-BBC
The severe flooding in Chennai again proves that India’s cities are unprepared for extreme weather events like rains, droughts and cyclonic storms which are becoming more frequent and intense.
Many parts of India suffer flooding every year during the annual monsoon rains from June to September. The northeast monsoon has been particularly vigorous over southern India and more so in Tamil Nadu state, of which Chennai is the capital.
The severe flooding in Chennai again proves that India’s cities are unprepared for extreme weather events like rains, droughts and cyclonic storms which are becoming more frequent and intense.
Many parts of India suffer flooding every year during the annual monsoon rains from June to September. The northeast monsoon has been particularly vigorous over southern India and more so in Tamil Nadu state, of which Chennai is the capital.
Last month was the wettest November in a century in the city of 4.3 million people. And, at 490 mm, rainfall on 1 December was the highest in 100 years.
The floods are a wake up call for India’s teeming cities that were built with the expectation that the environment would adjust itself to accommodate the need for the city to grow.
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