SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMME (SESP), TISS SUPPORTING NWM-TISS PROJECT, JANUARY 14, 2015

Cuddalore Floods 2015 – Briefing Note

Preliminary Scoping Review

Cuddalore

Geography:

The is one of the coastal districts of which is situated between 11ᵒN and 12ᵒN Latitude and 78ᵒE and 80ᵒE Longitude. The Eastern side of the district is covered by the Bay of Bengal and has a coastline of around 52.5 km. It is also part of the alluvial fan of the Cauvery delta region and it has many small waterbodies in the forms of tanks and ponds and mostly they are connected to the flood plains. Cuddalore has the land slope from West to East and from North to South

This district consists of eight taluks viz. Cuddalore, , , , , , Veppur and Tittagudi of which Cuddalore, Kurinjipadi and Chidambaram are coastal taluks lies in the heavy wind and cyclone zone while other five taluks in the flood prone zone (DDMP Cuddalore, 2014-2015).

Waterbodies in Cuddalore district:

–  Sethiyathope Anicut –  Wallajah Tank – Chidambaram Taluk  Veeranam Tank – K.M. Koil Taluk  Wellington Reservoir – Tittagudi Taluk

Rivers flowing through Cuddalore district:

 Paravanar  Gadilam  Pennaiyar  Coleron  Vadavar  Vellar  Manimutha Nathi

Disasters and Vulnerabilities:

The coastal taluks of Cuddalore, Kurinjipadi and Chidambaram lies in the heavy wind and cyclone zone while other five taluks of Panruti, Kattumannarkoil, Virudhachalam, Veppur and Tittagudi lie in the flood prone zone. Heavy rains showers during the months of October, November and December inundates low-lying areas, coastal areas and the areas nearby major irrigation sources. Cyclones are also part of the North East monsoon. Due to floods, sudden outbreak of several water borne diseases was also experienced in the past (DDMP Cuddalore, 2014-2015).

Cuddalore has the land slope from west to east and from north to south. Since the district is situated at the seacoast, it drains water not only within the district, but also from the catchments close by relatively the mid land slopes make drainage difficult. The drainage is poor and the encroachments over the drought years have lead to a scenario where, even rainfalls, which are slightly above normal, can cause floods disrupting the normal course of work. Coupled with this is the perennial problem of low water carrying capacity of the lakes (DDMP Cuddalore, 2014-2015).

The waterbodies are mostly not static as they are in the flow of the flood plains towards the sea, hence most of the waterbodies overflow when there is a heavy discharge in the downstream region. The waterbodies are not been desilted regularly adding to the surface runoff during the floods1.

Cuddalore has always been classified as a multi-hazard prone district. Cyclones and floods have wreaked havoc in the district several times in the past few centuries. The district also falls within the Zone-3 with respect to earthquakes. It was also a place which was highly affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The number of Cyclones and Depressions are around 121 till 2015 including the last cyclone Roanu which affected the district in November 2015.

Source: IMD

1 Personal Communication with Director, LAW Trust, !4th January 2016 Setthukuttai - Drainage of

 The capacity of drainage system of the Parangipettai is not adequate to drain the storm water into the Vellar river and finally into the sea. The drainage is small and it is also clogged with garbage at places.  There are constructions found along the drainage area, which also affects the flow of water in the existing drainage system such as roads separating the natural drainage area and buildings blocking the natural flow of the storm water.  There are also constructions on the natural drainage area which blocks the flow of water reaching the rivers before entering the sea and the constructions have increased considerably.  The solid wastes are mostly dumped near the water bodies which blocks the drainage of the storm water. The District administration used Earth Movers to cut out channels through these garbage dumps for ensuring the drainage of the storm water. This situation could have been avoided if the District Administration, Local Administration and the communities had worked on an effective Solid Waste Management Plan for their respective constituencies and ensured the drainage area is clear from the solid wastes.

Fig.1: Drainage outlet of storm water coming from Parangipettai area, the road is acting as a bund causing water logging in the Western side (shown below)

Fig.2: Parangipettai drainage area which is water logged

Fig.3: Water not flowing properly due to the upward terrain in the Setthukuttai and the artificial bund constructed within the drain area.

Fig.4: A structure in construction between the storm water drain and the Vellar River near the Parangipettai harbor

Fig.5: The garbage block in one of the two storm water drainage outlets and infrastructure blocking the drainage

Fig.6: The storm water from Parangipettai flowing towards the Vellar River before draining into the sea

Bharathi Nagar – Parangipettai

Bharathi nagar is constructed as part of the Tsunami reconstruction process. It is bordering, parts of the compound wall of the IL&FS power plant and this habitation is located in the low lying area. The affected habitation is surrounded by built up area of the IL&FS power plant with an inadequate drainage system leading to water logging and stagnation.

