Q) Based on the floods in Kerala during 2018 and 2019, prepare a

report on the flood affected area nearest your locality. Collect the
secondary data to include the social and environmental impacts, in the
report. Develop a strategic flood management and mitigation plan for
the area mentioned, based on the terrain and population.

INTRODUCTION
Kerala experienced a disaster of gigantic proportions with the flood of
August 2018. Weathermen have said it is the biggest to have hit the
State. The disaster that struck in the middle of August changed the
ecosystem, both on land and water, which adversely affected the bio
resources (bio-diversity), livelihood and capital wealth (Infrastructure).
While 483 human lives and thousands of livestock were lost, the
disaster incurred immense losses to the State’s infrastructure, as many
roads, bridges and thousands of houses were damaged /washed away.
Large quantities of agricultural produce were lost putting the livelihood
of farmers at risk. The flood has opened the vision on what the future
development is to be? The present development plan, with scant regard
to the fragility of the environment, needs restructuring to withstand the
frequent onslaught of disasters, especially in the light of climate
change. The flood was very unprecedented and rainfall in hilly districts
were three times more, and the State was also not prepared for such
mega scale, as it has not experienced a flood of this magnitude, except
the recorded one in 1924. This flood can be called as the ‘Flood of this
Century’, which hit Kerala continuously from 8th to 18th of August.

The reservoirs were already full in July end unlike other years and there
was no place in the reservoirs to accommodate any more excess rain
water. Considering the safety of the dams, the water had to be released
from all the dams. The respective district administrations could not take
adequate precautionary steps as they were also deprived of any
information regarding the quantum of water release, duration and the
likely places of inundation, etc. Lapses were many as the dam water
scoured the riverbeds and the low-lying areas were flooded. The Sea
was also rough with high tide and wave setup not allowing water to
flow out; all this added to the flood and related problems. The
ecosystem damage is beyond an assessment. The government after
assessing the loss requested for a Central assistance of around Rs 40000
crore through a Memorandum to the Govt. of India. But actual loss
incurred to the infrastructure and livelihoods is far beyond what has
been calculated and projected.
 Kerala is one of the well-developed states of India in terms of its
Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI), governance, social equity and
religious harmony. It experienced a disaster of gigantic proportions
with the flood of August 2018. Weathermen have said it is the biggest
to have hit the state in close to a century. The disaster that struck the
state in the middle of August changed the ecosystem, both on land and
water, which adversely affected the bio resources (biodiversity),
livelihood and capital wealth etc. While at least 483 human lives and
thousands of livestock were lost, the disaster incurred immense losses
to the state’s infrastructure, as many roads and bridges, thousands of
houses were damaged or washed away. Large quantities of agricultural
produce were lost putting the livelihood of farmers at risk. The disaster
dented tourism industry of the state. It drew the attention of world
organisations including the United Nations (UN), Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. The total loss is estimated around Rs
40,000 Crore. The flood and associated events made lakhs of Keralites
suffer for the next five to 10 years. It will take many years for the state
to recover from this huge setback. However, this calamity needs to be
accepted as a challenge and yet an opportunity to rebuild the state and
to provide better standard of living to all sections of its society. As a
result of the state’s varied geographical features, it often experiences
the fury of some of the natural hazards like flood, droughts, landslides,
coastal erosion, lightning and earthquakes. In periods of prolonged and
heavy rainfall, it experiences flood in the low-lying areas and
landslides1 in the steeply sloping segments of Western Ghats. Coastal
erosion is a recurring phenomenon that is of grave concern, especially
in the segments with high density of settlement. The state is also rocked
by minor tremors frequently. The incidence of lightning with casualties
in the state is one of the highest in the country. After the December
2004 earthquake, the state was also struck by tsunami taking a toll of
more than hundred lives. Further, recent cyclonic events of Ockhi and
the major floods of 2018 had their crippling effect on the state’s
economy. The flood of 2018, believed to be events with a long return
period, has opened our vision on what the future development is to be?
The present development plan, with scant regard to the

fragility of the environment, needs restructuring to withstand the

frequent onslaught of disasters, especially in the light of climate
change. The greater value of the ecosystem of the Western Ghats-the
source of all the 44 rivers in the state-to the lowlands with a chain of
kayals (lakes) and backwaters with dense settlement as well as to the
coastal region with its dynamic front with the sea needs to be taken into
consideration, before going ahead with any development plan. It is also
essential to work out long-term disaster management plans even at
micro level for the state to mitigate the miseries emanating from the
repetitive cycle of disasters and to improve its resilience.

