The drizzle began on the evening of September 27, then rain, and it was a torrent; by afternoon nearly the whole of Hyderabad was under water. This was 108 years ago but sounds like yesterday. On September 28, 1908, all hell broke loose as many tanks on Musi river’s basin burst. “The rainfall recorded at Shamshabad, one of the principal rain-gauge stations in the catchment area, was 12.8 inches (32.5 cm) in 24 hours and 18.90 inches (48 cm) in 48 hours,” wrote Sir M. Viswesaraya, years later, about the project he did as a consulting engineer of Hyderabad. At one point of time on September 28, 425,000 cusecs of water roared through the city.
About 15,000 people died; in Kolsawadi alone 2000 were swept away. 150 people climbed a tamarind tree on one bank of Musi to tell the tale.
Sir Viswesaraya, then a leading engineer in the country, was brought in to suggest steps to prevent flooding.
What Sir Viswesaraya did changed the city. Charminar and its surrounding areas which were overrun by encroachments were torn down. Wide paved streets were created. Embankments and a drainage system were created in the main part of the city, and two dams on Musi changed the city forever.
While the 1908 flood was nature’s fury spread across the city, this year’s flood created islands of misery. The western and northern suburbs were the worst affected, as was Begumpet, which saw a repeat of August 2000 flooding.
“We are not paying attention to land use. We change it easily. Land use categories like Gutta Poromboke, Konda Poromboke or Cheruvu Poromboke are there for a reason. We are paying a price for ignoring or taking it very lightly,” says Anant Maringanti of Hyderabad Urban Labs.
“Surface runoff is increasing in urban areas as there is no seepage and water moves in unpredictable ways. How people respond to crisis shows where the problem is. People broke road dividers, the put sandbags around the apartments, they pumped out water and removed manhole covers. It is time we learn from this experience,” says Mr. Maringanti.
