Countries getting better at preventing flood-related deaths but not India

In all, the measures taken to reduce flood damage are ineffective.

Nearly 14% of India’s landmass is vulnerable to flooding and more than 15% of this area gets flooded every year. Since 1953, 1,600 lives have been lost every year on average due to floods.

Yet, the central government has not released 61% of the funds promised for flood management between April 2007 and March 2016, and 43% of the 517 works approved have not been completed, a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, the government’s auditor, has found.

The CAG studied a sample of 206