The Indian subcontinent receives rains, four months a year. Being an agricultural country, these rains are a blessing. Our culture and traditions have been built around this nature’s gift. Even in modern times, our lives are entangled with the geographical and climatic conditions of our country. However, the same rains which rejuvenate us every year have turned into a curse in as many as twelve out twenty-nine states of our country. This year we have faced a series of floods. The death toll is as high as 200 while millions suffered damage to health, property, cattle and monetary losses. Karnataka and Maharashtra were the most severely affected states. Other states like Kerala, Odhisa, Punjab, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam, and Bihar.
The major reason for the torrential rain in the country was formed in low pressure in the Arabian Sea. On 10 June 2019, Tropical Cyclone VAYU formed over the eastern Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean) and started moving north. On 11 June at 0.00 UTC, its centre was located approximately 310 km west of Malvan (Maharashtra State, western India) with maximum sustained winds of 93 km/h. In anticipation of the tropical cyclone, National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) evacuated over 270,000 people from coastal areas in Gujarat on 12 June.
However, this was true only for coastal states. Floods in inland states were nothing but a result of a lack of infrastructure. Most of them were caused due to overflowing dams and clogged sewers and drainage systems. Last year too Kerala state had suffered from major floods. According to a study by Northeastern University, the state was supposed to be drought as stated by the forecast authorities. Hence, water was released to meet daily needs. However, rains came down hard. The duo effect coupled with the improper drainage doused the state underwater. Auroop Ganguly, a Civil and Environmental Engineer said that,
“It is a gamble to decide when to release water. You should be able to trust the forecast. If you can’t it’s useless”.
Shraddha Patil
Comments