As a coastal city sitting right next to Bay of Bengal with a flat terrain, Chennai is not unknown to floods. For most people from the current generation, 2015 may be the first flood event that may come to memory. But even before 2015, years like 2005, 1978, 1967, 1943 and 1937 saw major floods in the city. The resilience of the city is normally measured by how quickly the city bounces back from these events. But a truly resilient city should learn from these events and correct and evolve itself.
Without belittling the contribution of the citizens of a city, the role of administrators is very critical in building this resilience, through unlearning and learning. Each subsequent event since 2015 has given new learnings through the administrators. Despite a robust stormwater drain put in place during Cyclone Michaung, the city saw widespread flooding due to storm surge created by the cyclone off the coast of Chennai. A situation where despite having three rivers, the city could not drain the floods into the sea, highlighting how stormwater drains alone cannot be a solution to Chennai’s flooding.
As a coastal city with a flat terrain, it becomes essential not only to find ways to drain the water but also find ways to reduce water run off as well. Increasing paved areas in urban setup, compared to say a couple of decades ago, has drastically increased run off potential leading to waterlogging / flooding. In addition to creating sponge parks, time has now come for the city to debate on what should be the paved surface ratio for the city, finding a balance between urban aesthetics and functionality with reducing large water run offs during Northeast Monsoon period, and creating more open spaces will also ensure better water table for the city, reducing the risk of seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers around Chennai.
The 2015 floods are possibly the first event of the modern social media era. This meant, unlike the flood events of the past, the impact became known immediately. Rescue and relief efforts were faster using technological tools. This social media also brought about a set of people, weather bloggers, through whom terms like El Nino / La Nina / MJO etc have become common discussion. This has also brought about a better awareness among people of Chennai in terms of what to expect during Northeast Monsoon.
Since 2015, you not only have corporates putting in place Business Continuity Plan for their operations in Chennai based on weather forecasts but also common public who have started to keep weather as a factor in their routine decision making. Travel plans, school functions, marriage receptions to name a few are being altered based on weather inputs. With better awareness there is a change towards better preparedness from the people as well. But as the saying goes the journey has just begun and there are miles to go.
(The writer is a weather blogger giving last mile weather communication for the past 10 years)