Countries in Asia and the Pacific face a heightened risk of flooding as disasters increase worldwide due to climate change. Yet these countries often lack the infrastructure necessary to prepare for and
The first wave of floods of the year has hit the State with 20 villages in Dhemaji district being submerged by waters from Arunachal Pradesh. The affected villages are Dihing, Bhokot, Bhokotkoibotta, No.1 Bokulbari, Morolusuk, Kalitagaon, Nagaon, Station Colony, Milangaon, among others. Continuous rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh last week resulted in overflowing of the Jiyadhol, Gai and the Kumotia rivers, waters from which accumulated in the Somarjan area of Dhemaji district. It may be mentioned here that floods have been a regular feature in the Somarjan area for the last ten years.
THE upcoming monsoon is going to be a testing time for the flood-control machinery of any municipal corporation and Mira-Bhayandar is no exception. While the administration of the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) boasts of making elaborate arrangements to tackle any eventually arising out of flood situation during monsoon, certain colonies in urban areas and some of the villages in the low lying areas are still very much vulnerable to floods following heavy rains.
Chinese soldiers prepared on Monday to explode earthquake debris blocking a river where quickly rising waters threatened to flood disaster victims. Two weeks after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit central Sichuan province, lakes formed by obstructed rivers clogged by landslides were adding new complications to recovery efforts already strained to find shelter for millions of homeless.
A flash flood killed nine people and left 11 others missing in southwest China's Guizhou province, state media said Tuesday, as thunderstorms also threatened neighbouring quake-hit Sichuan. Torrential rain hit nine townships in the Guizhou county of Wangmo on Monday evening that caused the flood, Xinhua news agency quoted the Emergency Response Office of the local government as saying. The flood destroyed 58 houses, two bridges, a highway, and power poles, causing blackouts in eight townships, affecting 26,000 people, Xinhua said.
The flood fright has always remained a cause of concern for the planners of various water-based projects. Now, the planners can architect their structures with greater precision to counter the flood threats. The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, has developed a package called "FLPACK' to estimate the flood for large, medium and small sized catchments by putting in use hydrograph approach and reservoir and channel-routing procedures.
It is very unfortunate that the Government of Assam has not yet been able to rehabilitate all the persons rendered homeless by the devastating floods last year despite making tall promises during the floods. The Government was to pay rehabilitation grant of Rs 25,000 each to the families whose houses were completely damaged in floods and Rs 10,000 each to those whose houses were partially damaged, but till date, most of the affected families have not received the rehabilitation grant and they are forced to make their own arrangements.
A glacier burst caused a second flooding in four days in Upper Hunza on Sunday, damaging orchards and villagers' property. The flooding suspended traffic on the Karakoram Highway. Last Thursday, the glacier's snout had blocked the regular flow of a river in Gulkhin village, causing a flood that disrupted life and communication in Gojal tehsil, some 145 kilometres north of Gilgit and close to the border with China. Traffic was resumed in the area on Friday after the Chinese engineers along with FWO personnel working on the KKH expansion project repaired the road.
Due to the unabated erosion at the Matmara dyke in Dhakuakhana by the river Brahmaputra, about 80 families, who had been living there since 2007 had to leave their homes to other safe places. According to sources, a part of the Matmara dyke had already been submerged as the concrete embankments that were built to check the inflow of the flood waters had been destroyed.
Minister for Water Resource Bharat Chandra Narah has totally failed to solve the erosion and flood problems of Lakhimpur district as well as in the State because of his imprudent and reluctant attitude towards the long standing problems said Bandhuram Pawegam, president of Mishing Bane Khebang.
Sources said that the river island of Majuli which lies on the other side faces a threat of being submerged by river waters of the Brahmaputra in case the embankment is breached. "Majuli, which has considerably decreased in size due to large scale erosion faces threat of extinction if flooding and erosion continue unabated,' the source added. "The Centre and State may be pumping crores into various anti-erosion projects in Majuli every year but all these are being literally washed away by the mighty Brahmaputra,' the source said.
