Biggest lesson from Kerala: The developmental agenda should be sustainable
6 years, 4 months ago

Biggest lesson from Kerala: The developmental agenda should be sustainable

Hindustan Times  

“Many cities are caught in a ‘perfect storm’ of population growth, escalating adaptation needs and substantial development deficits created by a shortage of human and financial resources, increasing levels of informality, poor governance, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, poverty and growing inequality”, noted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2014. Residents collect food and water from a truck distributing relief materials to those stranded by floods in Pandanad in Alappuzha district, Kerala, August 21, 2018 The 2018 floods in Kerala have no parallels in the state’s recent history; the last such was in 1924. Reclaiming of wetlands, conversion of paddy fields and alteration of flood plains are the most widely accepted reasons for flooding, as in the case of the Cochin International Airport, which had to be closed due to water logging. It is ironic that the airport has been awarded with the highest environmental honour ‘Champion of Earth Prize -2018’ by the United Nations, for its operations based on solar power, with panels installed on reclaimed wetlands and former paddy fields.

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History of this topic

I’ll show you who’s boss: Mother Nature
5 months, 1 week ago

I’ll show you who’s boss: Mother Nature

Deccan Chronicle  

The natural disaster was not just an isolated event, but a stark reminder of the fragile balance between human development and the environment. Dr. Madhav Gadgil, an ecologist and the chair of the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel, has repeatedly cautioned that disrupting natural drainage systems makes regions like Wayanad more vulnerable to flooding and landslides. We’ve ignored the warnings …

The Supreme Court of India spells the way in Himalaya’s development
6 months, 3 weeks ago

The Supreme Court of India spells the way in Himalaya’s development

The Hindu  

It is a well-established fact that the Indian Himalayan Region is both India’s water tower and also the critical provider of invaluable ecosystem goods and services. In view of some of the recent judgments of the Supreme Court of India, we seem to be headed towards a more robust rights-based regime where sustainable development would be a fundamental right. In …

Understanding and tackling urban floods in India
10 months, 1 week ago

Understanding and tackling urban floods in India

Hindustan Times  

Given their frequent recurrence in Indian cities, the problem of urban flooding is gaining focus in policy discussions. Indeed, urban floods can cause massive loss of infrastructure, property, and lives, and have a substantial economic impact. To ensure they remain functional and secure, Indian cities must tackle the issue of floods by examining the urban over-densification problem and adopting innovative …

Sikkim floods a natural disaster? Activists question the role of ongoing hydel projects along Teesta
1 year, 3 months ago

Sikkim floods a natural disaster? Activists question the role of ongoing hydel projects along Teesta

The Hindu  

With roads and bridges washed away and rescue teams yet to reach the epicentre of the north Sikkim flash floods, activists who have opposed the construction of large hydel projects on river Teesta are refusing to call the tragedy only a natural disaster. This led the water in river Teesta to rise abnormally and swept away several areas including the …

2018, India's Official Oscars Entry, A Grim Reminder of Kerala Floods
1 year, 3 months ago

2018, India's Official Oscars Entry, A Grim Reminder of Kerala Floods

News 18  

India on Wednesday announced survival drama 2018 as the official entry for the 2024 Academy Awards, officially acknowledging the Malayalam film’s status as both a critical and box office hit. The film, starring Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain and Lal and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, is based on the devastating floods in Kerala in 2018 …

5 years after floods, is Kerala equipped for heavy rain?
1 year, 4 months ago

5 years after floods, is Kerala equipped for heavy rain?

