Impact Of Floods In Low Lying Areas Environmental Sciences Essay

Impact Of springs In Low Lying Areas Environmental Sciences EssayVijayawada metropolis is situated on the bevels of river Krishna. gormandizes rival the city many times, which creates damage to the plenty and properties. The city has faced many gormandises since long back. The aim of the study is to find out the factors which ar responsible for the overindulges in the city and the impact of the floods in the low lying argonas (which be mostly affected) of Vijayawada. This study will be useful to work out the measures to handle the floods in the city. A few suggestions have been given to tackle the damaging phenomenon of the floods.Keywords Vijayawada, Krishna River, Budameru epithelial duct, Floods,INTRODUCTIONVijayawada is the third largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Over the years, Vijayawada has been experiencing extensive development mate with high urban step-up. It is an important commercial and transport centre of the State. Being a big city people from a ll over the country be migrating to Vijayawada for their livelihood irrespective of their caste and creed. The rapid urbanization in the city has led to increase the business of settlements with the unsafe attitudes which ultimately causes natural disaster. In adjunct to this, heavy rains in this area have been causing frequent floods with roads in many places submerged for several hours and the road traffic coming to a halt, bringing in considerable damage to public and private properties. Floods are the most damaging phenomena that effect to the social and economic of the population. It is one of the major disasters bear upon the population especially those living in high risk areas, in the flood plains and the low lying areas causing extensive damage to properties and even firing of lives.But before studying the impact of the floods in the low lying areas of Vijayawada, let us first understand the meaning of Floods.AFloodis an outflow of water that submerges land.TheEuropea n Union(EU)Floods Directivedefines a flood as a covering by water of land not normally cover by water. Flooding may turn up from the volume of water deep down a body of water, such as ariverorlake, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries,or may be due to accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an aerial floodFloods are caused by many factors heavy pelting, highly acceleratedsnowmelt, severe winds over water, unusual high tides,tsunamis, or failure of dams,levees,retention ponds, or some other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be exacerbated by increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which get over the supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall. The factors which are responsible for the flooding of Vijayawada city will be studied in a detailed appearance in the following study.TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CITYThe city is sited at the foot of a low range hi lls on the northern bank of the river Krishna with its cardinal points as 16 31 North latitude and 80 37 East longitude, around 70 km away from the coast.The land lay of Vijayawada is characterized by iv canals, four hills and the river Krishna. Vijayawada when forward motioned from Guntur is welcomed by the historic gates across the holy river Krishna. The way to Machilipatnam runs parallel to Budameru canal and crosses two other canals.There are four major hillsa) Indrakiladri pitcherb) Machavaram Hillc) Gunadala Hilld) Moghalrajapuram HillThe natural slope of the centenarian town is falling from north to south whereas the new town slopes down from west to east. When compared to the old town, the new town is flat and hence makes drainage less effective. Though the city is protected from high flood banks in the southern side, the low-lying lands are not immune to floods.Indrakiladri hill (One town Vidyadharapuram)-The areas covered by Indrakiladri hill are popularly known as I Town and Vidyadharapuram. It is located on the West Side and Northern Side of Vijayawada City. The height of the hills is close 240 Meters. The perimeter of the hills is nigh 10 km. The areas such as Ramarajaya Nagar, Kummaraalem, 4-Pillar center, Ali Nagar, Kabela Road are falling with in this hill area.Mogalrajapuram hillMogalarajpuram Hills of Vijayawada is a major hill range located on the Eastern side of Vijayawada city. The maximum height of the hills is virtually 250 Meters. The perimeter of the hills is about 6 kms. The areas such as Dasari Ramana Nagar, Ravi Chettu Center, Sunnapubattila Center are falling within these hill areas.Machavaram hillMachavaram Hills of