Abstract
During August 2018, Kerala experienced unprecedented rainfall, which resulted in the worst ever flooding in the state’s history since 1924. Economic losses from the 2018 floods in the Indian state of Kerala reduced the GDP growth by 1%. Apart from the loss of human and animal lives, the severe flooding also destroyed buildings, roads, and infrastructural systems like water and sanitation, highlighting the magnitude of the natural disaster. With the growing need to have a better response mechanism to the challenge of climate change, it is pertinent for policy makers and planners to understand the interlinkage and complexity between development and environment. It is especially important to understand the human and natural factors that exacerbated and contributed to this disaster in Kerala for future preparedness. In this paper, the natural and anthropogenic factors behind the Kerala floods based on existing scientific information and research were established. Furthermore, Kerala ranks first among Indian states on the Human Development Index (HDI). It has made significant advances in terms of education and healthcare as compared to rest of India. Aspects that contribute to the uniqueness of Kerala is the successful decentralised governance and strong citizen participation. With this context, the paper reviews the post disaster response of the government, in terms of governance and intervention. Emerging insights from post disaster impacts can help in understanding the gaps and assist in formulating guidelines for future adaptation and risk reduction policies. Finally, the way forward has been suggested as an integrated approach for mainstreaming climate resilience (Climate resilience refers to the capacity of a socio-ecological system to adapt, reorganize, and evolve to be better prepared for future disasters and climate change impacts.) for the State of Kerala.
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Notes
- 1.
INCCA has been conceptualized as network based scientific program designed to: assess the drivers and implication of climate change through scientific research in 2009, by Government of India.
- 2.
Gadgil commission—An expert panel formally known as Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) constituted to suggest strategy for conserving Western Ghats, an ecological rich resource in India.
- 3.
The PDNA for the floods and landslides was made possible due to the collaborative efforts of the Government of Kerala, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, the United Nations agencies, the European Commission, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).
- 4.
Sphere India coordinated a Multi-Sectoral Joint Detailed Needs Assessment (JDNA) in the 10 worst affected districts namely Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Wayanad in 11 sectors each led by one of the Sphere India sector expert organizations.
- 5.
L3 disaster situations arise from large where districts and the state may not have the capacity to respond adequately and require assistance from central government for reinstating the state and district machinery.
- 6.
Disaster risk reduction is defined by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) as, ‘Action taken to reduce the risk of disasters and the adverse impacts of natural hazards, through systematic efforts to analyse and manage the causes of disasters, including through avoidance of hazards, reduced social and economic vulnerability to hazards, and improved preparedness for adverse events’.
- 7.
Whereas the term adaptive capacity originates in the Third Assessment Report of the IPCC Working Group 2, Chap. 18 and describes the ability of a society to successfully respond to changes in its environment, in this case, hydrological risks.
- 8.
Community resilience includes resistance (the ability of a community to absorb perturbation), recovery (the speed and ability to recover from the stressors) and creativity (the ability of a social system to maintain a constant process of creating and recreating as the community not only responds to adversity, and efficient functioning).
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the entire team of Kerala State Disaster Management Authority led by Dr. Sekhar L. Kuriakkose (Member Secretary, KSDMA and Head Scientist, Kerala State Emergency Operations Centre), Mrs. Parvathy S. (Hazard and Risk Analyst, Kerala State Emergency Operations Centre, KSDMA), Mr. Pradeep G. S., Mr. Sathyakumar C. J., Mr. Fahad Marzook, Ms. Anupama (Hazard Analysts, Kerala State Emergency Operations Centre). The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Kerala.
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Tripathi, N.G., Davis, N. (2020). Natural Hazards and Climate Change: Lessons and Experiences from Kerala Flood Disaster. In: Leal Filho, W., Nagy, G., Borga, M., Chávez Muñoz, P., Magnuszewski, A. (eds) Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37425-9_29
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