This paper describes the flood risks faced by Surat, one of India’s most successful and also most flood-prone cities. The city is located on the Tapi River and faces flood risks not only from heavy precipitation in and around the city but also from heavy precipitation upstream and from high tides downstream. Reducing the risks from upstream depends on better water management in a water catchment area and dam reservoir located far outside the city authority’s jurisdiction and in another state.

The City of Surat is one of the most prosperous (also known as Diamond City) city in India.Surat has been facing floods since formation of the city. Even after the building of the Ukai dam, the floods continued to damage the city. Due to rapid growth and expansion of the city, the flood damages are increasing especially since the last two decades, with the frequency of floods staying at least once in four years. In 2006 extreme floods (due to emergency release from Ukai dam) inundated 75% area of the city.

Indian cities are undergoing rapid urbanization and their resource footprints are growing. As the cities grow and demand for natural resources grow, they face competition and conflicts with other users in the region and hydrological basin, resulting in shortages and scarcities in cities. The climate change exacerbates these conflicts. Water sector is one of the conflict areas for the cities.

Protection of environmental and climate change migrants or refugees and the debate on the legal framework of refugees’ rehabilitation is a matter of major concern for international humanitarian as well as development oriented organizations. But there is little focus on gradual or slow-onset disasters and there is little ethnographic research work in the regions under severe permanent threats because of environmental and climate change.