Vijayawada is a major hill range located on the East Side of Vijayawada City. The maximum height of the hills is about 240 Mts. The perimeter of the the hill area is about 4 km. The areas such as Karimkanagar, Gulammohiddin Nagar, Maruthinagar are falling within these hill areas.Gundala hillGunadala Hills of V ijayawada is a major hill range located on the Eastern Side of Vijayawada city. The maximum height of the hills is about 242 Meters. The perimeter of the hills is about 10 km. The areas such as Ayyapanagar, Kristurajapuram, Vijayanagar Colony, Arunlagar, Lurthnagar, Betlahem Nagar etc. are falling within these hill areas. semen of the Information MRO (Urban), Revenue Dept, Vijayawada.Canals-The Krishna Eastern Main Canal on the left bank of Krishna River, after traversing for one km gets divided into three canals Eluru canal, Bandar canal and Ryves canal traversing the inner city. A come apart from these, Budameru stream skirts the city limits to pass through and through the rural part of the VMC.Bandar CanalThe canal traverses for a distance of 7.5 km on the southern side of the city. For free movement of traffic, the canal has 10 bridge over built across it.Ryves CanalThe canal flows for a distance of around 7.6 km on the north-eastern side of the city. There are about 8 bridge over across it.Eluru CanalThe canal runs for a tally distance of around 65 km in Krishna and West Godavari districts. There are about sextuplet road bridges, two railway bridges and two foot-over bridges across the canal.Land Use ProfileThe city area can be in general divided into two categories one Developed area and the second Undeveloped area. Of the Vijayawada corporation area of 6188 ha, the developed land part of the city covers 3753 ha history for around 61% of the city area, leaving 2435 ha undeveloped.Land Use Composition Vijayawada, 2004S.NoLand UseArea in Ha.% to developedarea% to hail areaDeveloped component1.Residential ( Built -up )1348.2535.9221.792.Mixed-Residential ( Built -up )141.363.772.283.Residential vacant plots229.026.104.114.Commercial247.916.64.015.Industrial72.381.931.176.Public Semi- public270.167.24.377.Institutional178.314.752.888.Parks dictation grounds60.341.600.569.Recreational / Others3.10.080.0510.Roads800.8121.3412.9411.Railway190.495.083 .0812. water Bodies ( Canals Others)211.265.633.41Sub integrality3753.3910060.65Un-Developed component13.Agricultural Area885.9736.4014.3214.Vacant Lands618.2725.399.9915.Water Bodies ( River)668.4227.4510.8016.Hills262.0610.764.23Sub Total2434.72100.0039.35Grand Total6188.11100.00100.00Source VGTMUDARivers and DamsThere are two rivers flowing from VijayawadaKrishna RiverBudameru river/Drain which creates havoc during rainy season.Krishna RiverThe River Krishna takes of its origin in the Western Ghats at an circus tent of (+) 1336 Mts and runs for a length of about 1400 km and runs through Vijayawada city and joins at Bay of Bengal. The length of Krishna River up to Prakasam Barrage is about 1310 km. The flow of the river is managed partially by the Nagarjuna Sagar dam which is located to the west of Krishna District and Prakasam Barrage which is located at the beginning of the city.The Krishna Flood bank Above Prakasam Barrage is about 13km and under flood bank is 6.40 km whic h creates havoc in flood season which starts from June to December. Water release from barrage with 4, 12,734 to 10, 94,422 Cusecs is been observed over the years.Dam managementSince the main figure of the dam is to provide irrigation, the dam authorities try to fill the references during the monsoon to ensure water availability for the farmers in the surrounding districts during summers. Therefore occurrence of severe rainfall (1 day or 2 day extreme precipitation) due to cyclone or depression during the latter half of the monsoon season in the lower and middle Krishna flush toilet leads sudden increase in the reservoir level forcing the dam authorities to release water which sometime exceeds the carrying capacity of the river. This leads to flooding along the downstream.Flood chamfersThe total length of flood bank in Krishna District (within which the Vijayawada city is located) is 226.98 km. The flood banks of the River Krishna were originally formed in 1892. The flood banks were provided on two sides of the River up to sea as detailed below to contain the flood water with in the flood banks and there by protect the properties and human lives etc in Krishna District.Details of Flood Banks in Krishna DistrictS.No.Details Of The Flood Banks distance In km1.Krishna Left flood bank(above Prakasam Barrage)13.002.Krishnalanka Flood bank(below Prakasam Barrage)6.403.Krishna Left flood Bank (below