Floods in India
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| − | [[File:Floods.jpg|Major floods in India since 1977 and the damage caused by them |frame|500px]] | + | [[File:Floods.jpg|Major floods in India since 1977 and the damage caused by them. Column 1 is the number of people hit (displaced temporarily or permanently, their houses and/ or farms flooded etc) in millions. Column 3 is the loss in crore rupees (multiply by ten to get millions) |frame|500px]] |
New Delhi: Chronic floods during the monsoon on an average affect more than 30 million Indians annually. Ironically, 60% of India’s farmland, 66% of its livestock and its entire forest area depend on rains for survival. | New Delhi: Chronic floods during the monsoon on an average affect more than 30 million Indians annually. Ironically, 60% of India’s farmland, 66% of its livestock and its entire forest area depend on rains for survival. | ||
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The report shows there was a continuous increase in the population affected till the mid-eighties; thereafter, the number has slowly declined | The report shows there was a continuous increase in the population affected till the mid-eighties; thereafter, the number has slowly declined | ||
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Revision as of 06:04, 20 June 2013
This is a collection of newspaper articles selected for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
The damage caused by floods
Floods affect 3cr Indians every year
Atul Thakur TIMES INSIGHT GROUP 2013/06/20
New Delhi: Chronic floods during the monsoon on an average affect more than 30 million Indians annually. Ironically, 60% of India’s farmland, 66% of its livestock and its entire forest area depend on rains for survival.
Loss to agriculture and livestock
According to a recently released Central Water Commission (CWC) report, on an average 7.21 million hectares (roughly 72,000 sq km) go under floodwater. This water typically ravages 3.78 million hectares of agricultural land, damaging crops worth Rs 1,118 crore annually. Heavy rains and floods account for nearly 1,700 lives lost annually. Apart from this, 1.25 lakh houses are annually damaged by torrential rains that also wipe out nearly 96,000 livestock.
Floods are the most recurrent natural calamity, hitting India almost every year. According to the CWC’s report on “financial aspects of flood control, anti-sea erosion and drainage projects”, it is not possible to provide absolute protection instantly to all flood-prone areas. It says that such an attempt will neither be practical nor economically viable.
Marginal decline in flood-affected areas since 1953
The CWC’s analysis of floods in India from 1953 to 2011 shows a marginal decline in flood-affected areas over the years. The data shows 1977, 1978 and 1979 were the worst-hit. The 1977 floods killed over 11,000 people — six times the average for the 59 years between 1953 and 2011. In terms of area and population affected, the floods of 1978 were most destructive.
Financial loss
In terms of financial loss, recent floods have been far more destructive. The total loss of crops, houses and public utilities in 2009 was Rs 32,541 crore, the highest for any year. The 2003 floods destroyed crops worth Rs 7,298 crore, while the flood-induced damage to houses was more than Rs 10,000 crore in 2009, the maximum so far.
The report shows there was a continuous increase in the population affected till the mid-eighties; thereafter, the number has slowly declined River Yamuna
