IN Rome the water pressure is being lowered because much of Italy is suffering from a prolonged drought. There is no such problem in Houston nor in India’s Mumbai. Torrential rains have brought extensive flooding, which has seriously disrupted life in both of these cities. But there the similarities end. Houston knew that rain-laden Hurricane Harvey was heading its way but no one expected it would be the worst storm in half a century nor that it would dump a meter of rain in just over 24 hours.

In Mumbai however, as in most of South-East Asia, the monsoon is an annual event for which society and city authorities are prepared. Or are they?

The Houston mayor’s department is saying that 12 people are known to have died as a result of Storm Harvey’s downpour and gale force winds. Yet across South Asia some 1,200 people are known to have perished so far, 500 of them in north Indian state of Bihar, once the scene of one of the last century’s most terrible droughts and famines.

Houston has coped with an unexpected challenge by rapidly deploying its emergency resources as well as calling in 3,000 members of the state’s National Guard. Where the emergency services were overwhelmed in the first 48 hours, civilian volunteers picked up the slack. Boat owners and sea sports enthusiasts rescued stranded people with every sort of craft, including jet skis and kayaks. Just as importantly, US President Donald Trump was swift to pledge federal funds to ease the plight of the people of Houston.

Now consider India where there was nothing unexpected about monsoon rains. Mumbai prides itself on its status as India’s financial center and on its vigorous trading and manufacturing sectors. Though it has all the hustle and bustle and occasional chaos of every Indian city, its self-image is of a modern and sophisticated world-class location. Twelve years ago after devastating floods hit Mumbai causing the deaths of more than 500 people, the city fathers vowed never again. Much work was done clearing out, extending or replacing inadequate storm drains. Yet Mumbai has once again been brought to a halt by a far less serious downpour.

The clear lesson seems to be that at some level or other, the authorities across south Asia where the current monsoon rains are estimated to have so far seriously affected around 16 million people, are guilty of complacency. They knew perfectly well that rain-filled storms would hit at this time of year dumping huge quantities of water, which, unless properly managed, would bring flooding.

In Houston, this is the hurricane season and Texans know how to batten down and sit out the storms. But no one expected the colossal deluge that has hit the fourth biggest city in the United States. Yet the response from city hall and Washington has been rapid and, it seems, effective.

In Asia with its regular catalog of natural disasters, from floods to earthquakes and tsunamis, the case for a well-equipped international relief force with its core personnel and equipment on permanent standby remains compelling. In every crisis, the early hours for relief and rescue, are golden but too often it is at least two days before a badly-coordinated international rescue and aid effort can be mounted.