1
Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster and occur when an overflow of water
submerges land that is usually dry. Floods are often caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or a
storm surge from a tropical cyclone or tsunami in coastal areas.
Geographical Features of the State

The State of Kerala is located in the southwestern part of Indian

peninsula. It has a geographical area of 38,863 sq.km. With a
population of 819 people per sq.km (Census of India, 2011), Kerala is
one of the most densely populated states in India. On the basis of the
physiography, the Resource Atlas of Kerala – 1984 shows that there are
five zones from west to east—mountains and peaks (>1800m),
highland, midland, lowland and coastal plains and lagoons. Mountains
and peaks of the Western Ghats mostly from the crest of the mountain
ranges and mark the inter-state boundary. Highland, with an elevation
ranging from 600 to 1800 m, has a rugged topography and occupies
about 20.35 per cent of the state. Natural forests, plantations and mixed
crops dominate the land use.

Most of the dams that generate power, and some of them with interstate
diversions, are located in this zone. Midland forms an area of gently
undulating topography with hillocks and mounds. It forms the western
fringe of the highland with lateralised rocky spurs with an elevation
ranging from 300 m to 600 m. It covers about 8.44 per cent of the total
area of the state. Coconuts, rubber, tapioca, mixed crops, and paddy
fields along the valley dominate the land use. Lowland consists of
dissected pen plains with elevation ranging from 10 m to 300 m. Nearly
54.17 per cent of the state’s total area is lowland and is constituted by
floodplains, river terraces, valley fills, and sedimentary formations.
Coastal plains and lagoons/estuaries are identified with alluvial plains,
sandy stretches, abraded platforms, beach ridges, beach dunes, barrier
flats, raised beaches, lagoons, marshes and estuaries. This is a vast area
fringing the coast, covering about 16.4 per cent of the area of the state
with an elevation ranging between 0 m and 10 m. Water bodies running
either parallel or oblique to the coastline are a characteristic feature of
the Kerala coast. Many of the perennial rivers of the state debouch into
these water bodies. Vembanad Estuary (kayal), a Ramsar-listed
wetland, is the largest with six major rivers flowing into it.

What Kerala experienced during flood 2018 The state faced the wrath
of nature in the form of flood and landslides during the monsoon of
2018. The calamity left in its wake a trail of destruction all throughout
the state with several areas submerged under water, landslides in the
hills and flood in the valleys and plains. The continuous rainfall from
8th to 18th of August was excessive and unprecedented, especially in
the hilly districts of Idukki and Wayanad which is around 290 mm,
instead these areas received around 700 mm of rainfall that acted as the
trigger for the floods.

The dams in the state had more storage of water by the month of July
2018 itself. In addition to that, excessive rain water from August also
got stored in them, which was more than required. This water was used
only as a resource for power generation and the purpose of the dams
for flood control was not factored in. When the reservoirs were almost
full and there was no more scope for further manipulation of water
within them, shutters of all the 34 reservoirs were opened without
considering the impact, it would have created downstream and the
people on the river banks.2

A common form of destabilising the steep slopes is by the toe

disturbances. Indiscriminate construction of hilly roads and
construction of houses by cutting and levelling the slopes are rampant
in the highlands of the state. Soil piping or subsurface erosion leading
to land subsidence is another active process during monsoons and in
most of the places it is triggered by human activities. The two major
causes for recent landslides are given below: a) Nature of soil: The soil
in the highland region like Idukki and Wayanad is slightly reddish, silty
and the cohesive strength is less. Hence, when the soil is saturated, it
has a tendency to swell. By making an artificial cutting of more than 2
to 3 meters, road structures come down, thereby inducing a possible
landslide.

This is what is happening frequently in ‘Wayanad Churam’. This kind

of landscaping for any purpose such as agriculture or construction,
depending on the nature of the soil, must be regulated. b)
Oversaturation of soil: Unscrupulous terracing and cultivation practices
that promote infiltration, water retention that led to the excess entry of
water into the subsoil, are also one of the reasons behind the landslides.

2
overflowing of river banks which in turn led to widespread flooding,” the report,
released in 2020 said. Overall, the SDMA report outlined, 9,500 kilometres of roads
were destroyed, over 10,000 houses fully damaged, 99,000 partly damaged and over
65,000 hectares of land inundated for days.
The sudden flooding in the hilly areas moved downwards, due to the
peculiar nature of the Kerala terrain, to the midland. In addition to the
heavy rains in the mid land, the entire low lying and mid land area got
inundated, thus causing heavy damages like severe erosion, landslides,
water logging, etc. It affected the life and properties of people residing
in these densely populated areas in the state. The poor management of
water in the reservoirs, dams and other water-retaining structures
belonging to the Power and Water Resource Departments worsened the
situation of flooding. Due to new moon on 12th of August, the sea was
very rough and during this time the roaring waves deposited and took
away the sand and mud in the coastal areas, resulting in the pozhi’s
getting closed with sand bar and water could not be discharged into the
sea.

