PANAJI: An unexpected flooding at Morjim beach for a few days last week was due to spring tide, but villagers opine shifting the temporary structures closer to the water line this season was a blunder.
National institute of oceanography (NIO) scientists, A S Unnikrishnan and D Sundar inspected Morjim beach and assessed the factors that may have been responsible for the unexpected rise of water level from January 2 till January 6.
The higher rise of sea level swamped the beach shacks, causing massive losses. Similar flooding was also witnessed at Vagator, reducing the small beach stretch to a mere strip, barely enough for tourists and locals to walk along.
The beach morphology at Temb and Vithalwada shows that the gradient is gentle in a larger stretch, but almost flat and vulnerable in a few places. "The water easily rises to the higher ground in flatter stretches of the beach if the level increases," Unnikrishnan said.
NIO checked if any meteorological phenomenon had triggered the flooding last week. "The meteorology department informed us nothing unusual was observed during the first week of January," he explained.
The beach morphology has been partly altered by erosion during the last few years, while sand dunes have been flattened due to human intervention and increased footfalls.
The slight surge in water level is common during spring tide. "Fishermen and locals in Morjim told us that it has happened in the past. But beaches like Calangute may not be affected much as it has steep beach morphology," he added. Unnikrishnan was involved in aiding the intergovernmental panel on climate change for the Working Group I prepare the fifth assessment report (AR5).
Some villagers, however, blamed the tourism department and the shack owners for throwing caution to the wind and moving their structures near the shore.
The beach area is recklessly used and traders bring their goods close to the shore in their vehicles. "Some try to stop them, but they even break the barricade to transport their materials. No vehicles are allowed on other beaches," a villager said.
The shacks had been shifted closer to the water line as the beach is shrinking. "This was done to prevent people trampling sand dune areas, but this shows the sea has to be shown respect," the villager added. Shack owners have demanded that they be given proper sites for setting up their structures.
The scientists studied the evidence of the water mark after the waves surged to the highest level. "But we have no past data for comparison," admitted the scientist.