PrakasamBarrage)89.604.Divi Left flood bank36.005.Divi Right Flood Bank32.006.K.E. Tidal Bank Divi Island22.007.Kona Tidal Bank (Machilipatnam Side)18.508.Seadyke Flood Bank (Machilipatnam Side)2.509.West Side Flood Bank (MachilipatnamSide)6.0010.Rudravaram Flood Bank (MachilipatnamSide)4.00Total230.00Source Irrigation DeptKrishna Lanka Flood Bank (3.38 km) This flood bank was formed during 1967 to protect the residents of Krishnalanka of Vijayawada city.Embankments /Flood Bank locationsS.NoName of theEmbankmentLength of theEmbankment in kmArea coveredLength of theEm bakment within the ward1Krishna Left Flood Bank(Above Barrage) From ( Ibrhimpatnamto Prakasham Barage)13kmIbrahimPatnam toBhavaniPuram6km2Bhavani puram ToKarakatta South5km3Krakatta South toLanchirevu/PunnamiHotel2km1Krishna Left Flood bank(Bellow PrakashamBarrage) From Brrage to RamalaingeswaraNagar (Krishna Lanka)6.40kmRanadheevi nagar22Taraka Ramanagar1.403Bhupesh Gupta Nagar14RamalingeswarNagar2Budameru River/DrainInformation given in the following pages.FloodsFloods are caused by two rivers in the Vijayawada. One is Krishna River which is on the southern part of the city and the other is Budameru River which is on the North- Western part of the city. Both these rivers contribute to the canal network. Bandar canal and Ryves canal are fed by Krishna River while Eluru canal is fed by Krishna River and partially by Budameru River. The contribution of water from Budameru is mostly seasonal and the canal networks are used to unloose excess/flood waters.The topography of the city is complex. The central part of the city is above flood plain with hills while gray and Northern parts of the city are on flood plain. This problem was realized by the irrigation department in later half of twentieth deoxycytidine monophosphate and bunds were constructed along canals to prevent flood waters from entering the city.The floods in Vijayawada city due to Krishna River, is a regular phenomenon. Almost every monsoon people living in the flood plains of Krishna River are affected.Krishna FloodsThe essential reason for the flooding is the unauthorized settlements along the river which had taken place due to lack of planning and enforcement.Flood in the River Krishna are both due to South West Monsoon in the middle of June and continues up to end of September and North East Monsoon begins in October and continues till end of November. gritty floods ordinarily occur during October.History of HazardIn general, flooding by the Krishna River is a regular phenomenon. The floo d history of Krishna River indicates that its flow is uncertain. With the embankments in place the river flows bank to bank almost once in every five years or twice every decade. This time span of five years unremarkably encourages low economic class people to settle on the flood bank. Further the presence of embankments provide a stupid sense of security to the people and also encourages people who are on the river bed that soon the government is going to construct a embankment that will protect their house. With the rapid increase in population, large numbers of people end up occupying the area between the flood bank along the Bandar canal and the Krishna River. These areas are subjected to regular flooding during monsoons. In order to safe guard the people and the livelihood the Irrigation department constructed a flood bank parallel to the old bund including the unauthorized settlements which had come up. This structure was intentional to prevent the settlements from flooding . The old flood bank was then converted to serve the purpose of transportation (currently NH5). The people who were earlier residing in flood plain were provided with sound ownership and the area was included within the city town planning scheme. year Wise observed Maximum Floods in Krishna RiverSl.No.DateMonthYearCusecsU/S SideD/S SideBarrage1.7thOct190310,60,830(+)70.55(+)69.5523.502.11thAug19149,48,632(+)68.20(+)67.9521.153.2ndNov19179,55,460(+)68.10(+)67.2521.054.24thSep19499,24,736(+)68.15(+)66.0021.105.2ndOct19649,87,852(+)68.25(+)65.3023.206.6thAug19664,12,734(+)57.95(+)55.9012.907.thirtiethSept19745.97.800(+)60.65(+)58.4015.608.10thJuly19838,27,310(+)64.05(+)62.3519.009.24thJuly19896,86,910(+)61.95(+)55.016.9010.17thOct19989,32,000(+)65.45(+)63.3020.0411.21stSept20057,40,232(+)62.65(+)60.0017.6012.17thAug20065,56,618(+)59.85(+)57.6014.8013.21stSept20075,56,618(+)59.85(+)57.6014.8014.11thAug20084,22,660(+)57.55(+)55.2012.5015.5thOct200910,94,422(+)68.78(+)67.5023.47Source Irr igation DeptThe maximum flood discharge observed during the year 1903 is 10.60 hundred thousand cusecs. After the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the