Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

324
Summary of case studies
Prolonged and intense rains returned to Mozambique at the
end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001, resulting in serious
flooding during February and March 2001 in central
provinces. This flood affected 500,000 people and displaced
223,000. Before the flooding began, essential government
agencies received training and delivered 5100 tonnes of food
to flood-prone areas in December 2000 in preparation for
the 2001 rainy season. While the flooding itself was less
severe than the 2000 disaster, country-level actors, including
government agencies, international donors and
institutions, and civil society organizations had integrated
lessons learned from 2000 within their disaster systems and
contingency plans. The international community also
responded quickly to calls for aid, providing 93 per cent of
the country’s appeal by mid 2001.
Vulnerability to monsoon flooding in
Mumbai, India
On 26 July 2005, the deep-seated vulnerability of Mumbai’s
deteriorating infrastructure, weak planning and implementation
of the government’s disaster mitigation strategy, and
overwhelming socio-economic inequalities showed through
in the face of disastrous monsoon rains and flooding. As
India’s heaviest recorded rainfall, Mumbai was battered with
2.89 inches of rain in the city centre and 37.2 inches in
surrounding suburban areas in one single day.
The aged and poorly maintained drainage systems
throughout Mumbai exacerbate flood risk in the city. The
city’s centre has an over 100-year-old drainage system with
cracked pipelines that frequently leak into drinking water
pipelines. During the monsoon season, when the rains raise
the sea-water level, these pipelines flood with water, mixing
with street sewage and leading to the closing of streets every
year. Due to the pressure to create housing for the growing
population and incentives of high real estate profits, the
development of suburban areas has not been accompanied
by the necessary infrastructural facilities. There are open
sewers throughout this area that are usually clogged with
waste and are closed due to road expansion and construction.
This area is home to both new government
development and the largest portion of the city’s slum
dweller population residing on the Mithi River’s banks. In
fact, 70 per cent of the Mithi River’s embankments are
occupied by informal settlements.
Growing flood risk in Mumbai is also associated
directly and indirectly with rapid urban population growth.
The population of the city and its surrounding suburban
areas increased by 38 per cent, from approximately
12,420,600 in 1991 to approximately 20 million by the end
of 2005. Mumbai alone takes in 350 families every day.
While urban populations are expanding, it has become more
difficult for state and municipal governments to house and
provide services for the growing populations. Thus, over half
of Mumbai’s 12 million people live in informal settlements
or slums.
Due to poor land regulations and policies, the majority
of Mumbai’s slums are located in areas that are most
prone to flooding during times of heavy rainfall and high
tides. Thus, slum dwellers experience the brunt of natural
disasters. The encroachment of slums on vital drainage areas
further limits the capacity of the city to ensure effective
drainage both prior to and following heavy rains. The
overwhelming accumulation of new and stagnant rain water
inevitably spills over into relatively dry areas of the city. By
not addressing chronic drainage and sanitation problems in
Mumbai’s slums, the entire city is exposed to devastating
flooding during the monsoon season.
Mumbai actually had a Disaster Management Plan
(DMP), prepared by the Relief and Rehabilitation Division of
the Government of Maharashtra, in place prior to the July
2005 floods. The Mumbai DMP provides a risk assessment
and vulnerability analysis that recognizes flooding as a major
risk to the city and identifies vulnerable locations and
communities. However, studies note that the plan was never
enacted in a way that could prevent the 2005 floods. In the
decade that elapsed since the DMP was developed, no action
was taken to alleviate the pinpointed risks and chronic
problems that the plan identified. The government had not
devised or implemented a plan of action to repair and
maintain working drainage systems, new housing options for
slum dwellers living in flood-prone areas or sound land
policies to address the city’s overpopulation.
Following the floods, a committee was set up to
manage relief efforts for the crisis. The committee deployed
army, air force and navy personnel for search-and-rescue
operations, heavily relying on the assistance of non-governmental
and community-based organizations. Relief efforts
included the removal of 100,000 tonnes of garbage and
15,321 cattle carcasses, in addition to the provision of food
grains, chlorine tablets for safe drinking water and oral rehydration
solutions. The government released public health
advisories and distributed 133 medical teams to prevent the
spread of infectious diseases, such as cholera and gastroenteritis.
A commitment was also made to provide financial
assistance of US$22 for each of the approximately 842,185
destitute persons. Furthermore, a week after the deluge, the
Mithi River Authority was created to address risk associated
with the river and the surrounding area. A major component
of the authority’s responsibility was to remove the encroachment
of slum dwellings upon the river and to improve the
area’s drainage system. However, neither of these responses
initiated by the government called for the active involvement
of citizens or non-governmental urban planning engineers
and professionals.
As a megacity, Mumbai’s large physical area, growing
population and complex social factors make the development
and implementation of disaster management plans inherently
difficult. The size and dynamic nature of the city
increases the liability to disaster risks. The existing physical
hazards and correlating social conditions exacerbate
Mumbai’s vulnerability to flooding.
The Dutch experience in flood management
Since the establishment of the earliest settlements in the
area, the people of The Netherlands have struggled with the
ever present threat of flooding in the cities and towns of