The study shows that urban areas in India are expanding into flood-prone zones at an alarming rate, doubling since 1985. This poses a significant risk due to increased instances of flooding, leading to life and livelihood losses.
Examples:
> Libya, which suffered from devastating flooding in September 2023, had an 83% increase in settlement extent in the worst flood zones.
> Pakistan, experiencing catastrophic flooding both in 2022 and 2023, witnessed an 89% increase in settlements in prone areas.
Middle-income countries, including India, have more urban settlements in flood-prone areas. The study underscores the urgency of considering flood-related risks in urban planning and making low-income housing more flood-resilient while implementing improved storm-water management.
Notable initiatives:
> Stormwater disposal system: The Brihanmumbai Storm Water Disposal System or BRIMSTOWAD, the project to overhaul Mumbai city’s old stormwater drainage system was started after the 2005 deluge.
> Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD in Australia): regards urban stormwater runoff, and wastewater as a resource rather than a nuisance or liability.
> Bioswales or ‘Rain Garden’ (New York): are landscape features that collect polluted stormwater runoff, soak it into the ground, and filter out pollution.
Conclusion:
Therefore, there is a need to include public open spaces within the urban fabric in the form of storm management infrastructure, which could help our cities transform into water- sensitive cities.
