Flood exposes urgent need to climate-proof JNIMS
Source: Chronicle News Service / Longjam Arishrona

Imphal, June 06 2025: The ongoing flood situation, one of the worst in the state's recent history, has raised a pressing question - how prepared is the state's healthcare infrastructure in the face of the escalating impact of climate change? The inundation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), the state-run medical college and hospital, has rendered it out-of-service for several days, highlighting the urgent need to make JNIMS a climate-resilient institution.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and the National Mission on Climate Change and Human Health (NM-HH) have already underlined the need for reforms in the health sector to make it resilient to climate-related challenges.

The recent flood, which has severely impacted vast parts of the state including JNIMS, has brought to light the vulnerabilities in the healthcare system and the consequences of climate events on public health services.

The impact is not limited to submerged homes, damaged properties and roads.

The disruption of healthcare access has left the public facing severe hardships.

The shutdown of JNIMS not only cut off thousands from critical medical care but also underscored the broader risks that extreme weather events pose to essential infrastructure.

This situation has underscored the necessity of re-examining the healthcare infrastructure from a climate perspective.

Retrofitting hospitals, elevating critical infrastructure, installing flood barriers and real-time early warning systems, and ensuring reliable power and water supply are no longer long-term goals but immediate needs.

The flooding of JNIMS forced the hospital authority to suspend all medical services, including outpatient and emergency care till June 15.On June 3, the hospital administration held a meeting and subsequently issued a public notice announcing the closure of services until further notice.

This disruption cannot be dismissed as a routine impact of flooding but must be treated as a critical concern demanding prompt and concrete measures to prevent recurrence.

The flood has served as a wake-up call to the authorities.

An official in the healthcare sector told The People's Chronicle that the hospital, one of only two government tertiary care facilities in the state, experienced one of the worst floods in its history.

The deluge overwhelmed the internal drainage system, flooded all ground-level units and damaged the electrical systems significantly.

According to the official, the situation laid bare structural vulnerabilities including the hospital's location in a low-lying area, poor drainage design, and lack of a robust emergency backup system.

The official further stressed the need to introduce measures such as rain gardens, permeable pathways and campus afforestation to improve the hospital's microclimate and reduce the impact of climate events.

In addition, there is a need for a comprehensive disaster management plan to address the specific challenges posed by climate change in the local context.

Climate change is no longer a distant or future threat, it is already affecting human lives and critical infrastructure.

The current flood is a clear indication that the global climate crisis has begun to reach even landlocked and geographically isolated regions like Manipur.

Rather than accepting it as an inevitable disaster and enduring it, this crisis should be treated as an opportunity to strengthen infrastructure, reform existing policies, and build climate-resilient systems across the state.

The healthcare official noted that the state government, JNIMS authorities, urban planners and the wider public health community must work together to turn this crisis into a catalyst for change.

By taking coordinated action, they could develop JNIMS into a model climate-resilient hospital for the entire northeast region, he opined.

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