THE UNIVERSITY OF BURDWAN

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PROJECT REPORT

B.Sc. 6TH SEMESTER EXAMINATION, 2021

PAPER : CC-14
ROLL NO: 180340600004
REGISTRATION NO: 201801044935 OF 2018-19
 PROJECT REPORT
ON
KERALA FLOOD 2018: ITS IMPACT,
CONSENQUENCES AND MANAGEMENT

An Individual Project Report Submitted

For The Partial Fulfilment of the B.A / B.Sc. Geography Honours
6th Semester, CC-14: Disaster Management
OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF BURDWAN
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that AINDRILA PAUL bearing Roll No.: 180340600004 has
successfully completed her dissertation on “KERALA FLOOD 2018: ITS IMPACT,
CONSENQUENCES AND MANAGEMENT” for the fulfilment of the syllabus of CBCS
Semester VI[ Honours], CC-14 Disaster Management in Geography, of the University of
Burdwan, under my supervision.

Signature of Supervisor

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 PREFACE

The project work on “KERALA FLOOD 2018: ITS IMPACT,

CONSENQUENCES AND MANAGEMENT” is concerned to look into the flood
phenomenon, its impact and consequences upon the local inhabitants of Kerala.

On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the South Indian state Kerala, due to unusual
high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century.
Over 483 people died and 140 are missing. Idukki, Ernakulam, Kollam, Kottayam,
Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Wayanad are the most severely affected districts in
Kerala during flood in 2018.

The present work is arranged into VII chapters. Chapter I is dealt with the introduction
part, where the Chapter II concerns about the review of literatures.

Chapter III presents a description on the study area and the methodological aspects.

Chapter IV elaborates the aims and objectives of the project work.

Chapter V presents a broad analytical description along with the results and
discussions.

Chapter VI deals with the disaster management plan and strategies and the Chapter
VII includes the concluding remarks.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to take the opportunity to convey my deepest gratitude to all the respected
persons, who helped me in the successful completion of this project work.

At first I want to give my gratitude to my Head of the Department Dr. Syamalina

Goswami, because she gives the permission and also helps me to provide some valuable
information and advice to do this Project work.

I also acknowledge the help and cooperation, extended by the other respected faculties
of the same Department. In this context I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.
Shyamapada Santra , Dr. Sujata Das, Dr. Tanmoy Dhibor, and Dr. Soumita Ghosh, Department
of Geography, Hooghly Women’s College and the casual Non-teaching stuff of our Department
Mr. Chanchal Dey and Smt. Basana Roy for constant support to me. Without their tired less
helps this project work can’t be done properly.

I am also graceful to my dear friends for help, support and encourage throughout the
time.

At the end, I would like to thanks my parents without their constant encouragement,
patience and sacrifice the endeavour might have not been completed.

Place: Kanchrapara

Date: 25/05/2021 -------------------------------

[AINDRILA PAUL]

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

I Introduction 1-5
II Literature Review 6-7
III The Study Area and Methodology 8-10
IV Aims and Objectives 11

V Result and Discussion 12-19

VI Disaster Management Plan 20-24

VII Conclusion 25
Bibliography and Webliography 26

LIST OF TABLE

TABLE TITLE PAGE NUMBER

NUMBER
1 District wise Rainfall Data 13

2 Contribution of different States/Union Territory 23

for This Flood

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NUMBER TITLE PAGE NUMBER

1 Disaster Management 3

2 Map of the Study Area 9

3 Flood Affected Area 14

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 LIST OF PLATES

PLATE NUMBER TITTLE PAGE NUMBER

1 Types of Disasters 3

2 Types of Floods 4

3 Impact of the flood on House 16

4 Impact of the flood on Human Life and Nature 19

5 Rescue operation on Flood affected area 24

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 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any degree

due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity,
leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses
and impacts The effect of the disaster can be direct and localized, but is often widespread and
could last for a long period of time. The effect may exceed the capacity of a community or
society to cope using its own resources, and therefore may require assistance from external
sources, which could include neighbouring jurisdictions, or those at the national or
international levels (UNDRR).

