Michaung exposes our unpreparedness
Cyclone Michaung has sowed destruction on the eastern coast, including Chennai and surrounding districts in Tamil Nadu and in the Andhra and Telangana regions. Record rainfall for two days and the flooding of large areas of Chennai have forced the government to call in the armed forces for rescue and relief operations.
Nearly 30 NDRF teams are said to have been deployed in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra and Telangana. Chennai saw 151 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on December 4, the third highest ever in a 24-hour period; and the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday was worse. The state machinery and other disaster relief agencies are also on the job rescuing people and taking steps to contain the impact.
At least 12 persons are reported to have been killed in rain-related incidents in Chennai and surrounding districts. The Chennai airport was shut for many hours, though operations have since resumed, and many trains have been cancelled. Schools are shut.
Normal life has been disrupted, and memories of the 2015 floods have come back to haunt the residents. Though the situation is expected to improve on Wednesday, it is still unpredictable. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have gone on high alert as the cyclone made landfall and are bracing for extreme rains and flooding.
Extreme weather events, including urban flooding, are no longer rare events. The country’s biggest cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai have seen devastating floods in the last few years.
There are both local reasons and global factors contributing to these events. The infrastructure has not kept up with the pressures of population explosion. Lakes, tanks and floodplains of rivers have been encroached, leading to obstruction in the free flow of flood waters.
Drainages are not maintained. In fact, civic administration has gone to the dogs in all cities. In cities like Chennai, the uneven tides also have to be reckoned with.
More importantly, climate change exigencies demand the building of more resilient infrastructure and even changes in lifestyles. Rainfall that falls over an year is sometimes received in one or two days. The poor are the most affected because they are the most defenceless.
Extreme weather events have ravaged the world and caused serious damage to life and property all over the world in the recent past. Libya, Greece and Turkey were hit by the Mediterranean storm Daniel in September and about 11,000 persons were killed in Libya alone.
Cyclonic storms are more frequent on India’s western coast now. India experienced extreme weather events every day in the last nine months of this year, resulting in the death of about 3,000 persons, according to a report from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The situation will get worse, according to the report. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said that 2023 is likely the warmest year in history.
India is among the countries most vulnerable to extreme climate events, but it has never been serious about preventive and other measures. Cyclone Michaung provides yet another warning.