Unseen Passage

1. Read the passage given below. (6 marks)Urban FloodingI. The National Disaster Management Authority has recently released guidelines on the management of urban flooding. It clearly states that urban flooding should be treated as aseparate disaster as the causes of urban flooding and the strategies to deal with them are different.II. Even though urban flooding has been experienced for decades in India sufficient attention was not given to planning specific efforts to deal with it holistically. In the past, any strategy on Flood Disaster Management largely focused on riverine floods affecting large tracts of rural areas.III. Urban Flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanization leads to developed catchments which increases the flood peaks by up to 8 times and flood volumes up to 6 times. Consequently, flooding occurs very quickly due to faster flow times, sometimes in a matter of minutes.IV. Urban areas are centers of economic activities with vital infrastructure which needs to be protected 24 x 7. In most cities, damage to vital infrastructure has a bearing not only locally but could even have global implications.V. Urban areas are also densely populated and people living in vulnerable areas, both rich and poor, suffer due to flooding. It has sometimes resulted in the loss of life, damage to property, and disruptions in transport and power bringing life to a grinding halt causing untold misery and hardships. Even the secondary effects of subsequent epidemics and exposure to infection often take a further toll in terms of loss of livelihood, human suffering, and, in extreme cases, loss of life. Therefore, the management of urban flooding has to be accorded top priority.VI. There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years. Almost every major city in India has been severely affected. Mumbai floods of July2005 turned out to be an eye-opener. The deluge of rains in the catchment areas of the Yamuna during August and September in 2010 has inundated many villages and towns of Haryana, besides threatening the low-lying areas of Delhi, the national capital. The fury of floods did not spare many areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.VII. Storm Water Drainage systems in the past were designed for a rainfall intensity of 12-20mm However, we have been experiencing rainfall of higher intensities in most of our cities every year, which overwhelm the SWD system. Moreover, the systems very often do not work to the designed capacities because of encroachments, dumping of solid waste, and poor operations and maintenance.VIII. Improper disposal of solid waste, including domestic, commercial, and industrial waste and the dumping of construction debris into the drains also contributes significantly to reducing their capacities. Everybody is responsible for this.IX. Encroachments are a major problem in many cities and towns all over the country. With large scale encroachments on the natural drains and in the floodplains, the capacity of thenatural drain has decreased, resulting in flooding even with lower intensities of rainfall. Read the passage and answer following questions i. Urban flooding is to be treated as a separate disaster because_ the problems of urban areas are unique urban areas get flooded easily the causes of urban flooding are different urban and riverine flooding are similar ii. Urban flooding occurs very quickly as_ the drainage is usually blocked storm water drainage is poor encroachments obstruct the flow of water developed catchments increase faster flow times iii. Urban areas need around the clock vigil because_ they are centers of economic activities with vital infrastructure they are the hubs of commerce and industry they contain educational institutions and hospitals they provide rail links to the rural areas iv. Life comes to a grinding halt in a flooded urban centre as _ people are vulnerable to deep water flowing fast transport and power are disrupted there is a loss of life and damage to property people face hardships vi. The word ‘overwhelm’ in para 7 means _ stunned flooded defeated overpowered v. Encroachment on natural drains intensify flooding because_ these divert the flow of water these cause whirls and speed up the flow these decrease the capacity of the drain these obstruct the smooth flow of water