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The total geographical
area of Uttar Pradesh is 240.93 lakh hectares.
Recurring natural disasters in the State over the
years have been causing severe damage and adversely
affecting human, plant and animal life, property and
environment. Natural disasters that are of
significance in Uttar Pradesh are –
Floods, Droughts, Fires and Earthquakes. Loss of
life and property from these disasters, especially
the former three, are in terms of hundreds of crores
of rupees annually. Considerable efforts are made
every year, both by the government and the public,
to mitigate the losses encountered during a
disaster. But recurring floods ,droughts and fires
have been pointers to the manifestation of increased
vulnerabilities and inadequacy of the various
sporadic mitigation measures attempted. The emerging
context is an increase in frequency of disasters,
their escalating cost, rising levels of
vulnerability, narrowing differences between natural
& manmade disasters amidst an increasingly fragile
environment. This underscores the dire need for a
holistic approach to dovetail mitigation efforts
with development programmes in the State. Emergency
preparedness is crucial for recovery from disasters
with minimal loss of life and property.
Hazard Vulnerability in UP
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Approx. 27 lakh
hectares affected annually due to Floods
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Annual estimated
loss due to floods is Rs. 432 crores.
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The recurrence
period of highly deficient rainfall in East U.P.
has been calculated to be 6 to 8 years whereas
in West U.P. it is 10 years
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In the recent
years, the year 2002, & 2004 were severe in
terms of drought, with loss to crop, livestock
and property assessed at Rs.7540 crores and Rs.
7292 crores respectively.
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The Terai belt
districts of UP and entire districts of
Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bagpat, Bijnor,
Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautambuddh Nagar, JP Nagar,
Rampur, Moradabad, Bulandshahr in western UP are
in the Earthquake High Damage Risk Zone-IV
The following are the Weak Zones In the
State-may be termed as trigger points:
Ridges
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Delhi-Haridwar
Ridge
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Delhi
Muzaffarnagar Ridge
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Faizabad Ridge
Faults
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Moradabad Fault
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Bhairawan Fault
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East-West Running
Tear Faculty
Floods:
Of the various natural disasters floods are the most
commonly occurring in Uttar Pradesh, affecting
almost every year some part of the state or the
other. Important rivers, which create floods in the
State, are the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Ramganga, the
Gomti, the Sharda, the Ghaghra, the Rapti and the
Gandak. The Ganga River basin of U.P. experiences
normal rainfall in the region from 60 cm to 190 cm
of which more than 80% occur during the southwest
monsoon. The rainfall increases from west to east
and from south to north .Similar is the pattern of
floods ,the problem increases from west to east and
south to north. Out of the 240.93 lakh hectares
geographical area of the State about 73.06 lakh
hectares is flood prone. As per the Irrigation
Department’s estimate, only 58.72 lakh can actually
be protected. Up to March 2004, only 16.01 lakh
hectares has been protected. The eastern districts
as well as those situated in the Terai region
bordering Nepal are the most affected. Due to
floods, an average of 26.89 lakh hectares is
affected annually, and the estimated loss to crops,
houses and livestock is to the tune of Rs.432 crore
annually. Apart from these, loss of human life also
occurs.
Flood Management measures adopted so far:
Main flood management programmes so for
undertaken in the State are:
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Construction of
embankments, drainage improvements, building
reservoirs detention basins and a forestation
etc.
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Modification of
susceptibility to flood damage through flood
forecasting and disaster preparedness. And the
improvement of river channel to increase their
discharge carrying capacity by straightening,
widening and deepening.
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The construction
of by pass and diversion channels to carry some
of the excess floodwater away from the protected
areas.
Establishment of
“Flood Control Centres”, essentially in important
flood prone districts and at the Headquarters in
Sichai Bhawan”, at Lucknow, for the pur poses of
information gathering and immediate remedial
measures, such as repair of embankment etc.
