Author(s): G. S. Chauhan
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Hazard; Frazile eco-system; Ecological sustainability; Cloudburst
Abstract: Floods are the most devastating hazards, which occur frequently almost every year in most parts of the Northern India. In the present paper an attempt has been made to analyse and highlight a spatio-temporal view of Indian floods, their impact and strategies for their mitigation. In fact, the sudden, frequent and untimely floods have great impact not only on the human and livestock population but on different socio-economic activities. Moreover, such hazards pose a severe threat to the surviving frazile eco-system, socio-economic development and ecological sustainability of the affected region. It is a true fact that floods have an intricate relationship with environmental degradation which could be rightly termed as man made disaster rather than natural disaster. In Asia and Pacific regions, India is one of the worst affected countries. The estimated area affected by the floods is 40 million ha. and the average area prone floods is annually around 8million ha. While the estimated annual loss due to the most destructive floods is Rs. 2104 million. The average affected area by floods during 1953-1996 was about 7.52 million ha followed by 3.45million ha. cropped area. In the same duration nearly 32.35 million people were affected. The average human and cattle loss was reported to 1514 followed by 95,270. Moreover, the average value damage done to the public utilities was Rs. 38,100.20 million including houses Rs. 13,500.93million. Meanwhile, about Rs. 1300.21 million were spent in the first plan (1954-56) in the country for the floods management purposes and consequently, one million ha. Area was protected. Actually during the last few decades, it has been clearly observed that floods damage in India has depicted rising trends. Indeed such calamities are not a result of a single factor but a set of factors is evidently liable for such hazards. Occurrence of excessive rainfall, lack of proper drainage, increase in developmental activities, cloudbursts and discharge of excessive water in the sensitive rivers of the catchment areas. The other equally important parameters include over cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and defective agricultural practices in the upland areas. The study also suggests some of the important strategies for the floods mitigation
Year: 2002