Climate change, poor planning: Why Assam’s floods are getting worse
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An embankment that was reconstructed after getting damaged in the floods in May was breached again this time, Nath said. Companies who are awarded contracts to build embankments by the government profit from these back-to-back destructions, he added.
A total of 297 embankments have been breached in 20 districts of Assam, with 33 in Darrang alone, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Flood Report of June 19, 2022.
“Only 7 per cent of the districts have updated their disaster management plans (DDMP) until 2020 in Assam, according to our analysis,” said Abinash Mohanty, programme lead of the risks and adaptation team at the CEEW, a Delhi-based think-tank.
Ensuring updation of the DDMPs and, more importantly, its practical implementation can help manage floods better, he added.
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Embankments have been known to mess with the environment of the floodplains. These walled structures affect natural spillage of the rainwater to the ground to the lowest point on the river. This results in tributaries not being able to drain water into the river and subsequent water-logging.
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