unnikrishnan a

7/31/2019 Unnikrishnan A

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Mumbai Flood:

July 2005Making a difference

throughlocal action


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Mumbai - Gateway of India 16.5 million people (5 th largest city, over

double the population of London). City grows vertically , not horizontally

no space Slumbai over half the people in

slums Offers one- tenth on India s factory jobs

One-third of income tax Earns 40 per cent of foreign trade Bollywood the film capital

churns nearly 900 movies a year


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Mumbai Gateway of India Cosmopolitan culture Home to dabbawallahs (lunch box carriers)

who teach supply chain mgt to DHL andothers.

Devastated by a sectarian violence in 1992and bomb blasts 1993

Latur was hit by an earthquake (1993). Thatled to formulation of a state disastermanagement policy


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The Event July: Monsoonin Maharashtra July 24: floods

in the province July 26:

944 mm rain inMumbai


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The villain -

Offshore vortex


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Impact

Deaths - 500 (Drowned, buried in landslides,

electrocuted, stampede ) Affected all Missing- 100 Financial loss- US $ 1 Billion

Almost the entire urban sprawl ofMumbai sub-urban and Thanedistrict were under water, paralyzingthe city and civic life


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Impact

Power shut down Transport on a standstill Flights cancelled for two days People stranded in offices, roads

without food and water Telephones

cut off


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Response

'Mumbaikars' in action: Rescue

Food, water Brought boats etc Solidarity and support


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Response

Mohalla (local area) committees , mostly setup after the 1992/3 riots, were in full swing. Youth groups worked with the Army Voluntary / NGOs groups in direct action

Corporates and their charity foundations gavea helping hand Educational institutions offered advise and

voluntary work


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Government response Initially, it was a knee - jerk reaction Dramatic change once communities started

taking control, forcing government action Army was called in Declared public holidays for July 27 and 28 Extended the July 31 deadline for filing

income tax returns - or people would havebeen out on streets

Agreed to work with NGOs in reliefdistribution


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What difference could it

make? Less lives lost Targeted aid - aid reached some of the most

needy Mumbai back on its feet in less than a week People s confidence never lost Mumbai learnt its lessons and is better

prepared. It has further strengthened disaster

preparedness measures in Mumbai Inspired other cities.


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What made the difference ? State disaster management policy in action

Experienced and informed bureaucracy .

Senior national political leaders from the provinceare committed to disaster management

Same political party (coalition member) in powerin the province and centre.

Government - civil society synergy Disaster in a high profile city became a test for

governance


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What else made the difference?

Mumbai has a history of responding todisasters - natural and human made

1992 -1993 riots and bomb blasts 1993 Latur earthquake

City is bursting at its seems, still the civic

amenities are working


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What else madethe difference?

Resilience Mumbaikers

civic sense: the best Strong and vigilant civil society Generous contribution from corporate Local committees trained in facilitating self

help - culture of resilience , trust and synergynurtured over the past several years.


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The big picture

Indian scenario- disaster managementbill passed , policy is emerging.

How Mumbai fits in? Is it an exception? Be vigilant, but build on positive stories Bring in community experience Communication can make or break the

response measures.


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Lessons

Put PEOPLE at the centre-stage Local action makes all the difference Empowered communities respond better Informed, trained

bureaucrats can offer

co-ordinated response Star value helps,but political action

is necessary.


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Mumbai is still vulnerable

Losses could have been minimised by

keeping the city's Mithi river free ofencroachment Unhindered building construction

around the city's green areas is

amplifying vulnerabilities.

No city is an exception


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Future tense

A section of climate experts blame it onglobal warming.

Unusually cold winter in Mumbai citedas an example of climate change

Urban landscape changes makedisaster response difficult ( Mumbai comprises reclaimed creeks, a river mouth and an island mostly located close to sea level )


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In a nutshell

Local capacity building is the key todisaster response

Government- civil society synergy canwork wonders Invest in preparedness

Material and emotional needs Dovetail components of disasterpreparedness into long term/ growthplans of cities. (rememberembankments)


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The story Once there was a village near a riverEveryday the villagers would find one or two people

drowning in the river.The villagers would rush and try and save these people In time the villagers became proficient in rescuing people

who were drowning in the river and the patterncontinued for a while

Until somebody began to question. What was happening upstream that caused these people to

fall in..


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Thank you

unnikrishnan a

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