The State government has issued an order that financial assistance will be given to those affected by coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion.
According to the order of the Disaster Management department, damage to life, property, livelihoods, and infrastructure caused by waves intruding from the sea to land beyond the high-tide line (HTL) or by resultant flooding shall be termed coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion and be declared a State-specific disaster.
Accordingly, financial assistance, similar to that provided to natural disaster victims under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, will be given to victims of coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion.
The order says that a letter from the Disaster Management Commissioner in October last year clarified that the mode of occurrence of flooding (such as extremely heavy rainfall, tidal rise, waves, release of water from dams, urban waterlogging, swell waves, melting of snow layers, and cyclone-induced abnormal waves) did not lead to any variation in the assistance provided.
In this context, Section 2(d) of the Disaster Management Act provides that if flooding caused by tidal rise adversely affects a community and results in loss of life, livelihood, and living conditions, such a natural phenomenon can be considered a disaster, says the order.