Hindustan Times  

On August 15, 2018, 40-year-old Jijo Abraham was across the Indian Ocean in Muscat, but his eyes were glued to visuals from Kerala. Five years later, Jijo’s two storey home, white and brown with a green roof still stands, but carries the markers of the Kerala’s “nootandile pralayam” that claimed lives of 480 and affected over five million people, swallowing …

Revisiting Kerala’s 2018 ‘flood of the century’
1 year, 4 months ago

Revisiting Kerala’s 2018 ‘flood of the century’

Hindustan Times  

On August 15, 2018, 40-year-old Jijo Abraham was across the Indian Ocean in Muscat, but his eyes were glued to visuals from Kerala. Five years later, Jijo’s two-storey home, white and brown with a green roof still stands, but carries the markers of the Kerala’s “nootandile pralayam” that claimed 480 lives and affected over five million people, swallowing homes, panchayat …

Discussion puts spotlight on Majuli, Assam’s shrinking river island
2 years, 1 month ago

Discussion puts spotlight on Majuli, Assam’s shrinking river island

The Hindu  

A panel discussion at the India International Centre in Delhi put the spotlight on Assam’s Majuli, one of the largest river islands in the world which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformation over the years. The conversations centred around Slow Disaster: Political Ecology of Hazards and Everyday Life in the Brahmaputra Valley, an ethnographic account of the challenges faced by the …

Data and dams: How Kerala cracked flood management | Data Point podcast
2 years, 4 months ago

Data and dams: How Kerala cracked flood management | Data Point podcast

The Hindu  

In 2018, Kerala saw one of the worst floods in its history. Monsoon rains are not a new phenomenon for Kerala, but what threw Kerala’s flood management department off in 2018, was the fact that it was still raining in August, by which time the rain’s intensity should have subsided. But this time, the State analysed flood and dam data, …

Climate change, poor planning: Decoding Assam’s mounting flood ferocity
2 years, 6 months ago

Climate change, poor planning: Decoding Assam’s mounting flood ferocity

The Hindu  

Every year, around this time, life comes to a complete standstill in Assam, pounded by relentless rain and subsequent landslides and floods, the intensity of which have only been on the rise, leading to increased loss of lives and property. Experts have pointed out that floods in the two river basins of Brahmaputra and Barak have occurred since yore but …

Analysis | Kerala yet to get its basics right on tackling natural disasters
3 years, 2 months ago

Analysis | Kerala yet to get its basics right on tackling natural disasters

The Hindu  

Kerala, it appears, has failed to take a leaf out of the two back-to-back floods it had in 2018 and 2019 and the landslides which left a trail of destruction. As it once again reels under the fury of nature, disaster management experts feel the State has not got its basics right when it comes to vulnerability mapping and mitigation …

Kerala floods: The impact of the climate crisis on India’s vulnerable ecology
3 years, 2 months ago

Kerala floods: The impact of the climate crisis on India’s vulnerable ecology

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: Kerala saw three devastating floods in four years that together killed at least 600 people and wiped out entire habitations, drawing the world’s attention to how the climate crisis is impacting ecologically vulnerable parts of India. On October 14, the India Meteorological Department warned that two low-pressure areas — one over east-central and the adjoining southeast Arabian Sea, …

Interview | Even after several flood disasters in Kerala, politicians’ mindset has not changed towards developmental projects, says geoscientist
3 years, 2 months ago

Interview | Even after several flood disasters in Kerala, politicians’ mindset has not changed towards developmental projects, says geoscientist

The Hindu  

“The mindset of politicians in their approach to development projects has not changed even after several flood disasters in the recent past in Kerala,” says C. P. Rajendran, geoscientist and Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, in an e-mail interview to The Hindu as the State continues to reel under the effects of flood and rain havoc. Even …

Uttarakhand Tragedy: Cost of ‘Development’ & Climate Change
3 years, 11 months ago

Uttarakhand Tragedy: Cost of ‘Development’ & Climate Change

The Quint  

For years environmentalists have been crying themselves hoarse about the model of development being followed in these fragile mountainscapes, and yet the advice has fallen on deaf years. Their river had been imprisoned and they wanted her to flow unfettered else they predicted many disasters would unfold. At Chamoli, the epicentre of today’s crisis, I had met Chandi Prasad Bhatt, …

The nation learning to embrace flooding
4 years, 1 month ago

The nation learning to embrace flooding

BBC  

The nation learning to embrace flooding Getty Images Flooding is a regular part of life in Dhaka, but the city is being adapted to survive the more extreme floods of the future As climate change is set to make flooding worse in Bangladesh, researchers are racing to find adaptations that balance their restorative and destructive powers. “The water shoots out.” …