Disasters are of different kinds, like natural, quasi-natural or man-made. Amongst them
natural disasters are more devastating. The present project work is an effort to look into a
natural disaster of Kerala which occurs in 2018. The work is related to look into the flood event
of Kerala which took place in 2018 and its impact on human being and environment and also
to look into the consequences of this event. Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster
and occur when an overflow of water submerges land that is usually dry. Floods are often
caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or a storm surge from a tropical cyclone or tsunami
in coastal areas (WHO). This flood event can make severe damage to the human society. These
events can cause widespread devastation, resulting in loss of life and damages to personal
property and public health infrastructure.

1.2 Concepts

1.2.1 Disaster

A disaster is a serious disruption occurring over a short or long period of time that may
causes widespread human, material, economic, or environmental loss which exceeds the ability
of the affected community or society to cope using its own resource .

According to W.H.O, “A disaster is an occurrence disrupting the normal conditions of

existence and causing a level of suffering that exceeds the capacity of adjustment of the affected
community (WHO, 2002).”

According to United Nation it may called a disaster when there is

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 i. A certain death of 100 people or more
ii. More than 100 people will be affected to the total population and
iii. A minimum economic loss of 1 million US Dollar.

1.2.2 Types of Disasters

According to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
disasters are of 2 types. These are-

Disaster
c
c
Natural Human- Caused
Disaster Disaster
Thousands of people have been affected by natural and human-caused disasters each year
worldwide. Major adverse events such as these have the potential to cause disastrous loss of
life and physical destruction. They are often unexpected and can leave whole communities in
shock.

1.2.2.1 Natural Disaster

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the earth.
Natural disasters are large-scale geological or meteorological events that have the potential to
cause loss of life or property. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies Natural Disasters are naturally occurring physical phenomena
caused either by rapid or slow onset events that have immediate impacts on human health
and secondary impacts causing further death and suffering. These disasters can be:

Geophysical (e.g. Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis and Volcanic Activity)

Hydrological (e.g. Avalanches and Floods)
Climatological (e.g. Extreme Temperatures, Drought and Wildfires)
Meteorological (e.g. Cyclones and Storms/Wave Surges)
Biological (e.g. Disease Epidemics and Insect/Animal Plagues) (IFRC).
1.2.2.2 Human – Caused Disaster

Human-caused disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. The

events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements are known as
human caused disasters. This can include environmental degradation, pollution and accidents.

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Technological or man-made hazards (complex emergencies/conflicts, famine, displaced
populations, industrial accidents and transport accidents).

Plate 1: Natural and Man-made Disasters

1.2.3 Disaster Management

Disaster management can be defined as the organization and management of resources

and responsibilities for dealing with all human aspects of emergencies, in particular,
preparedness, response and recovery in order to lesson the impact of disaster. According to
IFRC, Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of resources
and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in
particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.

Figure 1: Disaster Management (Source: IFRC)

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1.2.4 Flood

A flood is an abnormal progressive rise in the water level of streams or rivers which
may result in overflowing. When an area which is normally dry land becomes partially or
completely submerged due to rise in water level, flooding has also occurred. Floods in the
Caribbean can often be caused by heavy rainfall, dam or levee failures, tsunamis, unusually
high tides, storm surges or burst water mains.

Flash floods can occur within a few minutes or hours of excessive rainfall, a dam. Flash
floods often have a dangerous wall of roaring water carrying rocks, mud and other debris.
Overland flooding, the most common type of flooding event typically occurs when waterways
such as rivers or streams overflow their banks as a result of rainwater and cause flooding in
surrounding areas. It can also occur when the capacity of underground pipes, or the capacity of
streets and drains designed to carry flood water away from urban areas are exceeded.

1.2.5 Different types of Flood

Types of Flood

Coastal Flood Flash Flood Urban Flood River / Fluvial Ponding / Pluvial
Flood Flood

Plate 2: Types of Flood

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1.3 Selection of the Topic

The present topic of the project work is “KERALA FLOOD 2018: ITS IMPACT,
CONSEQUENCES AND MANAGEMENT”.

1.4 Reasons for selecting this incident as Disaster

1. 23 million people affected (According to the Government of Kerala large part of the total
population of Kerala had been directly affected due to flood).

