Flood risk assessment of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

Purpose -Risk assessment is imperative for disaster risk reduction. The risk is rooted to various physical, social, economic, demographic and environmental factors that determine the probable magnitude of loss during an extreme event. By way of bringing a conceptual model into practice, this paper aims to examine the flood risk of the Srinagar city.Design/methodology/approach -The "risk triangle" model has been adopted in the present investigation evaluating parameters, reflective of hazard (intensity), exposure (spatial) and vulnerability (sensitivity) using Landsat-8 operational land imager scene (10 September 2014), global positioning system, Cartosat-1 digital elevation model and socioeconomic and demographic data (Census of India, 2011). The authors characterise flood hazard intensity on the basis of variability in water depth during a recent event (September 2014 Kashmir flood); spatial exposure as a function of terrain elevation; and socioeconomic structure and demographic composition of each municipal ward of the city as a determinant factor of the vulnerability. Statistical evaluation and geographic information system-based systematic integration of all the multi-resolution data layers helped to develop composite flood risk score of each ward of the city.Findings -Principal deliverable of this study is flood risk map of the Srinagar city. The results reveal that approximately 46 per cent of the city comprising 33 municipal wards is at high risk, while rest of the area, i.e. 17 and 37 per cent, exhibit moderate and low levels of risk, constituting 23 and 12 municipal wards, respectively. It is very likely that the municipal wards expressing high risk may witness comparatively more damage (impact) during any future flood event. Thus, there is a need of planned interventions (structural and non-structural) to minimise the emergent risk.Originality/value -Very rare attempts have been made to bring theoretical models of disaster research in practice; this is mainly because of the complexities associated with the data (selection, availability and subjectivity), methodology (integration, quantification) and resolution (spatial scales). In this direction, this This research article is an extension of the project -Flood Hazard Evaluation and Vulnerability Assessment of Upper Jhelum Floodplain in Kashmir Valleysponsored by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India. Authors are appreciative to the MoES (India) for providing the financial support to carry out this study. However, it is pertinent to mention that MoES is not responsible for any result interpretations expressed in the paper.

Flood hazard assessment of the Kashmir Valley using historical hydrology

“…With an estimated discharge of ~1,15,218 cusec upstream at Sangam and ~72,585 cusec downstream at the Ram Munshi Bagh gauging station in Srinagar, the discharge figures of this event were declared as one of the highest instrumentally recorded on the trunk river (Jhelum) in the Kashmir valley. Approximately 60% of the area of Srinagar city submerged under water, witnessing a flood water depth of ~16 ft (e.g., in the localities of Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, and Gogji Bagh) and an extended inundation period of ~25 days in the residential areas including the Central Business District (CBD) of the city; about 0.6 million people were stranded in submerged housing colonies of the city for more than a week without supplies of drinking water, food, and other essentials (Alam et al, ). Historical account of floods allow us to put the September 2014 Kashmir flood in perspective, which could not match the highest flood levels (HFLs) as documented for the 1144, 1360, 1462, 1747, 1903, and 1929 events.…”

Using Landsat satellite data for assessing the land use and land cover change in Kashmir valley

“…Moreover, the continued decline of agriculture land may have serious impact on self-sufficiency and food security scenario of the Kashmir valley. Likewise, uncontrolled housing expansion has resulted in exposure of the communities to various natural hazards (e.g., Alam et al 2018;Bhat et al 2018Bhat et al , 2019a. The tremendous unplanned settlement expansion in some areas poses a serious threat from flood (low-lying flood prone) and seismic hazards (areas with soils having high liquefaction potential).…”

Current Status of Wetlands in Srinagar City: Threats, Management Strategies, and Future Perspectives

“…Besides, natural siltation associated with the anthropogenic siltation brought about by deforestation in the catchment areas has also been an important factor resulting in the loss of wetlands (Pandit and Qadri, 1990;Pandit, 1991;Shah et al, 2017;Amin and Romshoo, 2019). Another important driver of the loss of wetlands comes in the form of problems relating to drainage (Romshoo et al, 2017;Alam et al, 2018). The huge inflow of sewage from the catchment areas into the water bodies has resulted in excessive macrophytic growth (Dar et al, 2014).…”