Holistic flood management strategies

• Assam has been ravaged by two bouts of floods in quick succession which has impacted lakhs of people directly or indirectly.
• Experts argue that time has come to translate these seasonal flood related crisis into an opportunity to bring shift in flood management.

Suggestive Measures to Turn Disaster into Opportunity:

• Shift in policy interventions from hazard prevention to the minimisation of disaster risk.
• Shifting focus from structural interventions and river engineering to prevent floods to build people’s resilience.
• Riparian population should be at the centre of flood management.
• Strategies should include developmental activities with community participation.

Way forward

• Dealing with flood risk is essentially a management problem.
• It requires dedicated and trained professionals who understand the interdisciplinarity required to manage flood risk and build resilience.
• This is an opportunity for the state government, philanthropic agencies, development implementers and academic institutes to come together and develop such a cadre of professionals.