Ecosystem-based Recovery: The Case of the 2018 Kerala Floods

In August 2018, the state of Kerala, in India, faced a severe flood, which is considered a once in a century event. The torrential rains flooded all 44 rivers in the state and 37 dams had to be opened, which further aggravated the flood situation. There were reports that up to 4000 landslides, landslips or debris flow had happened during June to August 2018. This has not only been the main cause of deaths in the recent disaster but has also caused significant loss to those who lost their houses and even land to landslides. 483 people lost their lives and over 18000 houses were fully damaged. Over one million people had to be moved to temporary shelters and more than 5.5 million people were affected. The PDNA estimated the total recovery needs at INR 31,000 crore (USD 4.4 billion). 

It is now an accepted fact that the construction and operation of the key hydraulic structures in Kuttanad was done without adequate scientific and engineering consideration. The recent floods demonstrated that these structures act as a flood hazard leading to significant loss of life, property and livelihoods of the people. The climate projection of the IPCC predicts a 1.8-2 mm sea level rise by 2030. Studies have revealed that about 169 sq.km. would be inundated due to 1m increase sea level at in and around Kochi region. This implies that agriculture and related activities in Kuttanad region will be severely affected. In the light of changing climate, the future of Kuttanad needs to be carefully studied as one will not be able to defend such structures against rising sea water levels on one side and increased frequency of floods on the other. 

Instead, modern approaches to flood management, such as “room for the river” and “making space for water” need to be introduced into water resources management practices in Kerala. These approaches presume that flooding events are inevitable in the light of climate change and populations need to ensure that the rivers have rooms to expand whenever the peak flow arrives. This could be by zoning the immediate riverbanks to activities which no longer needs full time presence of people and/or identifying large wetlands along the river channels where the water will have spaced to expand and thus provide buffer to the peak floods. 

The constraining hydraulic structures should be modified so that the interconnection between the rivers and the sea is re-established. That will have huge positive impacts on the ecology as well as the disaster risks. These structures need to be opened once again to restore the ecological balance in the region and to avoid the siltation of the water bodies.