SURAT, Oct 18: The Surat Municipal Corporation, which nears the 1.8 million population mark and sustains the powerloom and diamond-polishing industry besides the huge Hazira complex, has prepared a Rs 190-crore contingency plan to combat frequent flash floods.In the 1994 flood, River Tapti (locally called Tapi) flowing at 97.64 feet (above the mean sea level) at Hope bridge had submerged 20 per cent of its area under 5 to 8 feet sheet of water and affected 50,000 people. In the last month's flood, the river flowing at 102.55 feet over the same bridge inundated as much as 60 per cent of the city's total 112 sq km area.