Recent Developments
Recognizing the importance of vulnerability mapping,
as a critical tool for disaster preparedness, the
State Irrigation Department has , with the help of
UP Remote Sensing Application Centre (RSAC-UP), has
started using satellite data for mapping and
monitoring flood inundated areas, bank erosions,
alignment of embankments, status of water bodies,
course of flow of major rivers etc; in short, flood
hazard zoning, post-flood survey of river
configuration, flood routing and protection works
and damage assessment. The services of RSAC-UP have
been engaged for preparing detailed digitized maps
of all the flood prone eastern districts. Maps of
six districts have been prepared so far. ( box –2)
Efforts of the Army and the Provincial Armed
Constabulary (PAC Flood Division during Floods
The ever alert Army has been responding very quickly
whenever requisitioned.It has prepared a Flood
Relief Scheme for the Lucknow Sub Area, covering 14
districts. A similar plan is under preparation for
the entire eastern UP, taking into account that this
region is the most flood affected.
The PAC currently has 44 motor boats distributed
among 17 Flood Companies situated in the following
districts viz. -Sitapur, Allahabad(2 in no.) ,
Meerut, Bareilly, Fatehpur, Agra, Azamgarh,
Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Lucknow, Varanasi (2 in
no.) Kanpur, Ghaziabad, and Etah. 160. At the
meeting of State Level Standing Committee on
Calamity Relief held on -24th August, 2005, decision
was taken to equip all the PAC Flood Companies with
a minimum of five motor boats apart from fitting
rubberized and aluminum boats with motor engines.
Thus Rs.4.14 crores were released for purchase of
additional 41 motor boats and fixing motor engines
on 60 rubberised and 72 aluminium boats , including
13 motor boats for the Revenue Department under
Calamity Relief Fund. Apart from this funds have
been released for purchase of 12 more motor boats
for the Revenue Department The PAC Flood Companies
are also being shortly connected by the ‘Closed User
Group’ mobile phone network for their easy access by
the civil administration in times of emergencies.
Drought
Drought is another major disaster affecting the
State of Uttar Pradesh. The State produces about 21
percent of all food grains of the country, and hence
is agriculturally an important State. The total sown
area is 25.30 million ha out of which, 17.69 million
ha. is irrigated area.(66% is irrigated). Of the
irrigated area, canals contribute about 25%, tube
wells about 67% and ponds, lakes etc. the remaining.
Thus one third of the irrigated area and the entire
extent of rain fed area in the State is dependant on
monsoon rains.
The recharge of groundwater through rains accounts
about 80 % of total recharge. The monsoon rain
accounts 70-80% of the total rainfall in a year in
our region.
The State of U.P. has been divided into two
meteorological sub-divisions, viz. U.P. East, and
U.P. West. The recurrence perio d of highly
deficient rainfall in East U.P. has been calculated
to be 6 to 8 years whereas in West U.P. it is 10
years. The annual loss due to drought in the State
varies depending on the severity of the drought. In
the recent years, the year 2002, & 2004 were severe
in terms of drought, with loss to crop, livestock
and property assessed at Rs.7540 crores and Rs. 7292
crores respectively.
On going Drought Control Measures
Efforts are being made to lessen the impact of
drought by the construction of reservoirs, digging
of bore wells, deepening of existing wells, lowering
of river intakes and diversion of flood water for
groundwater recharge, conserving soil moisture by
proper crop rotation, use of drought resistant
varieties etc. Under the Drought Prone Area
Programme of the Govt. of India executed by the
State emphasis was given on the improvement in minor
irrigation facilities, soil and water conservation
works and aforestation. These measures for drought
control in the state are executed through Rural
Development ,Agriculture, Minor Irrigation and
Forest Departments.
For the monitoring and assessment of drought in the
country, a programme named as National Agricultural
Drought Assessment and Monitoring System has been
initiated by the Dept. of Space where fortnightly
bulletins are provided based on interpretation and
analysis of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) satellite data. The drought
assessment is based on the analysis of vegetation
conditions as seen on the satellite images every
fortnight. For U.P, the drought bulletins are being
issued by the National Remote Sensing Agency,
Hyderabad. Another important area in which the
remote sensing techniques is helping the district
authorities is providing information on sites for
drilling tubewells, hand pumps, etc. In the
Bundelkhand Division of the state of U.P. most part
of which suffer from drought periodically, RSAC - UP
has been able to provide drilling sites with very
successful results.
