The Indian state of Bihar is frequently blighted by heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. Scientists recognize that civil engineering is only part of the solution. Rachel Varghese, program manager of the Megha Climate Collaborative Project, explained how a UVA-sponsored program is helping Biharis prepare for floods, deal with the aftermath, and adapt to migration patterns that pose unique challenges to the state’s least visible demographic: women.

Every spring and summer, meltwater from the Himalayas adds to the monsoon rains, feeding India’s rivers with countless tons of fresh water. Directly in the path of these rivers are the low-lying, fertile plains of Bihar, one of India’s most northerly states and the most vulnerable to flooding. These plains quickly become inundated, destroying lives and infrastructure in a centuries-long seasonal rhythm.

“Bihar is on a floodplain,” Varghese explained from her office in Bombay, “so when the meltwater flows down, northerly districts like Darbhanga are the first to take the hit. And it’s not just water. Billions of tons of silt [granular particles] and sediment (including larger clumps) are deposited along with it.” It’s a classic double-edged sword: the sediments stock Bihar’s alluvial plains with nutrients, creating a rich, red mud which has turned Bihar into a ‘garden state’ of rice, wheat, vegetables, sugar cane and fruit.

From space, Bihar is a swathe of vibrant, lush green. “But these sediments also clog the river,” Varghese warned. “The water has less space to move, but it still has to move, so it breaches its embankments. When this happens on a flood plain, there’s nothing to stop it.”

Understanding the physical and social impacts of these floods has been the work of the Megha Climate Collaborative, one of three groups funded by the UVA Environmental Institute through the Grand Challenges Research Initiative. The team unites a mix of disciplines, including hydrologists, economists, geographers, musicians, and social workers.

Varghese described the larger picture that has grown over the decades: “Development hasn’t happened as it should. Flood problems are still huge.” The state government has completed 3,000 km of embankments in Bihar alone. “But hydrologists will tell you the embankment strategy isn’t working well.” Instead, preparation, empowerment and resilience are finding a central place within the response strategy.

This focus on Bihar is rooted in its geography, but also in a startling contrast. In 2018, there was massive flooding in Bihar, and also, separately, in southern India, in Kerala. Another fertile, alluvial area, Kerala has better education and infrastructure, attracting a literate workforce.

“And so, when the floods came to Kerala, grandmothers were sitting on the roofs of their sturdy apartment buildings, calling their children to arrange a helicopter rescue. But Bihar is extremely poor, with low levels of literacy and technology adoption. This affects how the state develops over time. Most of the buildings were shacks made from bamboo and grass,” Varghese said. “One hit, and everything was taken away.”

Bihar’s unique demographic situation adds even more relevance to the project’s work. Nationally, some 28% of workers are migrants, but in Bihar, it’s 48%. Many Bihari men work in Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore and Kerala, so those households are run by women. Without smartphones, they miss the government emergency updates necessary for timely preparations.

The Collaborative’s task became a groundbreaking one: to create, test, and roll out a set of tools to help women - especially elected women representatives - participate in meetings, debate water issues, and apply for funding.

Progress has been slow. “Patriarchal structures are still in place,” Varghese said. “Women wait for the men to make decisions. And there are activities that women aren’t allowed to do. If the menfolk are working away, women depend on neighbors and relatives who must care for their own families first.”

Traditions endure that limit the role of women in decision-making.

“Villages hold four Gram Sabha meetings every year. The community deliberates on how to better the village - farming, health, schools, roads and ditches. But these meetings are dominated by men. Even the elected women aren’t attending. And when they do attend, they’re not speaking up. And when they do speak up, they’re not being heard.”

Despite these obstacles, women have a central role during floods. As Varghese explained, the women  are responsible for children, in-laws, grandparents, and livestock. It is they who decide whether to leave, abandoning hard-won possessions. And once they evacuate, they might not have access to government shelter or nutrition assistance.

During flooding, sanitation services end. “Adolescent girls, pregnant and elderly women all need toilets and access to water. Their health takes a huge hit,” Varghese stated. Research shows a higher mortality rate for women during climate change-related disasters, which kill several hundred people a year in Bihar. There is also a surge in domestic violence in the face of anxiety and uncertainty.

“Human trafficking spikes during these disasters,” explained Varghese. “Bihar is a border state.” In extremis, parents are prone to marry off their children - often underage - to whoever offers ‘bride money’. “The appeal is that somebody will better provide for their daughter, but it’s likely these children are being trafficked to brothels.”

These reasons are why the project focuses primarily on empowering the women who are left behind. On one hand, there’s grinding poverty, environmental disaster and migration, but on the other, there are experiments in governance which could work in other flood-prone areas where women play a central role in flood resilience.

“We’re trying to empower women to work within the processes, to educate their communities, and to help their constituents access benefits,” Varghese said. “This way, elected women can learn to prepare by advocating for resources and planning, then respond to a flood emergency, and carry on afterward.”

There are challenges in gathering and educating the women. They’re under incredible domestic time pressure. Some unique approaches from the Megha Climate Collaborative include encouraging the women to keep their important documents in a sealed bag. If something happens, they can grab it and run. The group has Invited women to sign the attendance sheet that had been overlooked but enormously empowering.

“We’re studying whether these interventions help women to develop leadership and communications skills, and to become more forthright in speaking up about issues affecting the village. To reach them, we have to think creatively, hold their attention, and elicit their experiences. Because if they’ll talk with us, perhaps they’ll speak up at a Gram Sabha.”

Varghese was full of praise for the Biharis. “Here in Bombay, we see Bihari migrants and they’re incredibly hard-working and honest. The dignity of earning through work is very present. They’ve begun to taste change, and perhaps to see that they have more power and agency than they thought.”