Konkan river basins swollen with above normal rainfall

PUNE: The volume of rainfall in the Bhatsol basin in the west-flowing rivers south of Tapi basin and Vashishti river sub-basin in the Konkan during this monsoon recorded the highest anomaly in the country.
It could be a cause for the massive flooding in the Konkan this monsoon. The basin-wise rainwater volume calculated by the India Meteorological Department shows that Konkan region's river basins accumulated much more rainwater than the normal this monsoon.
The anomaly refers to a deviation from what is standard, normal, or expected.The volume of rain water that accumulated in some river basins in the Konkan has been much higher than the normal quantum — 800.1 TMC to 1,300 TMC over the average quantity accumulated each year.
The river basins of Bhatsol in Gujarat and Maharashtra and Vashishti in Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra have recorded the highest deviation from the normal for quantum of rainwater that accumulated here.
The Krishna upper basin, which also falls in Maharashtra and Karnataka, recorded rain in the range of 400.1 to 800 TMC over the average, among the highest in the country.
Only four other basins— Banas sub-basin, Chambal upper and Kali Sindh and others in Ganga basin— accumulated excess water in this range.
Pulak Guhathakurta, head of the climate application and user interface, climate research and services, IMD Pune, told TOI that river basins in Madhya Maharashtra and Konkan have witnessed extensive accumulation of rain water this monsoon.
“The colour blue (on the map) indicates the highest accumulation of water in volume over the average quantum. Purple indicates the next highest accumulation of water. The excess accumulation in the basins could be responsible for the flooding in the Konkan this year,” he said.
Guhathakurta said this data has also been shared with the Central Water Commission which announces flood forecasts.
A CWC official said the higher the volume of water in a basin, greater the chances of a flood situation in and around it.
“If a basin has accumulated much more water than what is normal, like it happened this time in some basins in Maharashtra, then it could be a cause for the flooding. Stations like Mahabaleshwar received extremely heavy rains, even more than the wettest spots like Mawsynram and Cherrapunji. It automatically resulted in excess water in the basins here,” the official added.