The lack of coordination between the officers in timely communicating

the alarming situation to the people residing in the flood-prone areas
also increased the vulnerability of the situation. It is also to be noted in
this aspect that in certain districts, the district administration was not
aware of the openings of spillway shutters of dams resulting in huge
damages, whereas in some other districts, the shutters of dams were
kept opened well in advance (Neyyar, Peppara and Themmala) and
with no adverse impact. The severely flood-affected areas can be
classified into three regions:
Causes of floods
Dr. E. Sreedharan, well-known technocrat (also known as Metro
Man), opined the lack of inadequate data with dam authorities, co-
relating the rain fall precipitation at various points of the catchments
and rate of rising of water in the reservoir with the time lag between
precipitation and rising of water level. Red alerts were therefore not
taken seriously. Heavy silting of reservoirs resulted in significant
decrease in the storage capacities. Formation of artificial islands in the
river beds in the absence of a healthy and controlled sand-mining policy
resulted in thick jungle growth with huge trees in these islands, which
led to severe blockage to the river cross section (This was particularly
so in Bharathapuzha River, which resulted in river overflowing its
banks). The cause of deluge that struck was as a result of human
omissions and commissions. All the dams in the state were opened
simultaneously, which was a major contributing factor for the flood.
Over the last 20 to 30 years, the land-use pattern in the state had
completely changed due to the reduction in forestland.

Encroachments of land and unscientific constructions in the

catchment areas of dams and high ranges increased the volume of
damage. For example, back in 2005, the Government College in Idukki
was destroyed in a landslide and the same was reconstructed again
without conducting any environmental impact study. The landslide and
similar activities (mass wasting) in the upper catchment areas, silt
deposition and soil erosion have reduced the effective storage capacity
(Maximum Draw down Level) of the dams. Circular failures were
noted in almost all the catchment areas. A research Study by 3IIT,
Gandhinagar, has concluded that the flood in Kerala is a combined
impact of extreme rainfall and reservoir storage and that reservoir
operations need to be improved using skilful forecast of extreme
rainfall.

a) Region 1 (Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode Districts)

b) Region 2 (Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam and

Idukki Districts)

c) Region 3 (Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha Districts

(Chengunnur and Kuttanad areas).

Rainfall and its deviation from normal (1st June to 28th

August)

Sub Division/ Actual Normal Percentage/ Remarks

Districts rain falls rain falls Departure
in mm in mm
Kerala 2411.3 1770.0 36.2 Excess
Lakshadweep 461.4 816.6 43.5 deficient
Alappuzha 1940.1 1418.7 36.7 normal

3
Independent scientific studies conducted by hydrology experts from IIT Madras,
Purdue University, and IIT Gandhinagar concluded that it was the heavy
downpour that resulted in the floods, and the dam management.
Idukki 3559.4 1933.5 84.1 Large
excess
Kasargod 2349.4 2706.4 13.2 normal
Kollam 1585.7 1094.5 44.9 excess
Kottayam 2339.6 1602.0 46.0 excess
Kozhikode 2941.7 2324.7 26.5 excess
Malappuram 2652.9 1825.2 45.4 excess
Palakkad 2293.7 1375.1 66.8 Large
excess
Pathanamthitta 1982.2 1424.6 39.1 excess
Thiruvananthapuram 967.3 700.7 38.1 excess
Thrissur 2079.1 1891.5 10.0 normal
Wayanad 2906.9 2368.5 22.7 excess

In our region, two major dams, Karappuzha and Kuttiyadi, and canal
system of Banasura Sagar Dam comes under the control of Irrigation
Department whereas the other three dams come under Kerala State
Electricity Board Limited. Of these, the canal system of Karapuzha
Dam reservoir has not been made functional so far. Due to the
unexpected rainfall in the Wayanad District, especially in Panamaram,
Padinjarethara and Vythiri, heavy slippage and landslides occurred and
the Kuttiady Dam reservoirs get flooded due to the heavy inflow of
water, and the shutters were opened without considering the
consequences and hardships. Moreover, no warning was given to the
people living in the downstream of the dams. Wayanad District has got
a relentless rainfall of 96.67mm on 16th August alone and continuous
rain since 8th of August 2018.

The roaring flow of the flood water ate away the lives and property of
the people living in the downstream until it reached the Arabian Sea. It
may be noted that the changes made in the land-use pattern in the
district had contributed substantially for the occurrence of landslides
and slippages. Also, paddy cultivation has been almost completely
wiped off from the Wayanad district.