This habitation is located next to the Southern boundary walls of the IL&FS power plant and the main source of water logging and flooding was from the water outlets in the Southern part of the power plant, which drain water into the residential habitation area of Bharathi nagar. A 2 year old child died due to drowning in the stagnated water which was more than 3 feet surrounding the house.

Fig.1: One of the storm water outlets of the compound wall of the IL&FS power plant leading to flooding and water logging in the habitation

Fig.2: The water from the power plant entering into the residential area

Field Notes and Further Investigations:

 The role of agricultural land use and micro irrigation and status of maintainace/abandoning the traditional irrigational structures and their impact on the natural drainage needs to be investigated as Agriculture is the main economic activity of Cuddalore.  The drainage and the health of Mangroves in the coastal areas are crucial to prevent the storm surges and absorption of storm water during heavy rainfall. It is crucial to investigate the health of the ecosystem its drainage and its role in the Cuddalore flooding.  The irrigation systems, checkdams/Anaicuts, Barrages and the water bodies contribute to the flooding as many of the flood channels are either inadequate or not present to drain out the flood waters and most of the habitats and agricultural area are situated in the flood plain drainage.  Dewatering and the open cast mining such as the Lignite Corporation has implications in the flooding situations and their role need to be explored.

References:

Meteorological Department, www.rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in, Accessed on January 14th 2016  District Disaster Management Plan Cuddalore, District Disaster Management Authority, Cuddalore, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2014-2015.  Google Earth  Observations and field report for relief needs in Parangipettai and Town Panchayats, Cuddallore, Vivek Coelho and Muthu Kumaran, Report by Socio-Ecological Stewardship Programme, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, November 2015. Mapping Floods in Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) using Sentinel-1 Satellite Images

At least 165 people have lost their lives as heavy rains resulted in floods in Tamil Nadu. has been badly Legend Map Prepared by: Data Provided by: affected by floods as around 59 people have been killed in the capital so far. As per media reports, the incessant rains are caused due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal coast near Tamil Nadu. The heaviest rainfall in over a Flood Date : 24 Novembe 2015 century caused massive flooding across Tamil Nadu, driving thousands from their homes, shutting auto factories Satellite Image : SENTINEL-1 ± and paralysing the airport in capital Chennai. 24 Nov. 2015 (Post Disaster) To determine the extent of severity in the flood affected districts in Tamil Nadu, Senintel-1 satellite images The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown in these referring to 24th November 2015 were obtained from European Space Agency to map the inundated areas. Dark River/Permanent water maps are based on the sources they have been drawn from and quoted. These are neither areas in black referring to standing water. In total an estimated 567 sq.km were inundated of which the severely Urban / Land Use affected districts includes Cuddalore (360 sq.km), Nagapattinam (113 sq.km), Ariyalur (70 sq.km) and Perambalur error-free nor do they imply official endorsement or the position of IWMI. (24 sq.km). Agriculture damage assessment at district level are Cuddalore (307 sq.km), Nagapattinam (82 sq.km), Ariyalur (50 sq.km) and Perambalur (16 sq.km). District boundary

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Satellite images of 24 November 2015 ARIYALUR Mapping Floods in Tamil Nadu using Sentinel-1 Satellite Images

At least 122 people have lost their lives as heavy rains resulted in floods in Tamil Nadu. Chennai has been badly Map Prepared by: Data Provided by: affected by floods as around 59 people have been killed in the capital so far. As per media reports, the incessant Legend rains are caused due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal coast near Tamil Nadu. Reportedly, the low pressure Flood Dates :12 Novembe 2015 system is moving towards the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh resulting in rains in the state. Disaster Image : SENTINEL-1 ± To determine the extent of severity in the flood affected districts in Tamil Nadu, Senintel-1 satellite images Flood referring to 12th November 2015 were obtained from European Space Agency to map the inundated areas. Dark The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown in these areas in black referring to standing water. In total an estimated 567 sq.km were inundated of which the severely 12 Nov. 2015 flood maps are based on the sources they have been drawn from and quoted. These are neither affected districts includes Cuddalore (360 sq.km), Nagapattinam (113 sq.km), Ariyalur (70 sq.km) and Perambalur (24 sq.km). Agriculture damage assessment at district level are Cuddalore (307 sq.km), Nagapattinam (82 River/Permanent water error-free nor do they imply official endorsement or the position of IWMI. sq.km), Ariyalur (50 sq.km) and Perambalur (16 sq.km). Ocean 0 2.5 5 10 15 20 Mxd assembled by Corey Kilometers LaMar, Sources: Esri, GEBCO, NOAA, National India boundary Geographic, DeLorme, HERE, District boundary

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Combined 18 February and 18 February 2015 30 September 2015

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Thanjavur Sources: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), swisstopo, MapmyIndia, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the Satellite images of 12 November 2015 GIS User Community