Prevention Floods

Can India learn some lessons from China in disaster management? The answer may not be wholly in the affirmative because the track record of that country in this field is not entirely impeccable. But one of the recent Chinese moves in this direction is worth looking at. Last week, it launched two satellites meant exclusively for natural disaster monitoring. India, on the other hand, has at least eight major flood-prone river valleys, spread over 40 million hectares and inhabited by over 260 million people. But they still lack fool-proof arrangements to forecast floods, leave alone controlling them. What is often ignored is that unlike earthquakes, which are neither predictable nor preventable, the floods are easily foreseeable and can be averted in most cases. The floods in Bihar were allowed to ravage the lives of millions of people before they could be rescued. Though the vulnerability of the Kosi embankments as well as the dam on the river in Nepal was known to the authorities, little action was taken to either rebuild them or create a relief reservoir upstream to reduce the water load. Also, the true cause of the disaster, the accumulating silt that has raised the riverbed and reduced its water holding capacity, has remained unaddressed. This apart, the Brahmaputra river, which is also currently in spate, is another instance exposing the chinks in our disaster management system. The regular frequency of the devastation caused by flooding in the valley of this mighty river, with no signs of any decline in the annual losses of life and property, is clear evidence of poor management of this river system.

This is the state of affairs in spite of having in place an apparently formidable natural disaster management infrastructure. India is indeed one of the few countries with national disaster management legislation. It has also created a national disaster management authority (NDMA) headed by no less a person than the prime minister. Besides, there is a national crisis management committee headed by the cabinet secretary. In addition, there are eight battalions of the national disaster relief force comprising roughly 10,000 men trained in rescue and relief operations. But when it comes to activation of this giant machinery for timely and rapid action on the ground, it is invariably found wanting. This is borne out by the Kosi calamity, where it took several days to press an adequate number of boats and other services to rescue the affected people and bring them to the relief camps. Luckily, mobilising relief material is seldom a problem in India. But the delivery system is weak, marked by inefficiencies and, more appallingly, leakages. Also lacking is a well-conceived long-term strategy for mitigating and preventing floods. The planning for this purpose has to necessarily include measures to reduce the silting of riverbeds, as also to minimise habitation in the extended river beds and highly flood-prone tracts. Most importantly, the flood forewarning system needs to be revamped and suitably strengthened so that it can issue timely alerts not only for the authorities but also for the people who may be affected. It is in this key area that space technology can be of immense help.