The Indian
state of Kerala has been devastated by severe floods. More than 350 people have
died, while more than a million have been evacuated to over 4,000 relief camps.
Tens of thousands remain stranded.
The floods
have been described as “the worst in 100 years” by Kerala state’s chief
minister. Similar descriptions are often used to try and define the magnitudes
of a flood, such as a “one-in-100 year flood event,” despite it being widely
recognised that such descriptions are ineffective for communicating flood risk.
Our ways of thinking about probability and the risk of flooding, as well as
measuring its magnitude, are in desperate need of updating. The 100-year flood,
the flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, does not
register in public consciousness.
Let's pray
to almighty to give strength to people of Kerala to overcome this disaster.
- By Bhavya Bhatia
- By Bhavya Bhatia
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