Syllabus: GS-III & V: Natural Disaster

Why in the News?

Continuous torrential rainfall in recent days has triggered severe flooding in Golaghat district of Assam, with the Dhansiri River flowing more than a metre above its danger mark.

More About the Current Flood Situation

• The Dhansiri River and its tributaries, the Doyang and Kaliyani, are rising at an alarming rate of 2 centimetres per hour, inundating vast areas of Numaligarh and Morongi.
  
• A major embankment breach at West Dhodang has worsened the situation, leading to flooding in many downstream villages.
  
• More than 20 villages remain submerged, and thousands of residents have been displaced from their homes.
  
• The Golaghat district administration has launched extensive relief and rescue operations, evacuating people to temporary shelters set up in schools.
  
• With road connectivity completely cut off, residents are using country boats and bamboo rafts to move between villages.
  
• Community organisations like the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) have stepped in to distribute food, drinking water, and essential supplies in relief camps.
  
• Critical infrastructure has also been damaged, with a section of the Sigil–Nepalikhuṭi road near Numaligarh washed away by the floodwaters.

What is Flood?

• A flood is a high-water stage in which water overflows its natural or artificial banks onto normally dry land.
• Flooding occurs when the volume of water in rivers, lakes, or reservoirs exceeds their capacity, often due to heavy rainfall, siltation, or failure of embankments and dams.

Flood in Assam

• Assam is extremely prone to floods and erosion, which negatively affects the state’s development.
  
• According to the Rashtriya Barh Ayog, about 39.58 percent of Assam’s total land area (31.05 lakh hectares) is prone to flood hazards.
  
• This is four times the national average of flood-prone areas in India.
  
• Assam experiences three to four waves of floods every year, particularly during the monsoon.
  
• The state has faced major floods in the years 1954, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2004, and 2012.
• In 2024, floods and landslides in Assam affected 42.95 lakh people across 7,794 villages in 35 districts.
  
• In 2025, over 6.30 lakh people in 21 districts were affected in one of the flood waves, with 12 deaths reported.
  

Causes of Floods in Assam

Natural Factors

• Assam’s unique topography, surrounded by hills on three sides, causes rainwater from mountains to rapidly flow into the plains, leading to flooding.
  
• The state receives very high rainfall during the monsoon season, with the southwest monsoon winds bringing intense precipitation. 
  • For example, during the 2022 floods, Assam recorded 327 % excess rainfall.
    
• The Brahmaputra, Barak, and their tributaries carry large amounts of silt and sediment from the Himalayas. 
  • This sediment raises riverbeds, reduces water-carrying capacity, and increases the flood risk.
    
• Assam is also tectonically active, and earthquakes often trigger landslides that block river flows and worsen flooding.
  

Anthropogenic Factors

• Deforestation in catchment areas has reduced the soil’s ability to absorb water, leading to more runoff and floods. Assam lost 17,100 hectares of natural forest in 2023 alone.
  
• Encroachment and unplanned settlements in wetlands and floodplains have destroyed natural drainage systems, increasing the vulnerability of these areas.
  
• While embankments were built to protect flood-prone areas, many of them fail during high floods, worsening the damage.
  
• Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events, making floods more severe. 

Why are Floods a Perennial Problem in Assam?

• Aging and Ineffective Embankments
  
  • Assam has constructed 423 embankments since the 1950s, but 295 have exceeded their lifespan, leading to frequent breaches.
    
  • Repair work is often temporary patchwork rather than durable rebuilding, creating an “embankment economy” that benefits contractors and politicians while leaving communities vulnerable.
    
• Fragmented Institutional Approach
  
  • Flood management involves multiple agencies — ASDMA, Water Resources Department, Central Water Commission, Panchayats — but lack of coordination and accountability results in delayed responses and poor planning.
    
• Reactive Rather than Preventive Measures
  
  • Government policies focus more on post-flood relief and compensation rather than prevention and long-term resilience.
    
  • Limited emphasis is placed on floodplain zoning, watershed management, or early warning systems.
    
• Inadequate Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Dissemination
  
  • Although forecasting technology exists, last-mile delivery to rural households is weak.
    
  • Many villages do not receive timely alerts, leading to panic evacuations and greater damage.
    
• Population Pressure and Development in Floodplains
  
  • Nearly 80% of Assam’s population lives in the Brahmaputra Valley, forcing settlements in flood-prone zones.
    
  • Dependence on fertile floodplains for agriculture ensures that displaced families often return to the same vulnerable areas even after floods.
    
• Lack of Integrated Basin-Wide Management
  
  • The Brahmaputra and its tributaries flow through China, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland before entering Assam.
    
