National Institute of Urban Affair holds workshop on 'Urban Flood Resilience'

Concerned with the rise in instances of urban flooding in the country, the Centre has decided to draw up recommendations on how cities should deal with such a situation, an official said on Thursday.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there is need to devise a system to anticipate natural disaster and make preparations accordingly to deal with it.

The National Institute of Urban Affair (NIUA) on Thursday held a workshop on 'Urban Flood Resilience' where experts suggested a number of ways to tackle the issue.

After attending the workshop, Puri told reporters that there has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in the country in the past few years.

"In Kerala, we had a serious flood. Issues were raised again on whether we are prepared sufficiently to deal with the situation," Puri said.

According to the ministry, recommendations to be drawn up to tackle urban flooding will be based on categories such as early warning for a natural disaster, preparedness for emergency and planning for disaster reduction.

According to NIUA's Twitter handle, Puri, while addressing the workshop said, "We need to map emergency services and make the information available to people."

An official of the NIUA said once the recommendations are drawn up, they will be sent to states.

NIUA Director Jagan Shah stressed the need for better coordination between different departments in states during a natural disaster.

(With inputs from agencies.)