A long-term, climate-resilient development pathway should guide India’s development
4 years, 6 months ago

A long-term, climate-resilient development pathway should guide India’s development

Hindustan Times  

In May, India faced a double whammy – a super cyclone, Amphan, even as the country struggled with coronavirus disease. A United Nations report on economic losses and disasters estimates that in last 20 years India has lost US$ 79.5 billion due to climate-related disasters This is worrisome. A United Nations report on economic losses and disasters estimates that in …

Flood and Fury: New book analyses how myopic industries, govts facilitated the Kerala calamity in 2018
5 years, 4 months ago

Flood and Fury: New book analyses how myopic industries, govts facilitated the Kerala calamity in 2018

Firstpost  

Journalist Viju B’s new book, Flood and Fury: Ecological Devastation in the Western Ghats, is an important and engaging read weaving together data with the actual ground situation. The book shows that Kerala is paying the price for changing land-use patterns drastically, adding to the ecological fragility, while the sage advice in Dr Madhav Gadgil’s Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel …

Kochi: People along flood path areas are in fear of displacement
5 years, 4 months ago

Kochi: People along flood path areas are in fear of displacement

Deccan Chronicle  

KOCHI: The recurring floods will have a serious social impact on the people living close to Chalakudy and Periyar rivers. Families depending on the river, paddy fields or canals for livelihood are the worst-affected as flooding has dampened the prospects of all kinds of farming. Over 125 people, including local residents, representatives of the panchayat and Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation, …

Kerala floods updates: Red alert in 8 districts, death toll rises to 46
5 years, 5 months ago

Kerala floods updates: Red alert in 8 districts, death toll rises to 46

India Today  

Massive rains over the last two days in Kerala have led to many deaths and caused a landslide in Nilambur region of Malappuram district, in which reportedly over 40 people are stranded. #WATCH Pregnant woman rescued in flood-hit Palakkad district's Agali, in Kerala pic.twitter.com/hWcdvdkPYC ANI August 10, 2019 5:40 pm: Death toll in Kerala rises to 46 Kozhikode: 12 Wayanad: …

Ecological perils of discounting the future
5 years, 6 months ago

Ecological perils of discounting the future

The Hindu  

In a report last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India called the Chennai floods of 2015 a “man made disaster”, a pointer to how the encroachment of lakes and river floodplains has driven India’s sixth largest city to this ineluctable situation. The State’s “topography and rainfall pattern have made tank irrigation an ideal type of irrigation by storing …

A watery tale: Six floods that rocked India
5 years, 6 months ago

A watery tale: Six floods that rocked India

India TV News  

Every year, India becomes a dichotomy -- of two strikingly opposite weather conditions. Floods, as much as droughts, are a common occurrence in India, more prominently during the southwest monsoon season -- from June to September -- and the northeast monsoon season -- from October to November. India has survived several devastating floods -- which in their prime led to …

NUALS Kochi Holds Workshop On Rebuilding Disaster Resilient Kerala
5 years, 10 months ago

NUALS Kochi Holds Workshop On Rebuilding Disaster Resilient Kerala

Live Law  

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi under the auspices of its Centre for Environment and Law organised a Workshop on 'Developing a Robust Environmental Conservation Law and Policy Framework for Rebuilding Disaster Resilient Kerala' on March 8th, 2019 at the NUALS campus in Kalamassery, considering the devastating deluge and its after-effects that had. The National University of Advanced …

Kerala Floods 2018: 2 months later, a tentative recovery
6 years, 2 months ago

Kerala Floods 2018: 2 months later, a tentative recovery

Live Mint  

Vythiri/Kainakary: On 3 August, a fortnight before large parts of Kerala went under water, Naseema Kallithingal’s siblings fixed her wedding to be held in the upcoming month. The most devastating floods to hit Kerala in a century ruined Naseema’s wedding plans when it washed away the roof and most of the walls of her house. Yet, the floods shadow people’s …

