Campaigns · Ongoing
Urban Flood Resilience
A city is not resilient simply because it has drainage infrastructure. Resilience depends on how well a city plans for risk, maintains its systems, coordinates its institutions and prepares for disruption. This campaign asks what that means for Lucknow and India’s growing cities — and what citizens and governments are doing about it.
The risk
Why urban flooding matters now
Waterlogged streets have become a familiar sight in Indian cities during the monsoon. But one episode only tells us what happened; a recurring pattern tells us something is wrong with how a city is planned, built or maintained.
The risk is not standing still. As our campaign has highlighted, World Bank estimates suggest the area of India exposed to pluvial (rainfall-driven) flood risk could grow between 3.6 and 7 times by 2070, as climate change and rapid urban growth intensify extreme rainfall and runoff. Cities need to plan not only for the risks they face today, but for the risks ahead.
Flooding also does not always follow local rain. In October 2026, the Gomti in Lucknow kept rising days after local rainfall had subsided, as upstream runoff reached the city — raising questions about floodplain development, drainage pathways and how urban growth interacts with natural water systems.
Three perspectives
Who is doing what?
Our campaign looks at urban flooding from three sides: the people who live with it, the governments responsible for managing it, and the role research can play.
P
What people are doing
- Reporting recurring waterlogging spots to civic bodies and on social media
- Keeping neighbourhood drains free of plastic and waste
- Following weather and flood alerts and helping neighbours prepare
- Sharing their experiences and views — including through our public poll
G
What government is doing
- ₹5,520.07 crore approved across 18 cities under the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme
- Stormwater drainage projects in growing areas — such as GMDA’s planned 3.3-km network along the Dwarka Expressway, Gurugram
- Pre-monsoon desilting and drain maintenance by urban local bodies
- Flood forecasting and early warnings for rivers and cities
I
What IPRS is doing
- Running the Urban Flood Resilience Series on our social channels
- Gathering public perception through polls
- Tracking local events through our Policy Monitor
- Proposing an urban waterlogging record and outcome-based measures
Public perception
Is local infrastructure ready?
We asked our LinkedIn community whether Urban Local Body (ULB) infrastructure is ready to tackle urban flooding. The answers were divided — and largely sceptical.
These results are a starting point for discussion, not a definitive measure of readiness. The real question is whether urban systems can manage flood risk in practice.
What resilience requires
Three connected priorities
Infrastructure alone is not enough. Our campaign argues that resilience depends on three things working together.
01
Planning
Integrate flood exposure into land-use and development decisions — especially on floodplains and in fast-growing peri-urban areas, where today’s choices shape vulnerability for decades.
02
Maintenance
Make sure drainage networks keep their intended capacity through regular desilting, repair and protection from encroachment and solid waste.
03
Coordination
Align civic agencies, development authorities, early-warning systems and emergency response, so that no part of the system works in isolation.
Our proposal
An urban waterlogging record
Cities must move beyond responding to individual incidents and learn from recurring patterns. A simple, public record of waterlogging could help organise four things:
Where it recurs
The streets and localities where waterlogging happens again and again.
Conditions & duration
The rainfall, river levels and length of each incident.
Questions to investigate
Possible causes that need technical follow-up.
Actions & results
What was done, and whether the problem returned.
A record alone cannot establish the cause of flooding. Its value lies in organising observations and supporting follow-up — so that recurring flooding becomes evidence for better planning.
Campaign materials
The series so far
Every piece of campaign material is collected here as the campaign grows. Newest first.
Follow the campaign
NextGen Policy · October 2026
A city’s story extends beyond its boundaries
Looking beyond the city map at the governance and coordination shaping India’s urban regions. View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
Resilient by design, not by chance
Why growing cities — small and large — should plan for flood resilience from the outset. View post →
Policy Monitor · Lucknow · October 2026
When the river rises, the questions go beyond rainfall
Lucknow’s October flooding as a real-world case for floodplain and drainage planning. View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
Beyond readiness: when the same streets flood again
The case for an urban waterlogging record. View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
From public perception to policy
Results of our poll on whether local infrastructure is ready for urban flooding. View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
A city is not resilient simply because it has drainage
Resilience as planning, maintenance, coordination and preparedness. View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
From investment to outcomes
₹5,520.07 crore approved for 18 cities — but how will we know if it works? View post →
Urban Flood Resilience Series
The risk isn’t staying constant
How climate change and urban growth are expected to raise future flood risk. View post →
Policy in the News · Gurugram · 4 October 2026
Planning drainage after years of waterlogging
GMDA’s planned stormwater network along the Dwarka Expressway. View post →
Campaign team
The people behind this campaign
Founders, researchers, interns and volunteers working on Urban Flood Resilience. Visit their profiles to learn more about them or to get in touch.
Avinash Singh
Founder & Managing Trustee
Aarna Pasricha
Intern
Take part
How you can contribute
S
Share your experience
Does your street flood every monsoon? Write to us with the location, how often it happens and how long the water stays.
V
Volunteer
Help us document waterlogging, run awareness activities and spread campaign material in your neighbourhood.
R
Research with us
Students and researchers can help analyse campaign evidence and contribute to IPRS research on urban flood resilience.
Any policy brief or research that grows out of this campaign will be published under Research and linked here.
Join the campaign
Help your city plan for the next flood.
Share your experience, volunteer with us, or partner with IPRS on research and public engagement around urban flood resilience.
Follow IPRS