What steps are being taken to avoid a repeat of last year's floods in Chennai?

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I'm not a civil engineer (but I really wish I was).


Uncomfortable fact - risk of recurrence of flooding that we saw in Chennai last year.

I don't live in Chennai, but I'm really interested to know what steps have been taken to reduce the risks to people and property.

(Prevention is better than cure, awareness is the first step towards change & progress, etc.)


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This article (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/02/100-resilient-cities-ideas-to-solve-chennai-flooding-problem-manatees) was published in The Guardian newspaper: "Cities offer ideas to solve Chennai's flooding problem" (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/02/100-resilient-cities-ideas-to-solve-chennai-flooding-problem-manatees).



Here's a few excerpts/quotes from the article:


“The challenge is not resources – the challenge is how will Chennai use its resources?”

“There needs to be a sustained awareness campaign first – people have to understand the dos and don’ts of living near water.”

“Never think about solving a water problem[...] Learn to embrace it and live with it.”

“Don’t work against the forces of nature[...] Study the systems and use the energy of nature.”

“Chennai and New Orleans share the problem of subsidence, and people need to be aware that sucking out the groundwater will cause the city to sink further[...]”

“Engineering systems will fail. Chennai needs to take the ‘least effort approach’ – let nature work for me.”

“Chennai’s residents will benefit if [...] flood warning systems are put in place since this will give them some respite time to move away from the area[...] Water bodies can also be cleaned and restored using the public-private partnership model, as we did in Surat...”

“After big disasters there are windows of opportunity[...] People are shaken out of their comfort zones and come out of their silos. We need to use that momentum to create a strong city."



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"Vulnerability profiling of cities (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Vulnerability%20profiling%20of%20cities.pdf)" (published in 2014).

Includes "vulnerability profiles (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Vulnerability%20profiling%20of%20cities.pdf#page=2 1)" for Hyderabad (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Vulnerability%20profiling%20of%20cities.pdf#page=2 5) and Haridwar (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Vulnerability%20profiling%20of%20cities.pdf#page=2 8).

Am trying to find the relevant information for Chennai.



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Another article from The Guardian newspaper: "[W]ill Paris be ready for the flood of the century?" (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jun/23/paris-seine-flood-of-the-century-disaster)




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"Building Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Chennai, India (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/RENGALAKSHMI_Raj/publication/280689746_Building_Urban_Resilience_Assessing_Urba n_and_Peri-urban_Agriculture_in_Chennai_India/links/55e43ea508aecb1a7cc9fab6.pdf#page=2)"




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"Applying a Climate Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI) to enhance planning decisions in Chennai (http://www.cseindia.org/userfiles/RamasamyKrishnamurthy.pdf)"




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"Urban resilience to flood risks in Chennai (http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/shazjameson/urban-resilience-to-flooding-in-chennai/1)"




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"Chennai Zone Profile: Climate and Disaster Resilience (http://www.preventionweb.net/files/16492_16492chennaizoneprofile1.pdf)"


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"National Disaster Management Guidelines – Management of Floods (http://www.ndma.gov.in/images/guidelines/flood.pdf#page=8)"


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"Chennai Floods 2015 - a geographic analysis (https://developers.arcgis.com/python/sample-notebooks/chennai-floods-analysis/)"


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"PI Integrator for Esri ArcGIS - Flood and Disaster Response (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QyJvKKUMqY)"


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"ArcGIS Online Case Study: Emergency Management – Cal OES (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqgncszNsEo)"


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"Flood Control in Mumbai, India (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MzRPquJ3Z0)"


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Tokyo’s Incredible Underground Flood Defence Systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o85teh1vU_0&t=418)


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"Joint Needs Assessment Report - Tamil Nadu Floods 2015 (https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/jna-report-tamilnadu-december-2015.pdf)"


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"Study and Analysis of Chennai Flood 2015 using GIS and multicriteria technique (https://file.scirp.org/pdf/JGIS_2017050416101323.pdf)"


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"Chennai Floods, 2015 [A Satellite and Field Based Assessment Study] (http://icwar.iisc.ernet.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ChennaiFloods_Report.pdf)"

"Field data collected using Bhuvan App was subsequently uploaded onto Bhuvan Portal (http://bhuvan-noeda.nrsc.gov.in/disaster/disaster/disaster.php)"


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It would be nice to have some thoughts and ideas from other commentators here!!


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"What would an entirely flood-proof city look like? (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/sep/25/what-flood-proof-city-china-dhaka-houston)"


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