Kerala slowly picks up pieces after devastating floods
6 years, 3 months ago

Kerala slowly picks up pieces after devastating floods

Hindustan Times  

Thankamma needs to get to Kottayam. The tourism ministry, whose revenue in 2017 was 10% of the state’s GDP, estimates a loss of ₹1,000 crore worth of business till December due to cancellations. On September 15, state finance minister Thomas Isaac tweeted that the centre “would hardly foot the bill.” “One is revenue expenditure, which includes repair and maintenance of …

Flood-hit Kerala training ground for IAS aspirants
6 years, 4 months ago

Flood-hit Kerala training ground for IAS aspirants

Deccan Chronicle  

Alappuzha: The flood-hit areas in the state appear to be a good training ground for the civil service aspirants. Around 40 youngsters aged between 16 and 25, who are undergoing training at an institution named Chanakyamandal Parivar in Pune, have landed in Kainakary panchayat and cleaned the flooded government offices on Thursday. Many of them want to join the Indian …

Opinion | In Kerala, dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t
6 years, 4 months ago

Opinion | In Kerala, dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t

Live Mint  

The rain in Kerala this monsoon has been relentless. In particular, two episodes of deluge—the first in June and the second in August—tipped the balance from normal to disastrous, with the excess rain being carried in torrents to the Arabian Sea by Kerala’s rivers. On the back of two weeks of incessant rain, for the single 24-hour period starting 15 …

Coastal flooding: Another threat to Kerala and global growth
6 years, 4 months ago

Coastal flooding: Another threat to Kerala and global growth

Live Mint  

Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, warned recently that the rising temperatures in the Arabian sea has made states such as Kerala and Karnataka increasingly vulnerable to cyclones, and he is not alone in expressing such concerns. A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by Klaus Desmet and others suggests that coastal flooding will disrupt the global …

Kerala, After The Flood: For rehabilitation efforts to bear fruit, state's developmental policies need drastic changes
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala, After The Flood: For rehabilitation efforts to bear fruit, state's developmental policies need drastic changes

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: Described as one of the worst since 1924 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the rains in Kerala have left over 350 dead and rendered thousands of people homeless. The government and agencies involved in rehabilitation work often consider the task a project to ensure the bare minimum to those affected — i.e minimum quantity of water supply, sanitation …

Kerala, After The Flood: India should focus on disaster-proof housing, insurance, not take recourse to jugaad
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala, After The Flood: India should focus on disaster-proof housing, insurance, not take recourse to jugaad

Firstpost  

The Kerala experience must remind that it’s time India looked seriously at disaster proof housing to secure homes and property from shocks, mudslides and flooding, while also making disaster insurance compulsory Editor’s Note: Described as one of the worst since 1924 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the rains in Kerala have left over 350 dead and rendered thousands of people …

Shobhaa's Take: So much to learn from God's own country'
6 years, 4 months ago

Shobhaa's Take: So much to learn from God's own country'

Deccan Chronicle  

Subramaniam has been with our family for close to 40 years. When the floods struck Kerala with the sort of fury the state has not experienced before, I expected Subramaniam to be most agitated and ask for leave to go home and help his extended family. But even here, alert social media watchdogs were quick to call out people like …

Kerala, After The Flood: Pinarayi Vijayan says Centre should treat state on different yardstick for extending aid
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala, After The Flood: Pinarayi Vijayan says Centre should treat state on different yardstick for extending aid

Firstpost  

Giving a detailed account of the havoc caused by the devastating floods and landslides since early August, Vijayan said the preliminary assessment of losses was around Rs 20,000 crore which was equal to the state’s annual plan size for 2018-19. Giving a detailed account of the havoc caused by the devastating floods and landslides since early August, he said the …

Kerala floods and their far-reaching impact: Nature offers small reminders when its limits are crossed by man
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala floods and their far-reaching impact: Nature offers small reminders when its limits are crossed by man

Firstpost  

While it’s true that Kerala has received unprecedented rainfall this year causing water levels to rise abnormally and dams to overflow, many are blaming the floods on man-made mistakes which have destroyed the ecological balance. The protesters of 2011 will now be repenting their mistakes in the aftermath of the flood that has taken over 400 lives and has likely …