2. 504 people lost their lives (In a span of 30 days in August 339 lives were lost and 3.4 million
people took shelter in 12300 relief camps).

3. 21000 Cr. Economic damage (A total of 60000 hectares of agriculture crops have been
destroyed. The approximate estimate of the loss is more than the annual outlay of the State).

4. 10319 Houses fully destroyed and over 1 lakh partially damaged ( more than 22000 people
left homeless also floods had damaged 83000 km of roads , including 10000 km of major roads)
.

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 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Literature Review

Literature review provides a vast knowledge base to frame the concept of the study and
help the student to penetrate deep for better understanding about the whole study and hence it
is very important part of any project work. For this project work different literatures have been
studied. These are-

Kerala Floods Joint Detailed Needs Assessment Report, 2018 by Sphere India in
2018 provide us the background of the flood event occurred in 2018. It also speaks about the
relief measures taken by different NGOs, field assessment and also the impact of flood in
health, gender, shelter, education, livelihood, nutrition and so on. It also focuses on the
management strategies.

The paper titled The 2018 Kerala Floods: A Climate Change Perspective by K. M.
R. Hunt and A. Menon in 2020 gives us detailed information about the Kerala flood and also
the climate change perspectives with regard to the flood.

The paper, Impact of Social Media in Dissemination of Information during a

Disaster- a Case Study on Kerala Floods 2018 by A. S. Babu, S. D. Babu and D.
Harikrishnan in 2019 provide us detailed information about the flood which occurs in 2018
and also speaks about the role of social media to mitigate this flood event.

The article Satellite-based assessment of the August 2018 flood in parts of Kerala,
India by S. Kitthy et al in 2019 provides the detailed information about the flood and
inundation made by this flood.

The paper Kerala Flood: Repercussions of the Institutional Dysfunctionalism by S

Rai in 2019 provides us detailed information about the flood and also the reason behind this
flood.

The Report Kerala Post Disaster Needs Assessment Floods and Landslides- August
2018 by the Government of Kerala in 2018 give us detailed information about the flood, its
causes and consequences and also the responses take immediate to the disaster. This report
also provides us detailed information about the management strategies taken by the
Government.

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 The Report Kerala Floods-2018 by Government of Kerala provides us the detailed
rainfall data of this season. In discusses the causes of flood as well as landslide took place in
this time. It also give us information about the relief procedure taken in that time to human
health, agriculture, animal husbandry, housing, fisheries, power etc.

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 CHAPTER III: THE STUDY AREA AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Delimitation of the area

Kerala (38,863 km2; 1.18% of India's landmass) is situated between the Arabian Sea
(Lakshadweep Sea) to the west and the Western Ghats to the east. Kerala's coast runs some 580
km in length, while the state itself varies between 35 to120 km in width. The state lies between
8º22’ and 12º45’ north latitudes and 74º45’ and 77º45º east longitudes. It is divided into 14
districts with the capital of being Thiruvananthapuram.

3.2 Physical Characteristics of the selected area

Kerala is divided into three geographical regions: Highlands, which slope down from
the Western Ghats on to the Midlands of undulating hills and valleys into an unbroken coastline
with many picturesque backwaters, interconnected by canals and rivers. The Western Ghats
are nowhere more than 120 km from the sea.

3.3 Demographic Characteristics of the selected area

Kerala is a state in south-western India. Most of Kerala's 34.8 million people (in 2011)
are ethnically Malayalis (Malayalam speakers). Most of the Malayalam and English speaking
Keralites derive their ancestry from Dravidian communities that settled in Kerala. Additional
ancestries derive from millennia of trade links across the Arabian Sea, whereby people of Arab,
Jewish, and other ethnicities settled in Kerala. Many of these immigrants intermarried with
native Malayalam speakers resulting in formation of many Christians and Muslims in Kerala.
A tiny number of Muslims thus take lineage from Arab settlers mixed with local population.
Malayalam is Kerala's official language and is spoken by at least 97% of the people of Kerala;
the next most common languages are English and Tamil which is spoken mainly by migrant
workers from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Tulu and Kannada is spoken in northern
parts of Kasaragod district, bordering Karnataka. In addition, Kerala is home to 321,000
indigenous tribal Adivasis (1.10% of the populace). Some 63% of tribals reside in the eastern
districts of Wayanad (where 35.82% are tribals), Palakkad (1.02%), and Idukki (15.66%).
These groups, including the Paniyars, Mooppans, Irulars, Kurumbars, and Mudugars speak
their own native languages. Cholanaikkan tribe in the Silent Valley National Park were
contacted only in the 1970s and they are the most isolated tribe in the state.

