Monsoon fury

TORRENTIAL rain has battered north India over the past three days, bringing untold misery to people living in both urban and rural areas. Himachal Pradesh has been the worst-hit state in terms of loss of lives and property. The extensive damage caused by the monsoon’s mayhem has woefully exposed the authorities’ lack of disaster preparedness. It’s apparent that they have been caught off-guard despite a series of alerts issued by the Meteorological Department.

With several rivers in spate and landslides occurring thick and fast, the focus is on the relief and rescue operations. It is imperative for the local administration, the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force to work in close coordination and mitigate the devastating effect of excessive rain. It is equally important for residents as well as tourists to strictly follow government advisories. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has rightly appealed to the people to avoid venturing out in heavy rain, especially near rivers and nullahs, and remain vigilant.

Unfortunately, no lessons have been learnt from the floods that ravaged Uttarakhand in June 2013 and Kashmir in September 2014. Preparations for the monsoon need to begin a few months in advance, not at the eleventh hour. The capacity and efficacy of the drainage system have to be periodically assessed and augmented; otherwise, even ‘smart cities’ get waterlogged in no time. What’s worse, unregulated construction activity has rendered the hills and valleys increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events. The rising frequency and intensity of these events are an alarming indicator of the perils of climate change. Disaster management plans need to factor in these aspects so as to contain the devastation caused by any calamity, natural or man-made.