Our understanding of the dynamics of risks of disasters is still far from comprehensive
6 years, 4 months ago

Our understanding of the dynamics of risks of disasters is still far from comprehensive

Hindustan Times  

The devastating flood in Kerala has claimed more than 400 lives, besides damaging 8,000-plus houses and a vast network of infrastructure. A bicycle is hung from a tree branch to avoid being washed away in flood waters as a man rows with his country boat, Kuttanad, Alappuzha, Kerala, August 20 First, floods are the most common and recurrent natural disaster …

Kerala flood: Some lessons to learn
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala flood: Some lessons to learn

Hindustan Times  

It was the highest rainfall and worst flood in nearly a century in Kerala. Its approach to the crisis, execution of plans, participation of social groups or local expertise in rescue and relief operations, and roles played by political leaders are lessons on flood management which, at some stage, ought to be studied and codified. The task was/is daunting: more …

Rising above adversity: Signs of hope in Kerala
6 years, 4 months ago

Rising above adversity: Signs of hope in Kerala

Deccan Chronicle  

The worst floods in a century in Kerala have left hundreds of people dead, many missing and lakhs taking shelter in relief camps. A college-going girl from Thrissur, who had faced vicious online trolling when the media reported that she travelled long distances to sell fish for a living, has contributed Rs 1.5 lakh to the Kerala chief minister’s disaster …

Kerala wake-up call on growth & development
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala wake-up call on growth & development

Deccan Chronicle  

The images of floods and mudslides in Kerala, known as “God’s own country”, should be a wake-up call we should ask ourselves if we are on a sustainable development path. “Development” was genetically engineered into an economic/political concept on January 20, 1949 when US President Harry Truman, in his inaugural speech, declared the former Southern Hemisphere colonies drained of their …

400 dead. Crores lost. The cost of the Kerala floods
6 years, 4 months ago

400 dead. Crores lost. The cost of the Kerala floods

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Battered by torrential rains, Kerala is witnessing the worst floods in a century. The second spell of monsoon fury since 8 August worsened the situation, as heavy rains for days compelled the administration to open the shutters of the dams, which led to flooding, leaving low-lying areas submerged. The India Meteorological Department said Idukki and Palakkad districts have …

Centre declares Kerala floods ‘Level-3’ calamity; demand to call it ‘national disaster’ either ignorance or mischief
6 years, 4 months ago

Centre declares Kerala floods ‘Level-3’ calamity; demand to call it ‘national disaster’ either ignorance or mischief

Firstpost  

A Level-3 tag for the Kerala floods means that the Centre must help the state with its personnel and funds, which the Narendra Modi government has already begun to do. This was made clear to the Kerala High Court on Monday in response to a petition, which had sought to have the floods declared a “national disaster”. A ‘national’ confusion …

How the Kerala economy fared before the floods
6 years, 4 months ago

How the Kerala economy fared before the floods

Live Mint  

As the torrential rains abate in Kerala, the focus is slowly turning towards how the flood-hit state will rebuild its economy. Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the Kerala economy grew at a much slower rate than India’s GDP growth rate. In absolute terms, Kerala’s gross domestic product stands at ₹ 6.17 trillion..but per capita income has always been higher Ranked 12th …

The new anthem in Kerala floods: ‘Oh, deep in my heart...we shall overcome’
6 years, 4 months ago

The new anthem in Kerala floods: ‘Oh, deep in my heart...we shall overcome’

Live Mint  

Kochi: It can be said that after the great flood of 2018, Kerala is back to its mythical beginnings. Thousands of houses were destroyed, more than 370 people lost their lives, and nearly a million people are now in 5,645 relief camps. John, who has been visiting relief camps, people who fled their homes with only clothes on their backs …

Kerala floods highlight India’s poor dam management
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala floods highlight India’s poor dam management