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THE STUDY AREA

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Figure 2: Location of the Study Area Source: Census of India, 2011

3.4 Methodology

The study based on mainly secondary data. This work has been completed in two stages.

 Collection of the Data: Literatures, relevant information from various

newspaper, various journal published by Government and Non Government
organizations are studied. Some secondary data has been collected from IMD
(Indian Meteorological Department) and Google. The maps and images are
collected from Google and Census on India.
 Making the Final Report: Collected data is processed and analysed with the
help of maps desired using QGIS Software. Finally the study report has been
prepared which is typed in MS word.

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 CHAPTER IV: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

4.1 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The aims and objectives of the present work are

1. Regulate new development in flood-prone and channel migration hazard areas to

minimize risks to life, property, and habitat, and strive for consistency of regulations
among affected local governments.

2. Evaluate the risks to public safety and existing development e.g. critical facilities,
infrastructure, and structures in flood-prone and channel migration hazard areas.

3. Identify and map flood and channel migration hazard areas and make maps readily
available to the public.

4. Examine alternatives to reduce risk to life and property, while reducing economic and
environmental impacts of flood hazard management actions and programs.

5. Manage land uses in hazardous areas in order to prevent creation of new flood risks.

6. Maintain a regionally coordinated flood warning and emergency response program in

a state of readiness to be activated in the event of a flood.

7. Develop a better understanding of the location and mitigation needs of vulnerable and
special needs populations within the communities. Strengthen public-private partnerships to
reinforce or establish redundancy for critical supply systems.

8. Identify appropriate funding sources for implementing the recommended flood hazard
management activities, and pursue opportunities to use these funds in a timely and
efficient manner.

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 CHAPTER V: RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1 Causes of the Flood in Kerala in 2018

Kerala State has an average annual precipitation of about 3000 mm. The rainfall in the
State is controlled by the South-west and North-east monsoons. About 90% of the rainfall
occurs during six monsoon months. The high intensity storms prevailing during the monsoon
months result in heavy discharges in all the rivers. The continuous and heavy precipitation that
occurs in the steep and undulating terrain finds its way into the main rivers through innumerable
streams and water courses.

Kerala experienced an abnormally high rainfall from 1 June 2018 to 19 August 2018.
This resulted in severe flooding in 13 out of 14 districts in the State. As per IMD data, Kerala
received 2346.6 mm of rainfall from 1 June 2018 to 19 August 2018 in contrast to an expected
1649.5 mm of rainfall. This rainfall was about 42% above the normal. Further, the rainfall over
Kerala during June, July and 1st to 19th of August was 15%, 18% and 164% respectively,
above normal (IMD).

Due to heavy rainfall, the first onset of flooding occurred towards the end of July. A
severe spell of rainfall was experienced at several places on the 8th and 9th of August 2018.
The 1- day rainfall of 398 mm, 305 mm, 255 mm, 254 mm, 211 mm and 214 mm were recorded
at Nilambur in Malappuram district, Mananthavadi in Wayanad district, Peermade, Munnar
KSEB and Myladumparain in Idukki district and Pallakad in Pallakad district respectively on
9 August 2018. This led to further flooding at several places in Mananthavadi and Vythiri in
Wayanad district during 8-10, August 2018.

Water was released from several dams due to heavy rainfall in their catchments. The
water levels in several reservoirs were almost near their Full Reservoir Level (FRL) due to
continuous rainfall from 1st of June. Another severe spell of rainfall started from the 14th of
August and continued till the 19th of August, resulting in disastrous flooding in 13 out of 14
districts. The water level records at CWC G&D sites for some of the rivers in Kerala are given
at Annex-I. As per the rainfall records of IMD, it has been found that the rainfall depths
recorded during the 15-17, August 2018 were comparable to the severe storm that occurred in
the year 1924.

