Kerala declares tide flooding a State-specific disaster

For instance, seawater rises and enters residential areas through the adjoining rivers, backwaters and canals during high tide time along the Kerala coast, particularly in areas such as Vypin, Chellanam, Edakochi and Perumbadappu in the Kochi Corporation and Kumbalanghi panchayat in Ernakulam, where recurrent tidal flooding caused by seawater ingress occurs frequently, causing extensive damage to residential areas and infrastructure. Across the State, around 10% population of the State is hit by the impact of coastal flooding.

According to a government order, since tidal rise is a routine natural phenomenon, a normal tidal rise cannot be declared a disaster under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, making it difficult to provide financial assistance to those affected under the norms of the SDRF. However, Section 2(d) of the Disaster Management Act provides that if flooding caused by tidal rise adversely affects a community and results in loss of life, livelihood, and living conditions, such a natural phenomenon can be considered a disaster.

Making use of this provision, Kerala now notifies ‘coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion’ as a State-specific disaster and lakhs of affected people will be benefited from this. Due to deficiencies in land use, a significant number of houses and structures are located in floodplains, lands close to rivers, and poramboke lands near the waterbodies. In addition, factors such as siltation and reduced depth of rivers and lakes aggravate the flooding, which is now occurring during tidal rise in a manner not previously experienced, said the officials.

Unlike rainfall-induced flooding, tidal flooding is a hazard that can occur throughout the year, which further enhances the relevance of declaring it a State-specific disaster, stated the government order. With the declaration, financial assistance, similar to that provided to natural disaster victims under the SDRF norms, could be granted to victims of coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion.

During full and new moons, the sun and moon align, creating a strong gravitational pull on Earth’s water, causing very high tides known as spring tides. If high swell waves also hit at the same time, it can lead to severe coastal erosion and flooding along the coastline of Kerala.