Plannig for riverine flood resilience in urban areas

Abstract

When floods ravaged the Kerala state in 2018 and 2019, the severely affected areas in the Ernakulam district included mainly four municipalities namely, Angamali, Perumbavoor, Aluva and North Paravur. The study area, North Paravur municipality is located at northwestern part of district Ernakulam, adjoining with the district Thrissur. It comes within the northern outskirts of the city Kochi, located about 20 kilometres away from the central part of Kochi. Since the Paravur tehsil is situated in the flat delta region of the Periyar River, the study area is located within the Periyar River basin. The study area is thus having several water canals, which have occasioned in the development of numerous islands. It was observed that the land on the banks of water bodies and the wetlands that were converted to other land uses, were affected the most by flooding in the North Paravur municipality. Presence of adequate wetlands and planned human settlements would have controlled the extent of the damages due to flood, in the municipality. However, since the advent of urbanization, excessive pressure on wetlands and floodplain areas were created, especially near the city centres like Kochi and its conurbations, including study area. In this, an attempt is made to study the existing urban settlement pattern and landuse changes of the study area in the context of riverine floods, which is followed by identification, and mapping of the past-inundated areas and flood vulnerability zones. Also through the study, an attempt will be made to suggest relevant solutions, considering the adverse effects of frequent floods, and will be proposing a flood-resilient modification of the urban settlement pattern of the study area through planning. In addition, conservation strategies in order to protect and restore the wetlands will be discussed. The study will also look on the problems linked with existing land use or planning of future urban settlements and will suggest some solutions for the same aiming the planners and stakeholders involved.