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 Table Number 1

District Wise Rainfall realized during 1st June 1018 to 22nd August 2018

District Normal Actual Departure from Normal

Rainfall ( mm ) Rainfall ( mm
)
1701.4 2394.1 41 Excess
Kerala State
1380.6 1784 29 Excess
Alappuzha
2333.2 2573.3 10 Normal
Kannur
1680.4 2477.8 47 Excess
Eranakulam
1851.7 3555.5 92 Large Excess
Idukki
2609.8 2287.1 -12 Normal
Kasarkode
1038.9 1579.3 52 Excess
Kollam
1531.1 2307 51 Excess
Kottayam
2250.4 2898 29 Excess
Kozhikode
1761.9 2637.2 50 Excess
Malappuram
1321.7 2285.6 73 Large Excess
Palakkad
1357.5 1968 45 Excess
Pathanamthitta
672.1 966.7 44 Excess
Thiruvananthapuram
1824.2 2077.6 14 Normal
Thissur
2281.3 2884.5 26 Excess
Wayanad

Source: KPDNA, 2018

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5.2 Flood Affected Areas in Kerala 2018

The largest flooded areas were those adjacent to the backwaters along the coast. Even areas
within these wetlands that are normally flood-free were flooded to a large extent. Given the
quantum of rainfall and the characteristics and the physical condition of the water systems,
flooding of these areas and areas along the lower parts of the river was unavoidable. The outlets
to the sea, whether natural Azhis and Pozhis3 or the controlled ones, such as at the Thottappally
Spillway and Thanneermukkom Barrage, did not have the capacity to evacuate high flood flows
from the rivers, as they occurred, into the sea. The excess water gathered in low lying areas.
As the rains were exceptional, so were the flood levels that rose far above what people had
experienced during earlier flood events which happened over the last 10 to 25 years.. Along
the Kerala coast the situation was aggravated by the perigee spring tide, a high tide occurring
only three or four times a year, during11–15 August 2018, and sustained strong onshore winds,
resulting in abnormally high sea levels, which further hampered river outflow to the sea
(KPDNA, 2018).

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 Figure 3: Flood Affected Area Source: KPDNA, 2018
5.3 Impact of the Flood
There is huge amount of damage to this flood. These are as follows

5.3.1 Impact on State GDP

The monsoon induces flood has had severe impact on state GDP. The key sectors of the
Keralaeconomy are tourism and agro based industries, which suffered huge losses due to flood
andother natural calamities. The agro based industries and plantation industries may suffer a
loss ofaround 1000 crores. The tourism sector, which contribute 25% of state GDP witnessed
a setbackdue to the adverse weather and continues widespread natural calamities. In total
around 2.2 % ofthe state GDP has been diminished due the flood and flood related natural
calamities which leadto a fiscal deficit of 5.4 %. Employment opportunity of around 4.2 million
people have beenaffected, agricultural, house hold and other workers are in distress as the lost
their livelihoodincome earning. Around 10 lakh people were rehabilitated during the month of
August andSeptember, which may caused an over burden to the government leads a further set
back in thefinancial position of the state.

The state has been facing a high revenue deficit over the past years as it cannot maintain fiscal
deficit within 3% of its GDP and also it carries a high debt burden of 31% of GDP. The revenue
expenditure of the state account about 80 % of states total expenditure which constrains the
state government to undertake capital creation activities for future development. Post flood
activities like flood relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction would widen the revenue deficit
and fiscal deficit of the state. At the same time some sections of the work force enjoyed an
increase in demand especially electricians, construction workers, maintenance workers, health
care worker etc (KPDNA, 2018).