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Could the Kerala floods have been prevented? Under relentless downpours, poor dam management may have aggravated the floods, raising questions about the role of dams in Kerala and other states. James Wilson, an officer with the Kerala state water agency, estimated that the Idukki and Idamalayar dams together have stored 21.3% of the Periyar’s annual flow, greatly limiting …

How the Kerala floods showed humanity still rocks
6 years, 4 months ago

How the Kerala floods showed humanity still rocks

India Today  

Monsoon floods have killed over 350 people and laid waste to homes and farmland in Kerala -- but its spirit, the defiant, hopeful pulse of a people working to rebuild their lives, remains unshattered. "Most people felt: I must work on the ground and do my bit," said PS Gopikrishnan Unnithan, an India Today TV journalist who's been reporting on …

Centre declares Kerala floods a ‘calamity of severe nature’
6 years, 4 months ago

Centre declares Kerala floods a ‘calamity of severe nature’

Hindustan Times  

The Centre on Monday declared the Kerala floods a ‘calamity of severe nature’, amid demands for declaring it a national disaster. “Keeping in view the intensity and magnitude of the floods and landslides in Kerala, this is a calamity of a severe nature for all practical purposes,” a home ministry official said in New Delhi. In an affidavit filed before …

Declare Kerala floods a national disaster, urges CM
6 years, 4 months ago

Declare Kerala floods a national disaster, urges CM

The Hindu  

Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has urged the Centre to declare Kerala floods as a national disaster. The Chief Minister said he had requested all MLAs and two MPs in the Union Territory to contribute their one-month salary towards Kerala flood relief work. The Puducherry Government would open a collection point on the premises of the Collectorate here to receive contributions …

Opinion | Kerala floods: An unprecedented tragedy foretold
6 years, 4 months ago

Opinion | Kerala floods: An unprecedented tragedy foretold

Live Mint  

Last week, Kerala faced the brunt of an unprecedented flood, which has almost brought the state to a standstill. 80 dams opened, 324 lives lost and 223,139 people are in about 1,500+ relief camps.” Worse is feared, with most of the 44 rivers of the state still in spate and the heavy downpour refusing to yield. This deadly impact of …

What caused the Kerala floods? Could we have done anything to prevent it?
6 years, 4 months ago

What caused the Kerala floods? Could we have done anything to prevent it?

Firstpost  

There are evidently many lessons for authorities to take away from the disaster. Records from the India Meteorological Department from the start of the torrential rains in Kerala – between 9 August and 15 August – show a 255 percent departure from the norm in the state’s hotspots. “Heavy rainfall used to occur in Kerala, but not with such continuity,” …

Rahul Gandhi uses Kerala Floods to to make irrelevant claims
6 years, 4 months ago

Rahul Gandhi uses Kerala Floods to to make irrelevant claims

Op India  

Kerala is facing its most devastating flood situation in almost a century. Rahul Gandhi has shared tweets in which he is repeatedly urging the PM to declare the flood in Kerala a ‘national disaster’. Jain clarified that proclaiming a calamity ‘national disaster’ was relevant when the National Calamity Contingency Fund was in place and there is no provision under the …

Kerala situation alarming, Centre taking all steps to help people: BJP
6 years, 4 months ago

Kerala situation alarming, Centre taking all steps to help people: BJP

The Quint  

New Delhi, Aug 18 The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday described the situation in Kerala as alarming and said the government is taking all measures to help the flood-affected people in the state. "Situation in Kerala is very alarming and the reports coming from the state has made the whole nation sad," BJP leader P. Muralidhar Rao said while addressing …

Tragedy of Kerala floods unfolds: Bodies found floating, roads cut off, food and medicines scarce
6 years, 4 months ago

Tragedy of Kerala floods unfolds: Bodies found floating, roads cut off, food and medicines scarce

Hindustan Times  

At least 23 more deaths were reported across rain-devastated Kerala on Saturday with 15 bodies of the victims seen floating on flood waters even as rescue and relief operations continued across the state on a war-footing. Prime minister Narendra Modi, who had reached the state on Friday night, announced an interim relief of Rs 500 crore for Kerala after holding …

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