Flood severely affected the agriculture sector throughout our region in

terms of crop and yield losses. Diseases also affected the crops under
cultivation. Floods came as another severe blow to the farmers who
were already under stress due to the unsustainable prices for their
produce. Many farmers struggling with loan indebtedness need great
support to sustain and to continue their agricultural activities. In the
high and middle lands, where plantation crops are the predominant
crops, farmers were badly hit due to the continuous rain and over
stagnation of water in the cropped area.

This affected their yield and wilting and weathering of the crops were
also noted. Largescale premature dropping of the yield in cardamom,
pepper, coffee, arecanut, cocoa and coconut are reported. Rubber
plantation, as a predominant crop of the state, is hit by low price; many
areas are left untapped and the heavy rain has hit the plantations and
the growers. The interactions with the farmer representatives and the
field visit have convinced the committee of the severity and the
farmers’ plight.

In the area of Housing a huge disaster has happend many of the houses
were collapsed and some are partially broken. The 2018 flood caused
heavy damages to houses. A large number of people were displaced. It
is reported that more than 15,000 houses have been completely
damaged and more than lakh houses are partly damaged, which also
need repair, retrofitting and renovation. People who lost their houses
are the most affected as many of their lifetime investments have been
lost. It creates a situation of immense psychological pressure, and hence
this must be given utmost priority for assistance.

Flooding is a major hazard that is responsible for substantial damage

and risks to human health worldwide. The 2018 flood event in Kerala,
India, killed 433 people and displaced more than 1 million people from
their homes. Accurate and timely information can help mitigate the
impacts of flooding through better preparedness (e.g. forecasting of
flood impacts) and situational awareness (e.g. more effective civil
response and relief). However, good information on flood impacts is
difficult to source; governmental records are often slow and costly to
produce, while insurance claim data is commercially sensitive and does
not exist for many vulnerable populations. Here we explore “social
sensing” – the systematic collection and analysis of social media data
to observe real-world events – as a method to locate and characterise
the impacts (social, economic and other) of the 2018 Kerala Floods.
Data is collected from two social media platforms, Telegram and
Twitter, as well as a citizen-produced relief coordination web
application, Kerala Rescue, and a government flood damage database,
4
Rebuild Kerala. After careful filtering to retain only flood-related
social media posts, content is analysed to map the extent of flood
impacts and to identify different kinds of impact (e.g. requests for help,
reports of medical or other issues). Maps of flood impacts derived from
Telegram and Twitter both show substantial agreement with Kerala
Rescue and the damage reports from Rebuild Kerala. Social media
content also detects similar kinds of impact to those reported through
the more structured Kerala Rescue application. Overall, the results
suggest that social sensing can be an effective source of flood impact
information that produces outputs in broad agreement with government
sources. Furthermore, social sensing information can be produced in
near real-time, whereas government records take several months to
produce. This suggests that social sensing may be a useful data source
to guide decisions around flood relief and emergency response.

4
Rebuild Kerala is a State Government initiative aimed at rebuilding roads better
after the floods. High quality and durable road infrastructure is a pre requisite for
social, economic and industrial development of any state.
Conclusion
Kerala faced the Disaster of the Century in 2018. The State had to
suffer economically, environmentally, socially and culturally. The
disaster drew the attention of world organizations including the United
Nations (UN), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
The Discovery Channel telecasted an one hour programme about kerla
flood 20018 on 12th November 2018. The disaster has exposed the gaps
and the practices being followed and the deficiencies at various fronts
from weather forecasting to water management, and lack of
coordination in dams and reservoir management. Since the flood and
landslide of 2018 had created massive impact in all spheres, it is
required to glean out actions for future so that years of development
and assets, both private and public are not destroyed again.

Climate change has become a reality, and the 2017 drought and 2018
flood are the results of climate change. Disaster management needs to
be integrated in all development plans to be taken at the
local/Panchayat level, and needs to be managed effectively in a
coordinated manner by pooling resources. The recovery and rebuilding
should be faster and the needs of all those who are affected should be
addressed. Respecting nature and all the environmental laws and rules
is required so that a Resilient Kerala can be built to face any such
calamities, thereby keeping everyone safe and secure from disasters.
All the activities aimed at rehabilitation and eco-restoration should
reduce the carbon footprint to the extent possible. Climate change over
the past few decades has affected our lives considerably. Therefore,
there should be scientific studies and approaches at all levels to mitigate
the climate change-induced environmental degradation and
biodiversity loss, to rebuild a greener, cleaner Kerala and restore it as
“Gods own Country”.

In April 2023, the Malayalam-language survival thriller film 2018:

Everyone is a hero, which is based on the 2018 Kerala floods was
released.[
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359399814_Social_se
nsing_of_flood_impacts_in_India_A_case_study_of_Kerala_20
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 "Kerala floods: Death toll rises to 483000, says CM Pinarayi
Vijayan". New Indian Express. 30 August 2018. Archived from
the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018