Season of Floods- Urban Floods in Tamil Nadu

Table of Contents

Urban Floods in Tamil Nadu- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 1: Salient features of world’s physical geography– Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclones, etc.
GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Urban Floods in Tamil Nadu- Context

The ongoing spell of heavy rain in Chennai, Tamil Nadu has again exposed the vulnerability of the city, a coastal metropolis with flat terrain, to floods.
It again raises questions about the Government’s preparedness to deal with the northeast monsoon.

Urban Floods in Tamil Nadu- Associated Issues

Repeated Flooding: Despite stormwater drains and waterways running to about 700 km being cleared in the last four months, no tangible improvement was seen in the problem of inundation.
No significant improvement and learning from the 2015 flooding: Though there is no significant rainfall in these past few days, many parts of the city are inundated with the floods.
Issue of Poor Drainage: In a large urban setting such as Chennai, drainage problems are created due to-
- Shrinking open space,
- the gap between the coverage of the drains and that of sewer lines,
- Ageing drains and sewer networks in core areas of the city, and
- Encroachments or obstructions hampering the free flow of water.

Controlling Urban Floods- Way Forward

Maintaining the Rivers and other water bodies: The city is blessed with a few rivers such as the Cooum and the Adyar, apart from a number of canals including the Buckingham Canal.
- All these water bodies, if properly maintained, can be very effective flood carriers, sparing several residential localities from inundation.
Find long-term solution: Determination to find a long-term solution to the urban flooding problem should not wane during the non-monsoon periods.
Role of Common People: The people residing in the city too should be responsible enough in ensuring that the water bodies and drains are not turned into dumps.

Conclusion

The State Government, which is executing a couple of integrated stormwater drain projects, should look for durable solutions to the city’s long-standing woes and execute them in a short span of time.