Droughts
Chennai is more drought prone than flood prone, with water scarcity being a chronic stress. The city is currently facing severe and acute water shortage.
Overview
Historically, Chennai has been disaster-prone, experiencing climate and non-climate related disasters. However, the frequency of disasters in Chennai—specifically, floods and droughts—has increased, and its impact on Chennai’s residents, economy and infrastructure is widespread. While integrated and proactive actions in planned urbanisation, a well-managed water system and collaborative urban governance can help prevent certain events, or at least minimise their intensity, Chennai must simultaneously prepare itself to face and tackle disasters when they do happen. Special attention needs to be given to vulnerable communities and small businesses, which typically tend to be most affected by disaster events.
