Urban flooding
Topic: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Climates of India"
Meaning
Urban flooding means streets and homes in a city go under water after heavy rain. Concrete and tar cover the ground, so rain cannot soak in. Drains are too small or blocked with garbage. Buildings are put up on lakes, wetlands and natural stormwater channels, so the water has nowhere to go. As cities grow, more people and property are exposed, and the damage rises.
Example
On 26 July 2005, Mumbai on the west coast got about 944 mm of rain in one day. The city came to a standstill. Chennai on the east coast flooded badly in 2015.
Don't confuse with
- Riverine flood: here a river overflows its banks across open plains. In urban flooding the main cause is a city's own poor drainage and building, even far from a big river.