Climate change is real: 2019 floods killed 2391 humans , 15,729 cattle in India

Hyderabad: Floods in 2019 have claimed 2,391 human lives and 15,729 cattle, claims the official records of Ministry of Home Affairs.

Answering to a question asked in Lok Sabha, the Home Ministry officials said, “As per information received from state governments and UTs, around 800,067 houses were damaged, and 63.975 lakh hectares of crop areas were affected due to floods/cloudburst/landslides during South-West Monsoon in 2019. Besides, 2,391 humans and 15,729 cattle died in various disasters in the year.”

In 2019, 13 states witnessed floods, with the ‘God’s own country’ Kerala witnessing another wrath of the monsoons. The southern state registered high destruction, especially with the floods and rains damaging 21,264 houses. While Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of human deaths due to the floods — 674 — Maharashtra followed it with 253.

Madhya Pradesh reported a high number of house and property damages, besides human death because of heavy rains flooding River Narmada. The authorities opened sluice gates of seven dams, out of the total 28, in the state to release the excess water. Around 1,000 people were evacuated to avoid further destruction.

Floods were reported in Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Pune, Punjab, Assam, and Bihar.

Besides human and cattle deaths, the floods damaged 63.975 lakh hectors of crop area, which is a considerable loss to already struggling Indian farmers. Rajasthan reported the highest crop area damage with 27.36 lakh hectares, followed by Karnataka with 9.35 lakh hectares.

Details of Flood Ops of @NDRFHQ and funds allocated by Government to various flood affected States during South-West Monsoon Season 2019.

Press Release 👇

https://t.co/NJI59PGJtF

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) November 19, 2019

Government response on crop acre damage

The Indian Council of Agriculture Research and Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture in Hyderabad prepared a crop contingency plan for all problematic districts in the country to sustain agriculture production. The two organisations prepared the report in collaboration with state agriculture universities. The program is envisaged to inform farmers of a sudden change in weather condition much in advance.

Table:

States that recorded the highest number of human deaths due to floods:

1. Madhya Pradesh: 674

2. Maharashtra: 253

3. West Bengal: 227

4. Gujarat: 195

5. Uttar Pradesh: 133

6. Bihar: 133

7. Rajasthan: 126

8. Kerala: 125

9. Assam: 103

10. Karnataka: 91

Most cattle deaths were reported in the following states:

1. Maharashtra: 4,230

2. Karnataka: 3,400

3. MP: 1,888

4. Kerala: 1,183

5. Sikkim: 1,304