3.3.4 Disaster Preparedness
MCGM has put in place a robust disaster management system, which includes 196
temporary pumps to discharge water; zone-wise six search and rescue teams under
the fire brigade; 500 additional BEST buses. Apart from this, 288 retaining walls in
74 places have been undertaken by the Slum Improvement Board. The state government has also set-up a State Disaster Management Sub-Committee for Mumbai,
which is headed by ACS (Home). There are ward-wise Disaster Management
Committees headed by assistant commissioners of respective wards.
MCGM is undoubtedly trying to reduce risks that Mumbai faces due to climate
change. However, all these projects are disjointed and lack a comprehensive plan.
For instance, drainage is looked after by one department headed by Vhatkar.
Warning system and disaster management is the responsibility of disaster management department of the corporation. Making city more pedestrian-friendly and
promoting public transport system is looked after by the roads department.
Dilapidated buildings and building codes fall under development plan
(DP) department.
3.4 Will Mumbai Swim or Sink?
According to the findings of a 2010 OECD study, ‘Flood Risks, Climate Change
Impacts and Adaptation Benefits in Mumbai’, by 2080 s, an upper bound climate
scenario could see the likelihood of a 2005-like event more than double. Financial
losses could also triple compared with the 2005 situation. Rapid urbanization will
further increase the risk level.
However, all is still not lost. In June 2011, MCA4climate published a case study
titled ‘Flood risks, Infrastructure Resilience and Climate Change Adaption in
Mumbai, India’ to illustrate the evaluation of climate adaptation policy to increase
infrastructure resilience in the coastal city of Mumbai. It came out with five broad
policy options to increase infrastructure resilience. These include public transport,
building codes, warning systems and emergency response, insurance, and enforced
retreat. It also listed and discussed instruments for each of these policy options (see
Table 4: Policy options to increase infrastructure resilience in Mumbai) (Table 4).
According to Patwardhan, in order to develop adaptation strategies for any city,
it is important to understand the link between hazard, exposure and
response/capacity. “Hazard signifies parameters such as how much rainfall a city
receives, on which local people/state governments/administration has no control.
Exposure stands for urban land use, where we have built, what we have built and
how much we have built. This is something that is a result of human activities.
Lastly, response shows what capacity we have to deal with a disaster or extreme
weather event. We cannot control hazard, hence we have to focus on exposure and
response, thus these two elements define the adaptation strategy for a city”.
470
S. Manasi and N. Jamwal
MCGM has put in place a robust disaster management system, which includes 196
temporary pumps to discharge water; zone-wise six search and rescue teams under
the fire brigade; 500 additional BEST buses. Apart from this, 288 retaining walls in
74 places have been undertaken by the Slum Improvement Board. The state government has also set-up a State Disaster Management Sub-Committee for Mumbai,
which is headed by ACS (Home). There are ward-wise Disaster Management
Committees headed by assistant commissioners of respective wards.
MCGM is undoubtedly trying to reduce risks that Mumbai faces due to climate
change. However, all these projects are disjointed and lack a comprehensive plan.
For instance, drainage is looked after by one department headed by Vhatkar.
Warning system and disaster management is the responsibility of disaster management department of the corporation. Making city more pedestrian-friendly and
promoting public transport system is looked after by the roads department.
Dilapidated buildings and building codes fall under development plan
(DP) department.
3.4 Will Mumbai Swim or Sink?
According to the findings of a 2010 OECD study, ‘Flood Risks, Climate Change
Impacts and Adaptation Benefits in Mumbai’, by 2080 s, an upper bound climate
scenario could see the likelihood of a 2005-like event more than double. Financial
losses could also triple compared with the 2005 situation. Rapid urbanization will
further increase the risk level.
However, all is still not lost. In June 2011, MCA4climate published a case study
titled ‘Flood risks, Infrastructure Resilience and Climate Change Adaption in
Mumbai, India’ to illustrate the evaluation of climate adaptation policy to increase
infrastructure resilience in the coastal city of Mumbai. It came out with five broad
policy options to increase infrastructure resilience. These include public transport,
building codes, warning systems and emergency response, insurance, and enforced
retreat. It also listed and discussed instruments for each of these policy options (see
Table 4: Policy options to increase infrastructure resilience in Mumbai) (Table 4).
According to Patwardhan, in order to develop adaptation strategies for any city,
it is important to understand the link between hazard, exposure and
response/capacity. “Hazard signifies parameters such as how much rainfall a city
receives, on which local people/state governments/administration has no control.
Exposure stands for urban land use, where we have built, what we have built and
how much we have built. This is something that is a result of human activities.
Lastly, response shows what capacity we have to deal with a disaster or extreme
weather event. We cannot control hazard, hence we have to focus on exposure and
response, thus these two elements define the adaptation strategy for a city”.
470
S. Manasi and N. Jamwal