The monsoon disaster that has struck Maharashtra state, in Western India, at the cost of maybe more than a thousand lives, has shown up both the best and the worst in Bombay, the state capital and India’s leading financial and commercial center.
Tuesday’s extraordinary inundation which saw more than 26 inches of rainfall in a few hours brought this humming metropolis to a complete halt, with power and communication failures, a total collapse of public transport and a massive city-wide road gridlock. The greatest loss of life seems to have been in shantytowns on the edges of Bombay where mudslides swept away hundreds of homes. Yet given that the city’s population is in excess of 12 million, it is remarkable that more people have not perished.
There remains, however, the very real danger of outbreaks of disease from polluted water sources and last night some upstate villages were still cut off. Nevertheless, what will be remembered about this disastrous monsoon day is how well the ordinary people of Bombay coped. There are countless stories of individuals welcoming stranded strangers into their homes and shops, giving out bottled water and food to commuters as they waded, sometimes chest deep, through the flooded streets, trying desperately to get home to their families. In this respect, Bombay demonstrated clearly what a vital and thrusting community it has become. The disaster brought out the very best in its citizens.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the authorities. One reason the city’s drains failed to cope with the massive downpour is that the sea outfalls are still below high-tide level. Without powerful pumps to push out the rainwater, Tuesday’s high tide merely backed up the flow, ensuring disaster. There are also serious questions about the whole storm drain system which has been for too long largely neglected by the city authorities.
Worse, the police, emergency services and the army appeared to be working to no rehearsed emergency plan. It was fortunate that local radio stations were able to remain on air and provide some guidance to Bombay’s bewildered population, but not enough unfortunately to prevent panic at a rumored tsunami. At least 22 people died in the stampede resulting from this false report.
This is without doubt a loud wake-up call for the city fathers. However exceptional Tuesday’s weather, it is simply unacceptable that a great Indian city should be brought to such a sudden halt because of woefully inadequate infrastructure and because no clear and effective emergency plan was in place. Monsoons are hardly unexpected events and climatic change seems set to increase their severity. A full and urgent investigation into what went wrong and even more importantly into how the same failings can be avoided next time must be put in place at the highest level. As this disaster demonstrated so clearly, the resourceful and indomitable citizens of Bombay score far higher marks than the people who run their city and its infrastructure.
