Mangrove Forest

The Scientific Reports of the paper, 'The global flood protection benefits of mangroves' published in the journal, 'Nature', inform that mangroves help in coping with floods by acting as barriers through factors such as bottom friction, the cross-shore width of forests, tree density and shape, which can help in reducing the force of flood waves as they pass through the mangrove forests.

Coastal flooding is rising in India and recent evidence shows that as high as 36 million Indians will be at the risk of chronic flooding by 2050. The Indian coastline extends over 7,500 kmts across nine states, two Union territories, and two island territories — Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

The east coast has historically been more vulnerable to cyclones than the west coast. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the Bay of Bengal has had 520 cyclones between 1891 and 2018, compared with 126 in the Arabian Sea.

Indeed, the list of cyclones that India has experienced is long with intense cyclones from 1999 to 2020 including the very recent Amphan and others like Kyarr, Maha, Vayu, Fani, Gaja, Titli, Okhi, Varada, Hudhud, Phailin, Helen, Neelam, Phyan and the Odisha cyclone that left a trail of destruction along with the coastal states in India.

Credits- Indiawaterportal.org