Amid this, a study by development consultancy firm IPE Global indicates that the state’s flood frequency has shifted from episodic, or once every three to five years before 2018, to near-annual, with a five-fold increase within a single decade. It adds that districts like Wayanad and Idukki have already crossed into extreme compound risk territory. It also warns that such events will occur frequently going ahead. Here is a detailed look at the impact of floods on Kerala’s economy and life in the last five years, and its reasons.
2018 floods: The worst in recent years
From a major flood once every 3-5 years before 2018, Kerala now faces monsoon wrath every season
According to Abinash Mohanty, global sector head- climate change & sustainability, IPE Global, a multi-hazard vulnerability assessment for Kerala reveals a statistically significant shift in the return periods of hydrometeorological hazards that demands immediate policy intervention that can climate-proof lives, livelihoods and infrastructures. Looking into this assesment, Kerala has moved from experiencing a major flood once every three to five years before 2018 to experiencing one every single monsoon season— a five-fold increase in frequency within a decade.
“The 2024 Wayanad catastrophe — 420 lives lost in six hours of rainfall that should statistically occur once in 75 to 200 years — is no longer an outlier. Under La Niña conditions and accelerating monsoon intensification, we project compound events will strike two to three times more frequently by 2035. Kerala does not need more rescue boats after the flood arrives. It needs a system that activates departments before the rain falls. Every life lost, every livelihood washed away, and every road and bridge that collapses is proof that we are still building and governing for yesterday’s climate, not tomorrow’s,” he added.
 "Kerala floods")