead to floods. 
  • Deforestation leads to soil erosion and a reduction in flood areas causes the flood.
  • Mismanagement of Dam water; Dam managers wait to fill the dam then they release water. Heavy rain and dam discharge at the same time cause the flood.


Impact of the flood:
Flood is one of the major hazards in India affecting a major part of the population both economically and psychologically.
The impact of the flood is multidimensional:

  • It badly harmed the tourism sector
  • Loss of lives and cattle
  • Damage of Infrastructure
  • Create Psychological stress or trauma among vulnerable groups such as children, Women, etc.
  • Waste management and cleanliness challenge
  • The outbreak of some communicable diseases such as Dengue, Malaria, Cholera, etc.
  • Cascading effects like Infection and absence of care for pregnant women and old people.

 

Way to flood management

Climate-resilient water management is a good way to manage floods.;

  • Need best available information for decision making such as Flood hazard mapping
  • Reliable Weather forecasting
  • Robust management of catchment water
  • Safety dam code
  • Buffer areas for rivers
  • New intermediary storage


The government of India generally focuses on the compensation part not the prevention of floods.


Try to solve the following questions:
  • Account for the growing frequency and intensity of floods in India and suggest short-and long-term remedial measures indicating the chronically flood-prone areas. ( UPSC 2015, 250 words, 20 marks)

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