Investigating the Impact of Flood on Low Lying Settlements of Delhi, India: A Planning Perspective

Abstract

In the past, the Yamuna River and the Najafgarh Drainage System have flooded the city of Delhi severely. In the past 33 years, Yamuna has 25 times exceeded its risk threshold, which is set at 204.83m. Since 1900, Delhi has suffered six significant floods when the Yamuna River has reached a height of one metre or more above the accidental 204.49m on the old railway bridge (2.66m above the accident level). These floods happened in 1924, 1947, 1976, 1978, 1988, and 1995. The Yamuna recently climbed more than two metres beyond the danger threshold in Delhi, breaking the milestone 207 metres for the first time in 32 years. The second highest point, at 206.92 metres, was on September 27, 1988. There is a direct impact of floods on the Yamuna River and the city drainage network. People who live along the Yamuna River Belt, on the river's banks, and in the drain are impacted by this. The amount of the solid regions causing local floods has increased landslides as a result of deforestation and local floods. Low-lying communities, particularly haphazard colonies that fall into the water, will be most impacted by this. Hathinikund erupts high in Haryana because of the persistent, intense rainfall on the high cliffs, draining water upstream, continuing to flood Delhi and harming the lives of those who live in low-lying areas. Therefore, torrential rains caused severe damage to the city, and even more so to those families built on the wrong side, which were the first and most frequent sightings of their homes and property being flooded. Families had already begun to lose livestock and livestock during this time, before being evacuated and their situation remains so dire that one has to leave the rest of the house to relocate and relocate when the water level drops. The purpose of the study was to explore about the kind of impacts generally inhabitants face during and post flooding and to find out the implementation of strategies. The following methods were used: Site survey of the case study area in which structured questionnaire and observations were conducted through primary survey, analysis and assessment, study of issues and concerns. As a result, flood prevention, preparedness and mitigation strategies with reference to low lying area have been analyzed and planning recommendations have been proposed.