upstream of the river, during the year 1998 Krishna River received a maximum flood discharge of 9.32 lakh cusec and caused alarming situation throughout the flood banks below the Prakasam Barrage. Subsequently the flood banks of Krishna River were restored to original standards during the year 1999 to 2000.These restorations did not include flood banks which are within and nearby Vijayawada city namely Krishna Left Flood Bank (upstream of Prakasam Barrage) and Krishnalanka Flood Bank (downstream of Prakasam Barrage).Reasons for Krishna FloodThis region receives maximum rainfall both by southwest and retreating monsoons.The primary reason for the flooding is the unauthorized settlements along the river which had taken place due to lack of planning and enforcement.Vijayawada is located on the line which separates the delta-irr igated lands.Flood bank below barrage is about 6.40 km which creates havoc in flood season from June to December.High Water release at time from barrage with 4, 12,734 to 10, and 94,422 Cusecs of water released in various years.Developmental activities like sluice connectivity to into the river is causing back water (3 sluices connected into river).Bund cutting for public private developmental activities (ex sluice, storm water drains) approach roads for bigger vehicles.Allotting the residential areas officially in flood zone. Ex Police colony.Breach occurrence and damages occurred to the flood bank with slips and erosion.With little definitive power over the settlements along the flood banks, the irrigation department is unable to attend swiftly in vulnerable areas.This situation is further complicated by the false hope provided by the politicians in their campaigns during elections that they would support these illegal settlements. In order to gain vote, some of them even promise to protect these people by ensure that once they are elected they would legalize their settlements and will also revisiting the existing embankments. This measure was taken in 1970s when the location of embankments were changed to include people who are in the flood plains. bloom and location details of Flood affected areasElevation and location details of Flood affected areasAreaElevationLongitude analogueKrishna River37 Ft.Krishna Lanka86 Ft.1603017.70 N8003622.61 EKrishna Lanka72-83 Ft.1603012.64 N8003719.48 EP.N.Bus stand85 Ft.1603030.54 N8003659.67 EVMC97 Ft.1603038.41 N8003642.15 EKrishna Lanka Tardwra62-73-74Ft.1603727. 80N8003011.79 ERanadhive Nagar74-79 Ft.1603020.69 N8003712.75 EBus Stand back69 Ft.1603022.00 N8003700.54 EBhupesh GuptaNagar55-64 Ft.1602946.92 N8003807.91 ERamalingeswaraNagar UGD53 Ft.1602907.94 N8003921.17 EPolice Colony59 Ft.1602908.01 N8003924.18 EK.R.Market81 Ft.1603048.62 N8003649.36 EIndira GandhiStadium70 Ft.1603017.72 N8003817.23 ERTC Colony85 Ft. 1603151.24 N8003615.21 EGannavaram80 Ft.1603150.99 N8004745.57 EPatamata girls HighSchool69 Ft.1602943.39 N8004005.38 EKrishna River atPunnami52 Ft.1603128.76 N8003508.48 EPunnami Ghat82 Ft.1603134.71 N8003516.88 ESource Irrigation Dept listen of vulnerable areas to the Krishna floodVulnerabilitypopulationareaAreaKrishna Flood155571.15Lanchi Revu157221.88karakattaKrishna Flood158142.81Police colony147980.65Bhupesh Gupta nagar146080.5Tarakaramanagar147251.46Randheer Nagar154180.72153201.92Busstand(back)Saibabatemple12196211.09Source irrigation DeptBudameru FloodsThe Budameru River flows from the North Western part of the Krishna District. The river originates in the hills surrounding Mylavaram and flows into Kolleru Lake. In order to control the floods the river is dammed at Velagaleru village, Budameru diversion enthrall (BDC) is constructed from Velagaleru to join Krishna River upstream of Prakasam barrage.Budameru River is mainly controlled at two areas before stint Vijayawada c ity. The first is the regulator across the Budameru drain at Velagaleru village and at Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS) which is located on the western part of the city on the upstream of Prakasam barrage. The Budameru River apart from flowing along the western part of the city towards the VTPS also enters the city from the north leading into the Budameru canal which runs parallel to Eluru Canal.The problem starts at the tail end of the monsoon, with the reservoir being almost full (but not to its full capacity) and the occurrence of severe rainfall. Since the mandate of the regulator management at Budameru is to fill the reservoir to its capacity and the uncertainty within the rainfall information the release from the regulator drain block, water flow from local catchment causes flooding usually in the northern part of the cityThe uncertainty