Risk-informed planning essential to prevent floods in Kochi

[...]

In November 2021, the CAG released a report titled “preparedness and response to floods in Kerala.” The report dissected various human-induced factors that led to the floods in August 2018 in Kerala. The report blamed lack of planning and capacity building, lack of flood forecasting stations, lack of capacity surveys of reservoir dams, and change in land use patterns as some of the broad reasons for the flood impact.

[...]

Explaining the geomorphology of the area, Lukose said, “These landscapes were earlier wetlands, natural flood retention entities by geomorphology. They were located at the mouth of the lake, which opens into the sea and would deposit clay and sediments. Roads should not be constructed here as it obstructs the natural flow of the water. There was no land-use planning with embedded risk information at that point.”

[...]

Savita feels there is a need to change the way urban planning is done in Kochi. “It requires a vision that leverages this aqueous land instead of fighting it. This is not merely restricted to desilting drains before the monsoon as this is like treating the symptom. There is a need to identify and mitigate what is causing this. The answer may lie further upstream, where poor waste management has created clogging. Furthermore, it implores the restoration and conservation of wetlands and floodplains, which act like sponges absorbing excess water as well as rainwater harvesting. This requires a multi-department coordinated effort potentially across districts,” she said.

[...]