Assessing flood hazard, vulnerability and integrated risk has long been recognised as an important input for the formulation of policies aiming at flood risk management. This investigation is an endeavour to assess hazard, vulnerability and risk due to flooding, using an indicator‐based methodology incorporating stakeholders’ knowledge and multicriteria evaluation in geographic information system (GIS) to achieve community‐based assessment. The framework developed in this work is illustrated for the district of Dhemaji, a chronically flood‐affected area in the Upper Brahmaputra River valley. Results show spatial distribution of hotspots of flood hazard and vulnerability and locations at risk at regional and subregional level. The emerged risk pattern indicates that vulnerability indicators are more significant contributors than hazard indicators while calculating risk for the Upper Brahmaputra River valley. The methodology provides a dynamic platform where the flexibility in uses of hazard and vulnerability indicators, depending on variation in physical and socioeconomic setup, is possible.
This work attempts to present the complex human-flood interactions from the chronically flood-affected district of Dhemaji in the Upper Brahmaputra floodplain. The objectives are to analyse perceptions, susceptibilities, indigenous knowledge and adaptations that enable coexistence of floods with floodplain dwellers. In addition, data on flood damage, breaches and cuts to embankments are collected from government departments and analysed. Results revealed a realistic perception of flood hazard amongst the floodplain dwellers. Susceptibility is higher due to the lack of infrastructure. Indigenous knowledge and adaptation strategies exist in the area enabling the floodplain dwellers to live with floods. The results also underscore the paradoxical situation where flood-control measures themselves have become detrimental to the floodplain dwellers. This creates a situation where environmental challenges outstrip the evolution of indigenous adaptation strategies. Our work is based in the Upper Brahmaputra River plains and is a contribution towards the long-standing debate on the choices humans make in response to riverine hazards.
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