in the rainfall is a common phenomenon within the Krishna Basin. This is especially due to the depressions and cyclones which form in both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. This uncertainty combined with the limited carrying capacity of the river and the proximity of the Velagaleru Village regulator provides low respite time for both the administrative personnel to prevent the floods and people to prevent their losses. The design and establishment of the EWS should take into account of this important aspect.The Budameru flood assessment is based on the study of topography and location information collected from secondary sources. There was not much information made available with respect to the regulator release at the Velagaleru Village.Budameru canal has already been indiscriminately blocked by developments and encroachments resulting in thousands of people abandoning their shelters to safe places, loss of property, leaving unhygienic environment for weeks.Settlement along the river course, the vast land pockets on both the sides of the rivulet in New Rajarajeswari Peta, and the Rajeev Nagar area are the promin ent low lying areas prove to flood disaster.HistoryBudameru Water discharge during floodsQuantified Budameru Water discharge during floodsSl.No.Date YearDischarge ThroughTotalDischargein cusecsBudameru in cusecsDiversionChannel inCusecsBudameruCourseCusecs(belowreguletor)19.9.62590029238823222.8.636150616812318322.9.64111252847039595419.5.6975001858026080521.8.7152631963722610.8.7622251478417009731.7.786150163022245286.10.834250960013850913.8.86680013200200001023.7.891062524371349961111.5.90780024473322731223.9.91750018572260721324.8.200078503699115491420.9.20051094514000249451520.9.20059900710017000Source Irrigation DeptRainfall and Flood particularsRainfall and Flood particularsFlood flow (Cusecs)YearRainfall (MM)Flood flow (Cusecs)ActualNormal1988-8912641029243711989-9015801029244731990-919211029185722005-0612391034140002008-09118810347100Reasons for Budameru FloodsFlood plain tour Krishna River flooding affects to the flood plains on the outside of the embankments, but the Buda meru River affects the entire North and North western part of the city. This is mainly due to the limited carrying capacity of the Budameru river channel and lack of sufficient mechanisms to drain the excess water during severe rain into the Krishna River.The problem arises when Budameru catchment gets more than average rainfall within 24 48 hours. This leads to the reservoir in the Velagaleru village reach critical level forcing the irrigation department to release water causing floods in Vijayawada.Adding rain water from local catchment and Hills.2. The settlementsThe population growth of the city has led to the slow movement of people towards the foot of the hills, which later led to expansion in to the flood zones. Even though much of these settlements are unauthorized the municipality attempts to cater to the basic needs of these illegal settlements by providing services such as roads, water supply and sanitation. These privileges have further encouraged the settlements in exp anding in the high slope / risk prone areas.Other reasonsNon feasible house constructionsSilting of drainsBack water due to conjution in storm water (HB colony, Bhavnipuram) nip and tuck the road levels in flood pathOccupying the flood bundsCutting the bund for development activities like bus shelters, beautification etc (Singh Nagar)Less awareness about the situation and negligence about the problem among people.Besides this chocking storm rain water canals, sluice and back water also cause the Budameru flood severely and damage the lives and propertyElevation details of probable Flood affected areas with BudameruAreaElevationLongitudeLatitudeAjit Singh Nagar75 Ft.1603221.66 N8003828.52EVambay Colony68 Ft.1603214.17 N8003917.80ER.R.Pet72 Ft.1603159.80 N8003747.60EBudameru at NewR.R.Pet67 Ft.1603207.69 N8003753.65ERajeev Nagar67 Ft.1603215.18 N8003912.40ER.R.Peta field67 Ft.1603243.98 N8003725.68EJakkampudi91 Ft.1603501.71 N8003655.58ELBS Nagar68 Ft.1603259.87 N8003655.58EAndhra Pat rikaColony1603300.92 N8003841.56ERajeev Nagar64 Ft.1603322.73 N8003845.93ELBS Nagar68 Ft.1603257.55 N8003858.98E inclination of an orbit of Budameru flood effected areasBudameru effecting AreasS. No.populationArea(Sqkm)CircleDivisionAreas17744.50.64I29Rotary nagar, Ekalayvya nagar,Urmila subbarao nagar,ambedkar road,Kabela27396.50.4930KLRao Nagar7814.50.2131DeenadayalNagar,Ambedkar nagar478610.9427Ambedkar Road5152011.2528Housingboard colony, Labor colonySubtotal46017.53.5361015153550.33236DeenadayalNagar,Ambedkar nagar16130230.5649Old RR Peta17140924.2152