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{{Short description|1993 India floods}}
{{Infobox flood
| name = 1993 India floods
| image = 2 River Satluj Sutlej Ropar Dam and Bridge in Rupnagar Punjab India.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| alt =
| caption = a view of River Sutlej in [[Rupnagar]], [[Punjab, India]]
| cause = [[Monsoon|Heavy rain]] [[Landslide]] [[Severe weather]]
| duration = July 1993
| date =
| damages = unknown
| fatalities = 530–550
| affected = [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] [[Assam]] [[Bihar]] [[West Bengal]] [[Haryana]] [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] [[Himachal Pradesh]] [[Gujarat]]
}}
The '''1993 India floods'''<ref name="The Times of India 2008">{{cite web | title=No lesson learnt from 1993 floods - Chandigarh News | website=The Times of India | date=8 September 2008 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/No-lesson-learnt-from-1993-floods/articleshow/3456700.cms | access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> was a deadliest flood caused by several days long heavy [[monsoon]] rains and [[severe weather]] that occurred in July 1993 across eight states in the north of the country. Severe floods left 530 fatalities and millions people went homeless, including from [[Haryana]]. [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] with 350 deaths was the most affected state where "1.2 million acres of crops" were extensively damaged, mostly from [[Patiala]], north-western region of the state. [[Flash flood]]s swept away major railway tracks, roads, and bridges, leading to disrupt the communications between the [[Northeast India|northeastern state]]s and the rest of the country. Initial reports cited one hundred deaths in [[Gujarat]].
[[File:India states and union territories map.svg|thumb|States and union territories of India]]

It is believed floods swept away more than one hundred cattle from the affected areas. [[Ajnala, India|Ajnala town]] of [[Amritsar district]] in Punjab also suffered a heavy loss where floods washed away a large number of the villages.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/07/22/monsoon-floods-kill-983-in-asia/d18e723d-2750-4a3e-bc7b-024c72eab346/|title=Monsoon Floods Kill 983 in Asia|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19930815-official-neglect-compounds-misery-of-punjab-flood-hit-811433-1993-08-15|title=Official neglect compounds misery of Punjab flood-hit|first1=K.|last1=Sandhu|last2=August 15, 1993 |website=India Today}}</ref>

==Background==
[[File:India flood zone map.svg|thumb|a map showing the areas prone to floods in India]]
Heavy floods caused by monsoon rains during the months of [[Climate of India|June and July]] leaves several fatalities with millions of worth property damage. However, rainwater is recognized one of the [[Rainwater harvesting|main source]]s of [[irrigation]] in the country as it provides water to [[Agriculture|agricultural crops]] like other countries.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLm0vXjBCUIC&dq=1993+punjab+flood&pg=PA154|title=Space Informatics for Sustainable Development|first1=S.|last1=Murai|first2=R. B.|last2=Singh|date=January 1, 1998|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9789054107743|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

On 7 July 1993, heavy monsoon caused flash floods and landslides, leading to extensive damage to human lives, crops, livestock, and housing across the seven to eight states in India such as [[West Bengal]], Punjab, [[Haryana]], [[Bihar]], [[Assam]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], and Gujarat. It also disrupted the communications and affected 10 million people alone in Punjab state.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/india/india-floods-16-jul-1993-un-dha-information-reports-1-5|title=India Floods 16 Jul 1993 UN DHA Information Reports 1 - 5 - India|website=ReliefWeb}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> The floods originated from the [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Beas River|Beas]], [[Satluj River|Satluj]], Ghaghhar, Yamuna, Jhelum, [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]], [[Sabarmati River|Sabarmati]], Subarnarekha, [[Kharkai River|Kharkai]], and other major rivers that brought devastating floods across the states and subsequently submerged thousands of villages.<ref name="Dartmouth College 2000">{{cite web | title=1993 Flood Archive | website=Dartmouth College | date=12 December 2000 | url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/1993sum.htm | access-date=1 May 2020 | archive-date=18 February 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218230609/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/1993sum.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Emergency response==
[[File:Seaking heaven.JPG|thumb|300px|[[helicopter]] rescue]]
The [[State governments of India|state government]]s as well as [[Government of India|union government]] mobilised more than 5,000 [[Indian Army|army personnel]] in [[Rescue|rescue operation]]s to combat the disaster by evacuating people from 1,500 affected villages. Army along with police and NGOs were actively involved in relief dispatch, [[technical rescue]] as well as in [[emergency medical services]]. Government also mobilised [[Indian Air Force|air force]] in an effort to airdrop food, medicine and blankets to the flood victims.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Aftermath==
Extreme volume of water in several rivers caused floods killing more than 530 people and damaged crops, including rice, [[maize]] and other plant species across the states. Bihar state also suffered a heavy loss where floods evacuated thousands of people, including 2.35 million people from Assam state while 250 villages came under floods and 1.6 million people went homeless. The state's three trains with 250 passengers also came under floods who were subsequently rescued by the multiple [[military unit]]s. Punjab's 247,000 acres of crops were extensively damaged.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/23/world/indian-monsoon-brings-floods-and-landslides-death-toll-is-500.html|title=Indian Monsoon Brings Floods and Landslides; Death Toll Is 500|first=Edward A.|last=Gargan|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 23, 1993}}</ref> In Patiala district, 125,000 people were sheltered in 200 relief camps. Most of its colonies were extensively affected with 10 to 15 feet of water, while 4,000 villages of Punjab sank in flash floods. Initial reports cited 500,000 hectares of [[agricultural land]] damage along with crops property worth [[Indian rupee|₹]]600 [[crore]] (60 million) in Punjab state.<ref name="auto2"/> West Bengal also suffered a heavy loss where 1 million people went homeless.<ref name="auto"/> The southern and southeastern portion of the [[Kashmir]] region [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] suffered twenty fatalities.<ref name="auto1"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Floods in India, 1993 disasters in India
|description=
}}

[[Category:Floods in India]]
[[Category:1993 disasters in India]]

1993 India floods - Revision history

MetaBOT at 11:15, 13 July 2023