Author : Vaishali C Bhadane, V G Bhave and Vidula S Sohoni

Floods have been recurrent phenomenon in India and cause huge losses to properties, livelihood system, lives, infrastructure and public utilities. India’s high risk and vulnerability is highlighted by the fact that 40 million ha out of a geographical area of 3290 lakhs ha is prone to floods. On an average every year, 75 lakh ha of land is affected, 1600 lives are lost. The damage to crops, houses and public utilities due to floods amounts to about Rs.1805 crore (1). The frequency of major floods is more than once in five years. Floods have also occurred in areas, which were earlier not considered flood prone. It has been recognised that, while floods cannot be prevented, they can certainly be managed to minimise loss. Immediate preventive actions should be taken to minimise the floods. Safety plan for river passing through populated city is proposed in three steps. Floods are identified in first stage and routed along river in second stage to delineate inundation area. Safety management plan is presented in third stage that would minimize the damages. Application of the method for a river in urban area is presented.

Keywords: Flood Identifications, Routing of Flood, Inundation Area, and Safety Plan.

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.6, No.4 (Aug-2016)