Rs 4.23 lakh cr rain losses since 2013 is 83 pc of losses suffered in 7 decades
Chennai: In the past two decades between 2003 and 2022, the country suffered Rs 4.23 lakh crore worth of losses due to floods and heavy rains and these years made up for 83 per cent of rain-related losses during the past seven decades. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh were the top states to suffer losses in the past two decades.
The losses due to floods and heavy rains have been increasing in recent years, as per the government data. In the past seven decades between 1953 and 2022, the losses have been estimated to be Rs 5.08 lakh crore. Of this, 83 per cent of losses occurred in the past two decades between 2003 and 2022 amounting to Rs 4.23 lakh crore. The past one decade between 2013 and 2022 alone accounted for 56 per cent of the losses at Rs 2.87 lakh crore and the five-year period between 2018 and 2022 made up for 26 per cent share of the seven decades of losses with Rs 1.31 lakh crore.
In all these time periods, loss to public utilities, including roads, bridges and irrigation channels has been almost half of the total losses, as per a recent report by the Central Water Commission.
“Annual average damage indexed using Cost Inflation Index (CII) between 1953 and 2022 assessed to the order of Rs 18,326 crore. It is observed that over the years the values in damage show an increasing trend,” the report said.
The top state to suffer most damage to crops, houses and public utilities in the past two decades has been West Bengal with total losses amounting to Rs 64,528 crore. The state suffered major damage during the 2013-2022 decade with losses amounting to Rs 61,240 crore.
Andhra Pradesh has suffered total losses of Rs 61,213 crore in the past two decades. Karnataka stood third with losses amounting to Rs 42,871 crore in the past two decades.
Uttarakhand saw the highest losses during the past decade between 2013 and 2022 totalling Rs 40,329 crore. Between 2013 and 2022, Tamil Nadu suffered damage worth Rs 32,953 crore. Of this, 2015 floods made up for a large chunk.
The flash floods of 2022 resulted in large-scale damage in Rajasthan and in the five-year period between 2018 and 2022, the state saw losses of Rs 26,271 crore. Kerala, which was flooded in 2018, saw total losses of Rs 12,577 crore between 2018 and 2022.
