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Local sources from India: The Indian Express, India Today.
UK coverage: BBC.

Heavy rains from Cyclone Michaung have caused extensive damage in Chennai, India. The city’s airport was forced to close for a day due to flooded runways, and many trains have been cancelled over the past few days. The economic impact is expected to be severe, with production disrupted at companies including Foxconn, a supplier for Apple. The heavy rainfall has left a trail of destruction in the city.

The recent deluge in Chennai, triggered by Cyclone Michaung, has once again brought to light the vulnerability of Indian cities to climate-induced disasters. With over 40 cm of rainfall inundating the city within 48 hours by December 4, 2023, Chennai’s plight is a stark reminder of the escalating climate crisis facing urban India. Cyclone Michaung killed over a dozen people and left a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The most vivid images that emerged were of submerged residential buildings and cars being washed away in water currents on inundated roads.

Though the latest flooding and destruction were the result of a cyclone, it isn’t the only reason for the scale of devastation. Chennai is no stranger to flooding; the city was submerged in a historic flood in 2015 due to heavy rainfall from the northeast monsoon. This event was a wake-up call, highlighting the consequences of inadequate urban planning and poor institutional capacity.

The causes of such flooding are multifaceted. Heavy rainfall, inadequate drainage systems, and the incapacity of rivers to manage high discharge levels are primary contributors. Urbanisation plays a significant role, with encroachments on major water bodies and ecologically sensitive zones exacerbating the situation. The flat terrain, in the case of Chennai, further complicated matters, as water failed to drain efficiently.

Not just Chennai, a dozen Indian cities might go 3 feet under water. The World Bank Group’s commissioned research by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics warns that India, being close to the Equator, will experience higher sea-level rises than higher latitudes. This poses a severe threat to coastal cities through saltwater intrusion, impacting agriculture, degrading groundwater quality, and potentially leading to an increase in waterborne diseases.

A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021 had dire warnings for India. The most dangerous risk factor, it said, is rising sea levels that threaten to submerge 12 coastal cities in the country by the end of the century. A dozen Indian cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam, could be nearly three feet underwater by the end of the century, IPCC report warned.

Inland, too, the story is no different. Cities in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have suffered from monsoon-triggered flooding and landslides. Delhi too saw heavy flooding earlier this year. In July, waters in the Yamuna swelled to a staggering 208.48 metres and flooded Delhi’s low-lying areas near the banks and inundating nearby streets and public and private infrastructure. The Yamuna had breached its earlier record of 1978.

Experts blamed encroachment of flood plains and accumulation of silt due to heavy rain in a short period of time for the flood in Delhi. The floods in July also brought the focus on illicit mining and construction activities on river banks in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh.

The response to these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach. Building codes must be strictly enforced, and urban planning must anticipate climate-related disasters. Coastal embankments and strict enforcement of Coastal Regulation Zone codes are necessary to protect against sea-level rise. Additionally, watershed management and the adoption of the ‘sponge city’ concept could mitigate flood risks.

India’s policymakers are not oblivious to these threats. The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) 2022, for instance, aims to increase the city’s climate resilience through evidence-based planning. Moreover, improvements in hydro-meteorological systems and the installation of flood warning systems can help citizens prepare for and respond to impending disasters.

The recent flooding in Chennai is a stark reminder and a call to action to build cities capable of withstanding the unpredictable and severe impacts of a changing climate. As Indian cities continue to grow and attract more residents, there has never been a greater urgency for resilient infrastructure and sustainable urban planning. Express View on Chennai floods: A wake-up call for urban plannersCyclone Michaung has disrupted life in Chennai. But the problems for Tamil Nadu’s capital began two days before the cyclone made its landfall in Andhra Pradesh on December 5. Heavy rainfall caused floods, submerging houses and halting communication services, at least 20 people have lost their lives. Several localities continue to be under water more than 48 hours after the rains abated, power outages have sparked protests and shortages of essentials including drinking water, milk and diesel have added to a growing sense of desperation across the city. The state government claims it acted more promptly than in the 2015 floods, which claimed more than 400 lives in Chennai. It has also said that waters from the reservoirs were released after people living in low-lying areas were relocated to shelters. But the administration needs to do much more than react after the elements have had their say. People being electrocuted by loose cable wires in one of India’s premier metros, which the government wants to develop into a smart city, should be seen as intolerable.

The Chennai district administration has placed a large measure of the blame on the sea pushing back the water through the canals. That’s a facile argument. High tides are par for the course in coastal cities. Tamil Nadu’s capital is located in a rain-shadow area, which gets most of its precipitation from the northeast monsoon, including cyclonic storms. In recent years, Chennai, like several parts of the country, has been experiencing short-duration spells of intense rainfall. That’s the biggest challenge for the city’s planners. The Tamil Nadu government is constructing a stormwater drainage system across Chennai and the city administration has claimed that the areas with the new drains escaped flooding. The Rs 4,500 crore project has been on since 2017 and by all accounts, nearly two-thirds of Chennai remains to be connected with the new network. The suffering caused by the latest floods should push the state government to expedite the drainage revamp system. More will need to be done to build the flood-prone city’s defences. After the 2015 floods, experts had reasoned that planners should re-think construction projects on wetlands. These sponges soak up water and recharge aquifers — they can therefore also mitigate Chennai’s other pressing problem, drinking water shortage. There is, however, very little evidence that the city authorities have heeded this advice.

The recent flooding in Chennai is a wake-up call for urban planners to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of citizens. Building codes must be strictly enforced, and urban planning must anticipate climate-related disasters. Coastal embankments and strict enforcement of Coastal Regulation Zone codes are necessary to protect against sea-level rise. Additionally, watershed management and the adoption of the ‘sponge city’ concept could mitigate flood risks. India’s policymakers must take decisive action to ensure that cities are prepared for the unpredictable and severe impacts of a changing climate. With the right measures in place, Indian cities can be better equipped to withstand the challenges of climate change and ensure the safety of citizens.