Flood Update II of 2011 from WIO
Ranjan Panda
Dear co-sailors,
On 9th September we brought the first Flood Update for this year from the state of Odisha. This is the Second Update in the series and by the time we write this we are getting information that the Mega Flood of 2011 has already gripped 19 districts into its folder and conservative estimates put that at least a million people have been marooned by this. 60 thousand people have been evacuated from their places.
What we also see that despite being one of the first states to have a Disaster Management Agency place, the state of Orissa has virtually failed in both predicting and managing the floods.
In our first update we narrated how the Hirakud dam has once again failed, miserably, in managing floods in Mahanadi. Today, in our LEAD section we are throwing more light on such Big Dams and what experts say. Time the Govt. of Odisha takes these notes seriously and new management domains are put in place. Or else, each flood we will be caught unawares and the blame game will continue.
As already informed, we are deliberately keeping the format of this update very simple and user friendly. In this update we have the following sections. After giving our view point in the LEAD Section, we take you back to the September 2008 floods in the LOOKING BACK section. Then we hand pick some NEWS from different sources with the objective of giving you a latest picture of the flood, its impact and relief-rehabilitation measures on way in the state, both by government and other agencies. We then provide you with small important statistics in our STATS section that are useful in assessing the current situation of reservoirs, rainfall, etc. Finally, in the MET SPEAKS section, we highlight some of the key weather forecasts that may affect the flood conditions and relief-rehabilitation oprerations.
Once again, we would like to inform you that, at the moment, it’s occasional and we may come up with these updates as and when we can, given our limited manpower and resources. However, with your inputs and support, we are sure; we shall be able to ensure regular flow of this update.
We request you to send in your reports of activities, your views; and any other interesting and relevant article, books, photographs, and anything that you feel we should cover in this Update. It’s YOU who is the most important FUEL of this effort.
Before we stop to pen, we would like to inform you that this update is also available at:
http://climatecrusaders.blogspot.com/2011/09/flood-update-ii-of-2011-from-wio-11.html
and
http://www.scribd.com/doc/64553524/Flood-Update-II-of-2011-From-WIO-11th-September-2011
Look forward to listen from you and your continued support.
Thanks and regards,
Ranjan Panda
Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha
STOP PRESS: At 12.00 on 11.09.2011, Reservoir Level of Hirakud was 628.21 and 43 Sluice Gates were open. 6,67,955 cusecs was inflow and 7,95,013 cusecs was the outflow. At about 12.30, orders came to close two more gates.
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Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) is a state level coalition of civil society organisations, farmers, academia, media and other concerned, which has been working on water, environment and climate change issues in the state for more than two decades now.