Flooding in India is a recurring annual disaster due to a combination of factors including heavy monsoon rainfall, geographical challenges, and inadequate infrastructure. The monsoon season, while crucial for agriculture, brings concentrated rainfall that rivers cannot always handle, leading to overflows. Additionally, India’s diverse geography, with mountainous regions and plains, contributes to varying flood patterns and severity. Human activities like deforestation and unplanned urbanization further exacerbate the problem by altering natural drainage patterns and increasing runoff.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
- Monsoon Dependency: India’s rainfall is heavily reliant on the monsoon season, with a significant amount of precipitation occurring in a short period. This concentrated rainfall overwhelms river systems, causing them to overflow and flood surrounding areas.
- Geographical Diversity: India’s varied topography, from the Himalayas to coastal plains, creates different flood patterns. Mountainous regions experience flash floods due to heavy rainfall and snowmelt, while plains are susceptible to riverine flooding.
- River Systems and Sedimentation: Many Indian rivers carry large amounts of sediment from upstream, reducing their carrying capacity and increasing the likelihood of flooding, especially during periods of heavy rainfall.
- Human Activities: Deforestation reduces the land’s ability to absorb water, leading to increased runoff and erosion. Unplanned urbanization, with inadequate drainage systems, also contributes to flooding by preventing water from draining effectively.
- Climate Change: Climate change is causing more extreme weather events, including heavier rainfall and increased frequency of floods. Sea-level rise also exacerbates flooding in coastal areas.
- Poor Infrastructure: Many cities and towns in India lack adequate drainage infrastructure to handle heavy rainfall, leading to waterlogging and flooding.
- Trans-National Rivers: Some major rivers, like the Brahmaputra, originate in neighboring countries, adding another layer of complexity to flood management in India.
