This is a list of notable recorded floods that have occurred in India. Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heaviest southwest, the Brahmaputra, and other rivers to distend their banks, often flooding surrounding areas. [citation needed]

In the 20th century

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  • In 1923, Lucknow was one of the earliest recorded floods in the city's history. It was caused by heavy rainfall in the monsoon season, which made the Gomti River overflow its banks and inundate many parts of the city. The flood affected the old city, the civil lines, and the cantonment areas. It damaged property, crops, and infrastructure, and forced many people to take shelter in higher places. The flood also disrupted the communication and transportation systems, and posed a threat to public health and safety.[1]
  • In October 1943, Madras (now Chennai) saw the worst flood to hit the city. Flood occurred due to excessive rains that lasted for 6 days and overflowed Coovum and the Adyar rivers. Damage caused to life and property was immense. However, estimate figure is unknown. The flood left thousands of people homeless.[2]
  • On 17 October 1960, the 1960 Lucknow flood was a natural disaster that occurred in the city of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India, in October 1960. It was caused by the overflow of the Gomti River, a tributary of the Ganges River, after heavy rainfall in the Himalayan region. The flood submerged almost half of the city under several feet of water, killing more than 16 people and making thousands homeless on 13 October 1960. It was one of the worst floods in Lucknow's history. The flood affected various parts of the city, including the old city, the civil lines, the cantonment, and the main shopping centre. It also caused damage to the electricity supply, the zoological gardens, and many historical monuments. Elephants, bicycle rickshaws, and boats were used as means of transport in the flooded areas. The government deployed army units and helicopters to rescue the marooned people and provide relief materials. The water level dropped very slowly and no estimate was made of the total damage.[3]
  • On 8 September 1971, The 1971 Lucknow flood was a natural disaster that occurred in the city of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India, in September 1971. It was caused by two breaches in the embankment of the Gomti River, which flows through Lucknow before joining the Ganges River. The breaches were caused by the high water level of the river, which was six feet (about two metres) above the danger mark due to heavy rainfall in the monsoon season. The flood submerged many parts of the city under three or four feet (one to 1.2 metres) of water, affecting the main shopping area, some fashionable residential areas, and the zoological gardens. The flood also disrupted the electricity supply, the communication and transportation systems, and the public health and safety. At least 13 deaths due to drowning were reported from Uttar Pradesh on September 7, taking the death toll in two months of rains and flooding in the state to 268. In Lucknow itself, a quarter of the city's area was under water on September 8.[4]
  • On 11 August 1979, the Machchhu-2 dam situated on the Machchhu River burst, thus flooding the town of Morbi in the Rajkot district of Gujarat.[3] Exact figure of loss of lives is unknown, but it is estimated between 1800 and 2500 people.[4][5][6]
  • In 1987, Bihar state of India witnessed one of its worst floods till then. Flood occurred due to overflow of the Koshi river; which claimed lives of 1,399 humans, 302 animals and public property worth INR 68 billion (US$810 million).
  • In 1988, Punjab experienced its first flood when all the rivers in Punjab overflowed.
  • In July 1993, flash floods killed 530 people across the seven to eight states of India.

In the 21st century

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Climate change

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Climate change is said to have in part caused (but may also be a natural evolution of earth's cycle) large-scale floods across central India, including the Mumbai floods of 2006 and 2017. During 1901–2015, there has been a three-fold rise in widespread extreme rainfall events across central and northern India – Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and parts of Western Ghats – Goa, north Karnataka and South Kerala.[25] The rising number of extreme rain events are attributed to an increase in the fluctuations of the monsoon westerly winds, due to increased warming in the Arabian Sea. This results in occasional surges of moisture transport from the Arabian Sea to the subcontinent, resulting in heavy rains lasting for 2–3 days, and spread over a region large enough to cause floods.[25][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MemoriesUP Flood: पहली बार नहीं डूब रहा Lucknow, 1960 की बाढ़ ने बढ़ा दी थी सबकी धड़कन". News 18. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. ^ Frederick, Prince (22 November 2011). "Memories of Madras: Story of a submerged city". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b Noorani, A. G. (25 August 1979). "The Inundation of Morvi". Economic and Political Weekly. 14 (34): 1454. JSTOR 4367866.
  4. ^ a b Noorani, A. G. (21 April 1984). "Dissolving Commissions of Inquiry". Economic and Political Weekly. 19 (16): 667–668. JSTOR 4373178.
  5. ^ World Bank. Environment Dept (1991). Environmental assessment sourcebook. World Bank Publications. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-8213-1845-4. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. ^ S.B. Easwaran (27 August 2012). "The Loudest Crash Of '79". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Indian monsoon floods leave a million homeless". The Guardian. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  8. ^ "Mayawati alarmed by flood situation". Hindustan Times. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  9. ^ "India raises flood death toll reaches 5,700 as all missing persons now presumed dead". CBS News. July 16, 2013. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  10. ^ Sonawane, Vishakha (26 June 2015). "Heavy Rains in India: 70 Dead in Gujarat, Flood Alert in Jammu And Kashmir". International Business Times. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  11. ^ "5 Lions Found Dead in Gujarat After Heavy Rain Leads to Flooding". NDTV. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Gujarat floods: 72 people dead, over 81,000 cattle perished due to heavy rains". Firstpost. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  13. ^ Jayesh Phadtare (2018). "Role of Eastern Ghats Orography and Cold Pool in an Extreme Rainfall Event over Chennai on 1 December 2015". Monthly Weather Review. 146 (4): 943–965. Bibcode:2018MWRv..146..943P. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-16-0473.1.
  14. ^ Doshi, Vidhi (27 July 2016). "Flooding in India affects 1.6m people and submerges national park". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  15. ^ "PM rushes to Gujarat, announces relief package of Rs 500 crore". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  16. ^ Reuters and Esha Mitra (19 May 2022). "Floods and landslides kill 10 in northeast India after heavy rain". CNN. Retrieved 2022-06-03. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ Mehrotra, Vani (2022-10-12). "UP: Six killed in rain-related incidents; over 1300 villages affected by floods". indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  18. ^ "India floods: monsoon rains leave 22 dead in north as Delhi sees wettest July day in decades". The Guardian. 2023-07-10. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  19. ^ Patel, Shivam (2023-08-14). "Over 50 killed in Indian Himalayas as rain triggers landslides". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  20. ^ "Chennai Flooded, 2015 All Over Again! Cyclonic Storm Michaung to blame or infrastructure". Times Now. 4 December 2023.
  21. ^ "T.N. floods – Intense relief and rescue operations underway in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi districts". The Hindu. 20 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Wayanad landslides updates: Highlights from July 30, 2024". The Hindu. 31 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Andhra Pradesh, Telangana rain LIVE updates: Telangana government releases ₹5 cr each to flood affected districts". The Hindu.
  24. ^ "Andhra, Telangana rain fury: 19 dead, schools shut, 140 trains cancelled". India Today.
  25. ^ a b Roxy, M. K.; Ghosh, Subimal; Pathak, Amey; Athulya, R.; Mujumdar, Milind; Murtugudde, Raghu; Terray, Pascal; Rajeevan, M. (2017-10-03). "A threefold rise in widespread extreme rain events over central India". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 708. Bibcode:2017NatCo...8..708R. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00744-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5626780. PMID 28974680.
  26. ^ Simpkins, Graham (2017). "Hydroclimate: Extreme rain in India". Nature Climate Change. 7 (11): 760. Bibcode:2017NatCC...7..760S. doi:10.1038/nclimate3429.