Addressing Urban Floods in Indian Cities - Bridging Inequities for Enhanced Resilience

Reducing flood vulnerability can play a significant role in reducing inequity among the urban poor even if exposed to recurrent floods. Article by Dr Debolina Kundu and Vaishnavi T. G. Shankar stresses on the investment in well-designed storm water drains, upgraded housing infrastructure, and improved access to basic services. It is not merely an infrastructure upgrade; it is a vital step towards ensuring safety, well-being, and future sustainability of marginalized communities. As cities evolve, prioritizing the resilience of those who are most vulnerable becomes not only a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity for building a more inclusive and resilient urban landscape.

- Dr Debolina Kundu & Vaishnavi T. G. Shankar

Flooding has increasingly become one of the significant climate risks experienced by Indian cities in the last few years. The mortality due to flooding doubled from 1282 in 2021 to 2035 in 2022. The economic losses also increased from USD3.1 billion to USD4.2 billion in this period (CRED 2021; 2022). Cities in particular have high risk to flood-related losses and damages due to the high density of population, intensity of socio-economic activities, and coverage of built infrastructure. The 2005 flooding in Mumbai resulted in 500 fatalities and an economic loss of USD2 billion (Ranger, Hallegatte, Bhattacharya, et al. 2010). In 2015, a severe flooding in Chennai resulted in the loss of over 280 lives, and caused USD2 billion of damages and losses.

India's urban population is projected to increase 40% by 2030 with 75% contribution to the national gross domestic product or GDP (MOHUA 2015). At the same time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C highlights that India is projected to experience more cyclones with high-intensity storms and has higher risk to extreme rainfall.

Both these situations can increase the frequency and intensity of flooding. In this context and considering the socio-economic significance of cities, building urban flood resilience is of utmost priority.

However, an understanding of flood vulnerability stemming from urban growth is essential to build resilience.

Development such as construction in low-lying areas, interference with natural drainage and floodplains, and inefficient storm water network, are major contributors to flooding in cities.