After deadly floods in India, experts call for better warnings and long-term planning

More than 100 people have died in floods in India’s northeastern Assam state which government officials say is the worst the climate vulnerable region has seen in six decades

GUWAHATI, India -- Rojo Neog left his house in India's Assam state on the evening of July 19 to buy candles after heavy rain knocked out electricity. As he rode back on his bicycle, the Dikhow River suddenly rose and the current intensified.

The floodwaters swept him away, and his body was found three days later, said his niece Priyakshi Gogoi, who lives nearby. Gogoi said floodwaters around her uncle’s village Hulang Katoni rose from knee-deep to neck-deep in about 30 minutes.

“There was no warning, nothing,” she said. “In the morning we thought it’s fine, there is little flooding but it will subside, but we didn’t expect it to become so bad.”

More than 100 people have died in flooding in Assam this year in what state officials have described as its worst flooding in about six decades. While flooding is frequent in Assam, climate and disaster experts said increasingly intense rainfall, sand mining, upstream deforestation, wetland loss, urbanization and heavy reliance on embankments are making floods more unpredictable and destructive.

Experts said Assam and other states upstream must move beyond spending millions of dollars on flood-control structures and relief toward better early warnings, scientific mapping of changing risks and restoring the ability of forests, wetlands and floodplains to absorb water.

“It’s very important to study and understand flood risks better in Assam,” said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the environmental group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. “Once we understand, we can also forecast well. Then we can prepare well and less people will be affected. India is very good at rescuing people or providing relief after the disaster, but is particularly bad in doing anything significant to reduce the possibilities of such disasters.”

Each year from June to September, a series of heavy rains known as monsoons sweep through India, providing relief from heat, irrigating the country’s farms and replenishing its rivers. However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods.

India, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, is also among the hardest hit by climate change . Assam state is among India’s most flood-prone, with about 40% of its land vulnerable to inundation from the Brahmaputra River and smaller rivers.

The floods have displaced more than 700,000 people and submerged farmland while damaging roads and other infrastructure. Although many residents have begun returning home as floodwaters recede, thousands remain in relief camps.

Krishna Karamkar jumped into floodwaters on July 19 when one of his two sons inadvertently fell into the overflowing Dikhow, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra. The 42-year-old was able to save his son, but he perished.

“He pushed our son to safety, but he got swept away by the river,” said Sumi Karamkar, his wife.