Indian states are preparing for the monsoon season that has already entered Kerala and has further advanced over some more parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, southwest and the west-central Bay of Bengal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week reviewed the overall preparedness to deal with floods and monsoon and sought strengthening of coordination between the central and the state governments for proper prediction of the deluge and water level rise. Chairing the meeting, he took stock of the preparations made by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the flood-affected areas.
The home minister reviewed the overall preparedness to deal with floods during monsoon, an official spokesperson said. Shah also reviewed the long-term measures to formulate a comprehensive policy to mitigate the flood-related problems of the country.
BMC says Mumbai won’t flood even if it rains at 60-70 mm per hour
In Mumbai, the city that receives heavy downpour every season, preparations are underway to make the metropolis rain-ready.
Five National Disaster Response Force units as well as teams from Navy, Army and Coast Guard will be deployed in Mumbai, the BMC had said, adding that there would be 22 days during the monsoon when the high tide would be over 4.5 metres.
According to the civic body, Mumbai won’t get flooded even if the city gets rain at the rate of 60 to 70 mm per hour.
“We have completed all pre-monsoon works at our end, with desilting of 100 per cent drains complete. Out of the total 100 plus flooding sites too, we have tackled around 30 so far. So we are expecting that if it floods it would be the remaining areas that would be impacted,” additional commissioner P. Velrasu said.
He said for speedy drainage of water, six major pumping stations and 10 mini pumping stations were ready, besides installation of 487 pumps at various flooding spots across the city.
Kerala, Karnataka to get heavy rain till June 11; Scattered showers in Tamil Nadu, AP
While the southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala, three days ahead of its normal onset date of June 1, it was moving slowly over the state after early arrival. But, a fresh spell of heavy showers is set to lash southern India, including Kerala, the IMD has predicted.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), moist westerly winds blowing over South Peninsular India from the Arabian Sea are set to bring fairly widespread to widespread rainfall of light to moderate intensity, along with thunderstorms and lightning, across Kerala and Karnataka for till June 11.
In the same forecast period, scattered showers are expected to drench Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, while isolated rains may be observed over Telangana.
Isolated heavy rainfall has been predicted over Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (June 7, South Interior Karnataka on Tuesday and Wednesday (June 7-8), Kerala from Tuesday to Saturday (June 7-11) and Coastal Karnataka from Thursday to Saturday (June 9-11).
Kerala CM issues directions to handle monsoon season
Ahead of the arrival of monsoon in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had issued a slew of directions to ensure the state was prepared to tackle monsoon-related problems like flooding and landslides.
In a meeting, CM Vijayan had instructed local bodies to prepare a list of disaster-prone areas in their jurisdiction and hand the same over to disaster management authorities, fire fighting service, police and village officers.
Besides, the other instructions included setting up relief camps for evacuating people from high-risk areas, widely publicising the location and access paths to the camps, ensuring adequate facilities like food, water and sanitation there and completing all the preparation on a warfooting.
The chief minister directed monsoon-preparation meetings in all districts, measures for mitigating potential disasters during the rainy season be planned in advance and coordination between the various departments be ensured.
Monsoon preps in Hyderabad reviewed by GHMC
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) last week issued a set of instructions to all builders, architects, structural engineers and contractors, including site engineers and supervisors, to take up precautionary measures at construction sites to prevent any untoward incidents involving scaffoldings during the monsoon season.
“Special attention is to be paid to scaffolding works such as props, uprights, posts, frames, or similar rigid support even though they are temporary works. Proper checking is to done at site before concreting. All employees must be trained by a qualified person to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and how to control or minimize these hazards,” reports quoted GHMC commissioner as saying.
Preparedness for monsoon in Himachal Pradesh
In the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh, preparedness for the impending monsoon was reviewed by Director and Special Secretary Revenue, Disaster Management, Sudesh Mokhta who gave directions to identify landslide-prone areas, vulnerable roads, stretches to make adequate arrangements for clearing of roads in the event of blockades, etc.
Mokhta directed all the departments concerned and agencies to complete all preparations in a time-bound manner and said that mutual coordination and timely sharing of information between the agencies was most vital.
He instructed Public Works Department (PWD), Municipal Corporations, councils and Panchayati Raj Institutions to take preparedness activity in a campaign mode and added that pre-monsoon de-siltation, clearing of water channels, removal of blockage from the drainage systems and flood plains should be ensured.
The officer also directed the PWD to deploy an adequate number of men and machinery in landslide-prone areas. He asked the Meteorological Department to issue weather bulletins, flash flood guidance and alerts.
Situation in Assam
The flood situation in Assam has improved significantly but, as per available numbers, over 40,700 people are still affected in two districts, an official bulletin said. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 40,700 people were suffering in Cachar and Morigaon districts.
Morigaon is the worst hit with over 30,400 people affected, followed by Cachar (10,300). Till Saturday, over 68,500 people were suffering in four districts. A total of 38 people have died in the state this year due to floods and landslides. At present, 137 villages have been inundated and 6,029.50 hectares of farmlands damaged, an ASDMA bulletin said.
Seven relief camps and distribution centers in three districts, where 705 people, including 165 children, are taking shelter are being run. The authorities have distributed 423.37 quintals of rice, dal, salt, and other flood relief items, the bulletin said.
According to ASDMA, massive erosions have taken place in Dhubri, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tinsukia, and Udalguri districts. Embankments, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Kokrajhar, Nagaon, and Morigaon.
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