Effort is being made by RSAC-UP in a chronically
drought affected district of Lalitpur wherein remote
sensing based information on forestry, agriculture,
soils, ground and surface water are being combined
with demographic information, rainfall estimate and
cultural practices to evolve long term measures for
withstanding recurring drought conditions. The
outcome of this exercise will identify the area that
need to be afforested for soil and water
conservation areas for further exploitation of
groundwater, areas requiring alternate cropping
patterns on the requirement, and areas for
recharging groundwater.
Drought situation in Uttar Pradesh in the year
2002 and creation of ‘Crop Weather Watch Group’
The monsoon in the state of Uttar Pradesh sets in
early June and reaches Lucknow around 15 June in a
normal rainfall year. In the year 2002, except for
only 2-3 districts in Eastern U.P. and in the parts
of foothill zone south of Nepal, nil or scantly
rainfall was received in June and July, leading to
the declaration of 15 districts as “Drought
affected” by the State government on 18 July 2002.
This alarming situation led the Dept. of Agriculture
(DoA) to gather from RSAC-UP, information on crop
sowing and crop coverage using satellite data on a
weekly basis. The Govt. of U.P., also created a
committee named as “Crop Weather Watch Group” (CWWG)
with the Director General, U.P. Council of
Agricultural Research as its Chairman and Director
of Agriculture, U.P., Director, RSAC-UP, Head, Agro
meteorology Division and Agronomists and Plant
Breeders from the three Agricultural Universities of
the State as members.
The Objectives of the CWWG are as follows:
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Assessment of
region-wise and crop wise area sown in the
state,
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Assessment of
status of cropped received by DoA from its field
staff and corroboration with crop area and
status information from remote sensing data.
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Assessment of
status of rainfall and medium range weather
forecast received from NCMRWF, India
Meteorological Department, (IMD), and
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Preparation of
contingency plan for farmers indicating steps to
be taken by them if the rainfall is received in
the next week, next fortnight or next month. The
contingency plan consisted of advisories on
alternate, low moisture requiring crops and
management practices to be adopted by the
farmers in different districts/ divisions of the
state keeping in view the current and future
rainfall condition.
Equipping the Fire
Services
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Advance Fire
Tenders-for cities of Kanpur Nagar, Agra,
Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow and Meerut., along
with mobile sets and hand wireless sets.
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Fire Boats for
Ayodhya, Allahabad and Gadmukteshwar (Ghaziabad)
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Thirteen Rescue
Tenders along with mobile sets and hand wireless
sets.
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Use of GIS: -
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Best approach
route planning for relief operation
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Quick information
on extent of disaster damages inventory map of
high rising buildings
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Placement of
adequate number of fire tenders to cover maximum
areas by demarking buffer zones
167. The CWWG had its
discussion on weekly basis, starting late July to
the end of October 2002 and provided information on
contingency plan, which were released for farmers
through electronic and print media in all parts of
the state. Since the information by the CWWG was
required on the extent of sown/cropped area on
district basis, the image received from NRSA was
geo-referenced and intersected with district
boundary of U.P. and district-wise statistics were
generated at RSAC-UP. Further, the vegetation vigour
as depicted on the NDVI image were grouped into
three vegetation classes, viz., very good, good, and
low, and one non-vegetation class shown as ‘other’
(bare soils, water bodies etc .) The area under each
of these classes was also calculated. Change in the
vegetation condition over the last fortnight was
also analysed and a qualitative estimation was made
as to whether the change was significant in terms of
vegetation condition in the district.
Fires:
168. Annually, fires destroy thousands of houses
especially in summer, in the rural areas of the
State. Also fire accidents are a common occurrence
in the urban areas.
169. At the meeting of the State Level Standing
Committee on Calamity Relief held on 25th
August,2005, decision was taken to equip the State
Fire Department with required Rescue Tenders and
Advanced Rescue Tenders, which are in shortage right
now. Funds to the tune of Rs. 12.19 crores have been
made available from the Calamity Relief Fund for
purchase of the same. Apart from this, the Fire
Services Training Institute, Unnao, which is the
Nodal Institute for the entire State, for training
in Search & Rescue Operations ,is being strengthened
on war footing. The entire Fire Department including
it’s field stations are being shortly connected by
the ‘Closed User Group’ mobile phone network for
their easy access by the civil administration in
times of emergencies/accidents.
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