Hyderabad: A study has revealed that extreme rainfall for a period of 17 days can cause half of Hyderabad to submerge.
The study conducted by BITS Pilani Hyderabad on ‘Urban flood risk analysis of buildings’ has revealed that in an event of extreme rainfall of 440.35mm, for over a period of 17 days, can cause 334 sq km of the GHMC limits to submerge under water. The total GHMC limit is about 625 sq kms, which implies that half the city will be submerged, due the effect of climate change.
The study has been done using two RCP’s 6.0 and 4.5. The study predicts future rainfall in an extreme weather scenario causing 440.35 mm in 17 days in 2050 and 624.2 mm in 19 days in 2064.
Areas of Charminar, LB Nagar, Kukatpally and Alwal are more prone to flooding than other zones of the GHMC, the study concludes. This could be due to the terrain of the areas, increased concrete structures including buildings and pavements, that do not absorb rainwater. The percentage of concretization has risen from 55% – 73% between 1996 and 2016 and has been predicted to rise to 85% by 2050.
The article published on September 30 in the H2Open Journal named ‘Urban flood risk analysis of buildings using HEC-RAS 2D in climate change framework’ has been studied using Hydrologic Engineering Center’s-River Analysis System 2D, applied for 2-dimensional flood modelling. It estimates submerged areas, flood depth, and building risk for extreme events.