5.3.2 Impact on Agriculture

Agricultural sector which contribute around 11 % to the state GDP, has been adversely
affected to the heavy rain fall and flood. The production of food crops especially rice shown a
deep decline as the paddy fields were floated with water and the flooded water dumped waste
material and soil which create menace to the farmers. Around 57000 ha of cropped are has been
affected by the heavy rainfall of August which may cause a loss of 1356.5 crores. Paddy and
banana were the worst affected agricultural products which risen the financial burden of the
farmers. Landslides were the another problem that the economy faced during that days which

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resulted many causalities and homeless peoples on the one hand and deterioration of soil and
soil fertility on the other. The plantation industry witnessed a loss of 88 million especially tea,
rubber,cardamom, pepper etc. An estimate of 500 acres of land has been destroyed in
Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts due to soil erosion and heavy landslides. It
may adversely affect the debt repayment capacity of farmers. Agriculture and allied sectors has
key role in Kerala economy as it provides job opportunities to many directly or indirectly.
Floods in the state have an adverse effect on the production of cash crops there by a reduction
of earnings from such production. As per the estimate tea and rubber industry together
witnessed a loss of 470 crores. Apart of rubber and tea industries other cash crops like pepper,
ginger, banana, cardamom etc also faced a negative impact in the production leads a disruption
in supply for these products (KPDNA, 2018).

5.3.3 Impact on Housing

Approximately 22,000 houses ( NDMA estimates ) have been reported as destroyed /

damaged by the state Government and few other sources.

Plate 3: Impact of flood on House

5.3.4 Impact on Fisheries

Strong winds, rainfall and floods have caused widespread damages to the fisheries sector
of the state. Fishing assets such as boats and nets have been destroyed. Houses of fishermen
were damaged, beyond repairs. Moreover, alternative livelihood flagship activities aimed at
the fishermen community (such as Theeramythri programme that impacts the fishermen
women) have also been badly hit. As many as 235 boats were fully damaged. Ernakulam
district, where 96 boats have been damaged, leads the list. Out of the 1002 boats that have been

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pP
partially damaged, 818 boats have solely been in Kottayam district. A total of 1748 nets have
been fully damaged while 1620 nets have been partially damaged in Kerala. Financial loss due
to fully damaged nets is Rs. 45,44,800 whereas the loss due to the partially damaged nets is
₹34,02,000 (KPDNA, 2018).

5.3.5 Impact on Animal Husbandry

The disaster has also affected the Animal Husbandry sector. The unprecedented rainfall
which trigged flooding in the state has resulted in the death of large number of cattle, buffaloes,
goats and poultry. Further, destruction of cattle sheds, shortage of fodder, veterinary medicines
and vaccines added to the plight. Alappuzha is the worst affected district with regard to this
sector, a total of 7146 cattle died, which includes 650 cows and buffalo, 2994 sheep and 3502
calves. Around 500792 poultry died in these flash floods.

5.3.6 Impact on Power Station

Five major Hydro Stations were impacted and 7 small hydro-electric power projects in the
State. The Damage in the transmission wing includes 50 Substations. 22 Stations got
submerged, control Systems got damaged, 10 Power Transformers were inundated and 10
Major Transmission Corridors were interrupted. In Distribution Sector around 284 Electrical
Sections in Six Districts were impacted, around 1000 Distribution Transformers submerged,
3500 km Distribution lines were destroyed, 30,000 electric poles damaged, 5 lakhs single phase
and 1 lakh three phase energy meters were damaged (KPDNA, 2018).

5.3.7 Road and Bridge Damage

Due to the extremely devastating monsoon calamity in the form floods and landslides,
Public Works Department (PWD) has suffered unprecedented losses as evidenced by damage
to physical infrastructure especially roads and bridges. A total of 9538.45 kilometers of roads
have been damaged in Kerala.

5.3.8 Impact on Tourism

Kerala is reeling under the aftermath of devastating flood so do the tourism industry
which has been hit hardly. The tourism industry in Kerala which accounts for 12% of the state’s
economy has come to a grinding halt as the floods damaged roads, airports, rail lines. Sudden
flood totally spoiled the tourisms of Kerala for that’s reason the annual economy of the

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tourisms limping down. The 2% GDP of the state is downward which created a great impact
on Indian economy (KPDNA, 2018).

