V-7-Urban Flooding in Changing Environment.

Abstract

Urban flooding is currently one of the major and costly environmental hazards. The main causes of urban flooding include uneven distribution of rainfall along with rapid urbanization, encroachment and filling of natural drainage channels and urban lakes to utilize the high-value urban lands for buildings. Rapid urban development combined with the impact of climate change necessitates that more attention is required for urban flood management. Urban flooding can be reduced with measures like maintaining existing drainage channels, providing underground drainage paths, on site storage of rainwater, control of solid waste entering the drainage systems, providing porous pavements to allow infiltration of rainwater, reserve low-lying areas for playgrounds and parks and using stateof-the-art technologies to address current problems such as flood warning and forecasting system. The warning system monitors water levels and discharge rates. Combining this information with weather forecasts, the risk of saturating the sewers resulting in flooding can be predicted. Such systems provide the necessary tools to plan and design for the future as multiple scenarios including climate change. The current urbanization trend clearly indicates shift from rural to urban areas. It is estimated that by the year 2050, about 60 70% of population will migrate to cities and the problem of urban flooding will be more critical. In this paper an attempt has been made to address the problem of urban flooding through a proper planning strategy.