  • Absence of transboundary cooperation and data sharing on upstream rainfall, glacial melt, and dam releases worsens unpredictability.
    
• Political Economy of Floods
  
  • Floods in Assam have become politicised events, with short-term relief distribution often taking precedence over structural reforms.
    
  • Experts argue that vested interests benefit from recurring floods, reducing the incentive to adopt long-term, scientific solutions.

Impact of floods

• Human Impacts: Floods cause loss of human lives, displacement of people, and increased health risks such as water-borne diseases.

  • For instance, during the 2022 floods, nearly 9.3 million people were affected across Assam.
• Economic Impacts: Floods lead to crop destruction, livestock losses, and damage to infrastructure like roads, schools, and bridges.
  • The Assam government estimates that the state faces an average annual loss of ₹200 crore due to floods.
  • The 2022 floods alone caused economic losses worth around ₹10,000 crore.
• Environmental Impacts: Floods accelerate soil erosion, leading to habitat loss and water pollution.
  • Since 1950, Assam has lost 4.27 lakh hectares (7.4 % of its total area) due to erosion, with an average annual erosion rate of 8,000 hectares.
• Long-term Impacts: Repeated floods push communities into poverty and food insecurity by destroying assets and livelihoods.
  • Floods cause psychological trauma, especially among children and vulnerable groups.
  • The cumulative effect of recurring floods increases the long-term vulnerability of Assam’s people.

Recent Government Initiatives in Assam

• Launch of Flood Atlas, ICR-ER, NDEM Lite 2.0 & Flood Hazard Zonation Atlas
  In June 2025, Union Home Minister launched several disaster-management tools in Guwahati:
  • Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER)
  • National Database for Emergency Management Lite 2.0 (NDEM Lite 2.0)
  • Flood Hazard Zonation Atlas of Assam
  • These are aimed at improving early warning, response coordination, mapping of flood zones, and providing authorities with real-time data on river water levels and flood patterns.
    
• MoU with IIT Guwahati for Training Engineers under FREMAA: The Assam government signed a MOU with IIT-Guwahati to run a two-year online MTech program in Flood and Water Resources Management under the Assam Flood and River Erosion Management Agency (FREMAA), supported by the World Bank.
  • This aims to train about 20 engineers per year, with around 200 engineers over a decade, to improve technical capacity for flood control, sediment management, and climate resilience.
    
• Assam getting Central Assistance under FMBAP & Flood Management Projects: Under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP), Assam has been a recipient of central assistance for flood control, anti-erosion, drainage development etc. 
• Innovative Wetlands Integration for Floodwater Diversion: In the State Budget 2024-25, Assam proposed a project titled ‘Innovative Integration of Wetlands with the River Brahmaputra for Floodwater Diversion’, with approximately ₹200 crore earmarked.
  • The idea is to use natural wetlands as buffers and reservoirs to absorb excess floodwater, reducing pressure on rivers and embankments.
• Majuli Island Protection & River Erosion Works: The Brahmaputra Board is executing flood and erosion protection schemes including those for Majuli Island as well as bank protection of the Brahmaputra and maintenance of previously executed flood control works.
• District Flood Contingency Plans: For example, the Tinsukia district has drawn up its District Flood Contingency Plan 2025-26, which assigns duties among officials, ensures availability of manpower, logistics, and resource allocation during the flood-prone period.

Way Forward

• Assam must strengthen and modernise embankments and floodwalls, as most are more than 50–60 years old.
  
• Regular dredging and desiltation of river channels is necessary to improve water flow.
  
• The government should enact a Floodplain Zoning Act to regulate construction and activities in high-risk flood-prone areas.
  
• Interlinking rivers and diverting excess water to drought-prone regions can help balance water resources.
  
• Afforestation, watershed management, and rejuvenation of wetlands should be prioritised as natural flood mitigation measures.
  
• Communities should be trained in flood preparedness, with early warning systems and local disaster management committees.
  
• Assam must adopt flood-tolerant housing, infrastructure, and agriculture to build long-term resilience.
  

Conclusion

Floods in Assam are a natural phenomenon made worse by human negligence and weak infrastructure. While schemes such as AIRBMP and BFERMP are steps in the right direction, a holistic approach combining structural measures (embankments, dredging) with non-structural measures (floodplain zoning, afforestation, community preparedness) is essential. Sustainable solutions, coupled with strict policy enforcement, can transform Assam from a flood-ravaged state to a flood-resilient society.

1. Every year, Assam experiences devastating floods that result in significant economic loss. In this context, analyze the main reasons behind the  frequent floods in Assam and suggest some  steps that are needed to take for effective floods management.                                                                                               (250 words/15 marks)