Relevance: GS Paper III
Why has this article been published?
The catastrophic impact of monsoon rainfall on several districts of Kerala has come as a grim reminder that the vigil against unpredictable natural disasters must never be relaxed.
What should be done?
Kerala’s unusually heavy monsoon this year is in contrast to the long-period trend of rainfall. Between 1954 and 2003, Kerala had become drier in summer, but with an emerging frequency of destructive flash floods in rare events. This trend is expected to become stronger. This points to the need for governments to strengthen their resilience planning.
- It should begin with a programme to relocate people away from hazard zones along the rivers that were in spate in Kerala over the past week after the shutters of more than two dozen dams were opened.
- Finding suitable land is, of course, a challenge in a populous, forested State, but it is an absolute necessity to prepare for the future.
- It is reasonable to expect that with its efficient primary health care network, Kerala will take all measures necessary to avoid epidemics in the wake of the floods.
- The spectacular disaster this year also underscores the role of the government as the insurer of last resort for the average citizen. In Mumbai last year, for instance, those who had private household insurance cover against disasters discovered the limitations of such policies, since the companies were unwilling to pay many home owners for a key risk such as costly displacement from homes since the houses were not structurally damaged.
Conclusion
All States naturally look to Kerala, with its record of social development, for evolving best practices to handle such natural disasters.
