Question : Urban Flood Management

(a) whether urban flooding has acquired extraordinary dimensions and poses a great challenge to urban planners;

(b) whether the frequency of urban floods has increased in the country;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has organised workshop on ‘‘Urban Flood Mitigation-Lessons Learnt and Roadmap for Future’’ in the recent past; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the details of suggestions shared by various participants for mitigation of urban floods in the country?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (e):- Increasing trend of urban flooding poses a great challenge, resulting in cities being inundated from a few hours to several days. Therefore, the impact is widespread, including temporary relocation of people, damage to civic amenities, deterioration of water quality and risk of epidemics.
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LS.US.Q.NO.2896 FOR 16.03.2016
There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years whereby major cities in India have been severely affected. Cities such as Mumbai (2005), Surat (2006), Guwahati (2010), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2015) have witnessed major urban floods resulting in human lives losses and damage to infrastructure.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) organised a two-day Workshop on the theme “Urban Flood Mitigation-Lessons Learnt and Roadmap for Future” on 12th and 13th February, 2016 in New Delhi. The Workshop covered the following aspects of Urban Flood and Mitigation & Management:-
(i) Urban Land Use Planning and Urban Flood Mitigation
(ii) Early Warning System and Real Time Rainfall/ Cyclone monitoring and flood forecasting in mega cities
(iii) Flood forecasting and Reservoir Management
(iv) Urban Flooding in the context of changing climate.
(v) Drainage Issues – Sustainable drainage systems/ Best practices / City drainage master plans.
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