Disaster Management

There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years whereby major cities have been severely affected. Most recently, Bengaluru was brought to a standstill due to flooding of the city (2022). In the 2020 floods in Hyderabad, thousands of houses were submerged. Similarly, the 2015 Chennai flood was devastating. To combat such occurrences, cities have mostly relied on traditional approaches of flood management termed ‘Grey Infrastructure’. Grey infrastructure refers to structures such as dams, seawalls, roads, pipes, or water treatment plants.

Issues with this traditional approach to flood management:

• The infrastructure often gets overwhelmed during heavy downpours due to the reduced capacity of installed pipelines, flood storage, drawbacks in the operation of pumping stations, and a general lack of maintenance.
• Extreme precipitation events could lead to frequent run-offs, which could exceed the capacities of current urban drainage systems. Therefore, areas along the rivers or the coastlines and inland areas are vulnerable to increased risks of flooding, rising sea levels, and uncertain precipitation patterns.
• The current global issues, such as increased urbanization, higher run-off volumes, and climate change, have put a strain on the existing systems. The problems have particularly escalated in the face of climate change that impacts rainfall patterns, intensities, and their frequencies.
• It becomes difficult to upgrade the existing grey infrastructure with changing dimensions and changing loads.

Therefore, there is a need for alternative approaches to urban flood management. Many cities around the world are adopting nature-based solutions (NBS) that are socio-ecologically sound to reduce the loss of lives and livelihoods from urban floods. These measures can be exercised at both ends of the system, from individuals in households to local government bodies. They include the following:

• Setting up urban forests, terraces, and slopes, open green spaces, and corridors.
• Other components include urban farming and bioretention areas, natural or constructed inland wetlands, river and floodplain restoration, riparian buffer formation or rejuvenating and installing mangroves and salt marshes, based on space availability and the nature of the ambient topography, city site, and size and its socio-economic profile, need to be incorporated.
• Adopting eco-friendly practices from various states/union territories country-wide, such as:

• • Jammu and Kashmir’s eco-restoration policies to fight against climate change.
  • Emphasis on the importance of open spaces within built-up areas, preservation of watersheds and wetlands, reconnecting the floodplains, and afforestation, as done in Guwahati (Assam).
  • Some notable nature-based solutions to combat urban drainage issues and environmental impacts are Bhopal’s Green and Blue Master Plan, Delhi’s Master Plan 2041, Chennai’s ‘Water as Leverage’ initiative, and Pune’s urban agricultural plan.

India’s urban population is expected to reach 814 million by 2050, with the addition of four new megacities by 2030. Therefore, there is an urgent need to recognize and advocate the adoption of NBS at the national level to mitigate urban flooding and include them as crucial components of city Master Plans and urban renewal schemes in India.

With a near doubling of major disaster events over the last 20 years and the impact of climate change on the frequency of disasters, enhanced international cooperation in disaster risk reduction has become an important aspect of international relations.

Significance of international cooperation in disaster risk reduction:

• Critical for reducing the risk: Only half of the 193 members of the World Meteorological Organization have multi-hazard early warning systems. Sharing of data and forecasts on severe weather, monsoons, floods, and tropical cyclones among countries can enable every country to make risk-informed decisions for disaster risk reduction.
• For better post-disaster response: Through coordination and sharing of information, expertise, and resources, countries can help one another during the critical 48 hours following a disaster, when a country’s ability to respond and provide aid on its own could be crippled.
• Crucial for support in the recovery phase: Partnerships and networks in the region can share approaches, tools, technologies, and good practices that can lead to more viable development outcomes during the recovery phase.
• Improvement of diplomatic ties: In addition to the direct benefits, cooperating in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations and response plans can build confidence and improve diplomatic ties in the region.
• Emerging need: As climate change is a cross-border issue, regional cooperation becomes even more important to better deal with natural hazards.

There are various international agencies working together in disaster risk reduction and several initiatives have been taken in this regard such as the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, etc.

India’s role in strengthening regional cooperation for reducing disasters:

• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: India, being its signatory, is committed to achieving a substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses through systematic and institutional efforts.
• Bilateral/ multilateral agreements: India has signed bilateral/ multilateral agreements with several countries for cooperation in the field of disaster management:

• • SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters.
  • India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and has cooperated with various countries like Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland, Russia etc.
• Other organizations: India also has a regional partnership with the SAARC Disaster Management Centre – Interim Unit, Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, and ASEAN Regional Forum.
• Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI): India has set up the CDRI to conduct country-specific and global activities and serve as a platform for generating and exchanging knowledge to facilitate and encourage investment in disaster-resilient infrastructure systems.
• Disaster Risk Management- Indian Ocean Rim Association: The aim is to facilitate and enhance regional cooperation on preparedness and response strategies to fragile and unpredictable situations.

The engagement of multiple stakeholders at the regional level to effectively manage natural disasters would not only help in devising a functional system of collective disaster management but also in achieving sustainable development.