Author(s): Bharat Lal Seth
In the past few days several thousands were evacuated from low lying areas in the national capital after the water level of the river Yamuna touched 207.32 metre, just centimetres short of the maximum level during the infamous 1978 floods in Delhi. The level was well above the danger mark of 204.83 metre. While one child died, carried away by the strong current at Wazirabad in north-east Delhi, many others had to be evacuated from low-lying areas. The Yamuna spilled over its banks as unprecedented rainfall and the consequent discharge from the upper reaches inundated the Ring Road.
“Periodical floods of varying magnitudes are natural phenomena. The very concepts of 25-year flood, 50-year flood and 100-year flood show that this will happen from time to time; only we can't say when,” says Ramaswamy Iyer, former secretary of the ministry of water resources. Others have alluded to the odd timing of the rainfall and flood event given that this rise in water levels in mid June is unprecedented. “Similar rise is plausible, welcome and accepted in July and August,” says Manoj Misra, convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, a campaign front in Delhi against the encroachment of rivers' floodplains. In fact, most of the high flood levels have historically been attained in the month of September (see graph).
Yamuna's peak flow
| Gush from Haryana | |
| Year | Volume of water discharged by Haryana (in cubic metre per second) |
| 1978 | 700,000 cusecs |
| 1988 | 577,000 cusecs |
| 1995 | 536,000 cusecs |
| 2008 | 409,000 cusecs |
| 2010 | 744,000 cusecs |
| 2013 | 806,000 cusecs |
Comment by Anumakonda Jagadeesh
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