Background

As the financial capital of India, Mumbai faces a rather unique combination of issues in managing its urban density, ageing infrastructure and general geographical vulnerability. Built on seven islands, much of the city lies just above the sea level making it especially prone to flooding, more so during the monsoon season. 

While flooding affects many parts of the city, its most devastating impact is most often felt by residents of informal settlements like the slum communities which are home to over 9 million people making them some of the most populated and poorly resourced areas in the metropolitan, particularly susceptible to waterlogging, collapses and prolonged displacement. When the monsoon comes each year, it brings more than just rain. Families residing in these areas face power outages, loss of essential supplies and sanitation issues which in some cases can also result in grave illnesses, injury or death. 

Each monsoon season brings more than just rain: families in these areas face sanitation breakdowns, power outages, loss of essential supplies, and in some cases, injury or death. Despite this, basic education with respect to flood management, preparedness training and community-centric safety resources remain scarce. 

Current flood mitigation strategies tend to prioritize more large-scale solutions which, while a significant step towards progress, leaves community members in flood-prone neighborhoods without access to emergency contacts, evacuation protocols or tools for basic protection and recovery. The Uplifting Bombay Movement (UBM) was founded to address this very gap by helping build on local capacity, flood-readiness resources and effective training for those who need it the most. Through this, UBM hopes to make flood resilience something that is equal parts accessible as it is empowering.