A Guide for Sustainable Urban Development of the 21st Century

Delivering Effective Urban Management3.6. DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT, MUMBAI, INDIA 46The city of Mumbai rebuilds after a natural disaster.Photo courtesy of UN HabitatOn 26 July 2005, 99.4 cm (39.1 inches) of rain fell during a 24-hour period on Mumbai, bringingthe city to a standstill. The unprecedented rainfall caused severe human and economic losses.Flash floods and landslides resulted in over 5,000 deaths in Maharashtra State and 445 casualtiesin Mumbai. An additional 194 died due to various water-borne illnesses related to the deluge.Thousands of school children were stranded due to flooding and could not reach home for up to24 hours. Adding to the chaos was the lack of public information. Radio stations and manytelevision stations did not receive any weather warnings or alerts from government agencies. Therain water caused the sewage system to overflow and all water lines were contaminated. Thegovernment ordered all communities to add chlorine to their water tanks while theydecontaminated the water supply. Thousands of animal carcasses floated in the flood waters,46http://nidm.gov.in/idmc/Proceedings/Flood/B2-%207.pdf34