5.3.9 Impact on Kerala Geography

In 2018 Kerala had faced with severe flood due to heavy rain fall during the monsoon
season. Heavy rains in hilly districts especially Wayanad and Iduki resulted heavy landslides,
causalities and crop loss. All of these are the environmental hazards that Kerala has been facing
over a decade’s but refuse to admit it and take remedial actions. Encroachment of rivers,
backwaters, forests for constructing homes and establishments and for farming activities,
destruction of paddy field results lessening the water carrying capacity of soil and soil erosion.
Deforestation for planting cash crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, pepper etc results massive
soil erosion leads landslides in hilly districts of Kerala. That had happened in many parts of
Kerala during the monsoon season. Destruction of paddy fields, illegal quarrying activities and
sand mining in rivers have deep ecological impact as lowers the water carrying capacity of soil
there by depletion of ground water level. Heavy landslides may change the geography of an
entire land (KPDNA, 2018).

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Plate 4: Impact of this Flood on Human Life and Nature

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 CHAPTER VI: DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN

6.1 Preparedness

Kerala “THE JEWEL OF SOUTH INDIA” – this disaster depicts a significant role in
this area. The disaster has severely damaged the economy and human life, which is first in
history. In this devastating flood their administration and Govt. should take some preparedness
which helped them from severe loss of life, property and natural calamity. This preparedness
helps to survive local people and geographical condition of the area. So, here I discussed about
preparedness of Kerala flood 2018 Disaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare
for and reduce the effects of disasters so, here I discussed about preparedness of Kerala flood
2018 Disaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of
disasters. That is, to predict and, where possible, prevent disasters, mitigate their impact on
vulnerable populations, and respond to and effectively cope with their consequences–

Mapping Preparedness
Household Preparedness
Community Preparedness
Early Warning
Human Awareness
Mitigation Preparedness
Institutional Preparedness

6.2 Mitigation

After the formation of State of Kerala there has been a rapid pace of development activities
, including economic and infrastructure development without adequate care for environmental
safety and sustainable .

Most of these development activities were carried out without giving much attention to
Geological and Ecological conditions.

In this devastating flood Kerala Govt. took a mitigation strategy. The way of mitigation
strategy divided into two types. These were- (1) Structural mitigation strategies (2) Non
structural mitigation strategy.

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1. Structural Mitigation Strategy

 In this mitigation strategy administrative body looked at physical structure were

constructed or modified to reduce the impact of flooding on individual properties.
 Notice the dam construction because the dam can produce hydroelectricity as well as
regulate water levels by opening and closing the retained doors.

2. Non Structural Mitigation Strategy

 Local municipalities can institute zoning laws their comprehensive plans in order to
prevent development of residential and commercial properties in high risk flood prone
areas. This planning further restrict where buildings can be constructed as well as if this
buildings must be flood proof.
 By using flood forecasting and warning methods local officials can determined whether
or not a river or creek will flood based on the level of the water.

6.3 Management of Kerala Flood

The National Disaster Response Force flew in 58 rescue teams in one of the largest
rescue missions conducted in the decade. Each team had 30 to 40 trained personnel and were
completely equipped with necessary gear, equipment and pre-hospitalisation medicines to
carry out their mission. Before the Independence Day, large parts of Thrissur, Alappuzha,
Ernakulam and half a dozen other districts were under water. Over 10,000 people were
evacuated each day to relief camps as rains kept pounding the State. The pace of rescue work
was unprecedented.

 The Army, Airforce and the Navy stepped into the rescue mission with their own teams.
They airlifted stranded people, and built temporary bridges for evacuation. Thousands
were rescued during a 24 x 7 operations that lasted over a week. The Southern Naval
Command deployed 92 teams with Gemini boats and seamen accompanied by expert
divers from the Navy for the search and rescue operations. Around 15,000 people have
been rescued by the Navy boats, and over 600 stranded people airlifted by choppers and
flown to relief camps.

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 Relief by Government and NGOs
o The Government of Kerala started a donation website for flood victims. As of
7 January 2020, 47,375 million was collected from the public including
organizations, corporate firms and famous personalities.
o The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi announced a sum of 5 billion as
interim relief for Kerala on 18 August 2018. This is in addition to 5.6245 billion
already made available in SDRF of the State and 1 billion announced on 12
August 2018 by the Home Minister. The central government also said in its
press release that this 6 billion is only the advance assistance and that additional
funds will be released by the NDRF when an inter-ministerial team visits again
and assesses the damage. The central government, in one of the largest rescue
operations, deployed 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 500 boats, 182 rescue teams
and 18 medical teams of defence forces, 58 teams of NDRF and 7 companies of
Central Armed Police Forces. Together they saved over 60,000 human lives.
o People's Foundation, an NGO based in Calicut, with the support of Ideal Relief
Wing Kerala had served with 37,000 volunteers for rescue and hygiene
operations. Their volunteers had cleaned 11,139 houses and conducted 494
relief camps for flood victims. They also committed to build 500 houses, at a
cost of 300 million (US$4.2 million).
o IsraAid, an Israeli NGO sent relief workers to distribute supplies and assess
needs for clean water, sanitation, and psychological care.
o Chief Ministers of all the states (and Delhi) have pledged monetary aid from
their respective state funds in addition to dispatch of various relief materials
such as potable water, blankets, packed food, rice, water-purifying machines,
daily-use and healthcare products (KPDNA, 2018). Monetary contributions are
listed below:

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 Table Number: 2

Contribution of different States / Union Territory for this Flood

State / Union Territory Amount

Arunachal Pradesh ₹30 million (US$420,000)
Andhra Pradesh ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Assam ₹30 million (US$420,000)
Bihar ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Chhattisgarh ₹30 million (US$420,000)
Delhi ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Goa ₹50 million (US$700,000)
Gujarat ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Haryana ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Himachal Pradesh ₹50 million (US$700,000)
Jharkhand ₹50 million (US$700,000)
Karnataka ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Madhya Pradesh ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Maharashtra ₹200 million (US$2.8 million)
Manipur ₹20 million (US$280,000)
Meghalaya ₹10 million (US$140,000)
Mizoram ₹20 million (US$280,000)
Nagaland ₹10 million (US$140,000)
Odisha ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Puducherry ₹10 million (US$140,000)
Punjab ₹50 million (US$700,000)
Rajasthan ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Tamil Nadu ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Telangana ₹250 million (US$3.5 million)
Tripura ₹10 million (US$140,000)
Uttar Pradesh ₹150 million (US$2.1 million)
Uttarakhand ₹50 million (US$700,000)
West Bengal ₹100 million (US$1.4 million)
Total ₹2.12 billion (US$30 million)

Source: KPDNA, 2018

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Plate 5: Rescue Operation on Flood Affected Area

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 CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION

7.1 Concluding Remarks

Heavy down pouring in Kerala during August and September in 2018 & 2019 have a
wide spread effects in socio economic lively hood of the people in Kerala. If had affected the
people in different manner. Vast destruction caused by the flood and related natural calamities
during the monsoon season has had a wide spread affect but the actual impact are not yet
revealed. While analysing the effects of natural calamities on different socio economic aspects
of the people it is to be noticed that a permanent monitoring system is to be implemented to
detect disaster prone geographical areas and rehabilitate the people from the risk ridden to the
safe place.

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 Bibliography
1. Census of India, 2011
2. Government of Kerala, (2018). Kerala Post Disaster Needs Assessment Floods and
Landslides - August 2018, Kerala.
3. Sphere India, (2018) Kerala Floods Joint Detailed Needs Assessment Report: In the
Aftermath of the Floods in Kerala, New Delhi.
4. Hunt, K.M. R., and Menon, A. (2020). The 2018 Kerala foods: a climate change
perspective, Climate Dynamics (2020).
5. Keerthy, S., et al. (2019). Satellite-based assessment of the August 2018 flood in parts
of Kerala, India, Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk.
6. Aswathi Suresh Babu, Dinesh Babu S, Harikrishnan, D. (2019). Impact of Social Media
in Dissemination of Information during a Disaster- a Case Study on Kerala Floods
2018, International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering
(IJITEE).
7. Rai, S. (2018). Kerala Flood: Repercussions of the Institutional Dysfunctionalism?,
International Journal of Innovative Science.
8. UN Disaster Response Team (UNDRT) (2018). Post Disaster Need Assessment in
collaboration with Government of Kerala & EU.
9. Kerala Floods- Joint Detailed Need Assessment Report (JRNA) 2018.
10. Tiwari, A.D., et al. (2018). The Kerala flood of 2018: combined impact of extreme
rainfall and reservoir storage, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.

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