case study of assam flood

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Introduction

North-east India has been witnessing unusually heavy rainfall since the beginning of May. That has resulted in one of the worst floods ever recorded in Assam. As of 3 July, flood has affected 1,835,551 people in 26 out of the state’s 35 districts and it submerged 471.98 square kilometers (47,198.87 hectares) of cropland. [1] About 200 people have died so far. Earlier on 22 June the floods had affected 5,457,601 people in 32 districts and submerged 990.26 square kilometers (99,026 hectares) of cropland. [2] Recurring floods in Assam and their devastating impacts has raised serious questions about the efficacy of current flood adaptation measures that relies primarily on grey infrastructure (or engineering solutions) such as embankments. As floods are projected to intensify as the world gets warmer, a combination of grey infrastructure and green infrastructure (or nature-based solutions) can help Assam and other flood-prone states of India adapt to its impact more effectively in the coming years.

Floods and its Impact on Assam

Assam is one of the most flood-prone states in India and it experiences up to three to four waves of flooding every year. In all, 31,050 square kilometers (3,105,000 hectares) or 39.58% of its total land area is vulnerable to flooding each year. [3] Assam’s vulnerability to flood stems from a complex web of climatic, hydrological and social factors. The state is located in a region that is known for extreme rainfall. For example, while India received an average rainfall of 61.1 millimeters during the first 17 days of the current monsoon season from 1-17 June, the north-east region received 220.3 millimeters, 39% above normal. [4] In contrast, northwest India, central India and southern India reported deficit rainfall of 63%, 57% and 24% respectively. The high density of rivers further exacerbated Assam’s vulnerability to floods. The state has over 125 rivers, a significant numbers of which originated from the hills and mountains of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya (both extreme rainfall hotspots) as well as countries like Bhutan and China. The most well-known among these rivers is the Brahmaputra which originated as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Southwest Tibet. Beyond this, a combination of other factors such as poor or inadequate drainage/channel capacity, high silt load in rivers, encroachment of riverine areas, deforestation/watershed degradation, loss/destruction of wetlands, corruption, etc. have contributed to Assam’s flood woes. Floods have a significant negative impact on Assam’s economy as it loses an estimated Rs. 200 crores every year due to it. [5] This is probably an underestimate and the true economic costs of floods are likely to be many times higher. Furthermore, floods have also washed away 4,270 square kilometers (4,27,000 hectares) of land or 7.40% of the Assam’s total land area since 1950. It continues to wash away 80 square kilometers (8,000 hectares) of land every year. It has also destroyed critical infrastructures that are essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions such as roads, bridges, railway tracks, etc.

Limitations of Current Adaptation Measures

As is the case with other flood-prone states in India, grey infrastructure - so called because it is usually built with concrete - such as embankments (also known as levees or dykes) are the preferred form of flood adaptation in Assam. Embankments are walls constructed along the banks of rivers to prevent flooding. According to reports, since the 1950s, Assam has built 423 embankments along the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries. [6] Of these, 295 are believed to have outlived their intended lifespan. It is therefore not surprising that they are being breached regularly and are even damaged and destroyed. During the post-flood reconstruction phase, government agencies often resorted to simply fixing damaged or destroyed embankments and do not build them back better. As such, they continue to remain vulnerable to future floods. Embankments themselves are also known to exacerbate Assam’s flood problems. For example, floods caused by embankment breaches are often more severe than the regular flooding of rivers and it spread over a more expansive area. Embankments also obstruct flood waters from retreating back into rivers once floods have subsided. Despite these limitations, Assam continues to remain fixated on embankments. One major reason for this is the vested interests of engineers, contractors and politicians for whom embankments are “big business.” Alluding to this, one expertopined that “Assam has increasingly moved towards becoming an ‘embankment economy’ - the construction of embankments along the Brahmaputra has become a business involving contractors for construction, maintenance and repair.” [7] He further lamented that “Floods actually mean a lot of money to a lot of people and many feed off the contractor lobby.” [8]

Rethinking Adaptation

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) observed in the first installment of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) that was released on 9 August 2021 that “…the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events have increased since the 1950s over most land area” and that “human-induced climate change is likely the main driver.” [9] Thus, as climate change tips toward full-blown crisis, north-east India faces the prospect of more extreme rainfall. For Assam, that meant more intense and severe flooding. In the face of this challenge, a diversified approach to flood adaptation that included both grey and green infrastructures should be explored. In other words, both engineering solutions and nature-based solutions should be a critical part of Assam’s flood defence toolbox. Nature-based solution is an umbrella term that refers to “actions to address societal challenges through the protection, sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems, benefiting both biodiversity and human well-being.” [10] Such solutions may include the following:

• Protecting, restoring or managing natural forests in catchment areas (in upstream/headwaters and along rivers): Upstream forest slows and retains surface water runoff. It also reduces soil erosion and landslides.
• Protecting and restoring wetlands: Wetlands act as natural sponges. They absorb floodwaters during wet periods and release them during dry periods.
• Maintaining or enlarging natural floodplains: Floodplains are natural flooding outlets for rivers and provide more room to spread out.

Implementing these could prove to be challenging because it will require actions to be taken across jurisdictional boundaries. For example, managing floods in the Brahmaputra River effectively through nature-based solutions will necessitate the adoption of a basin-wide approach. That in turn will require greater cooperation and coordination of efforts between Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and other neighbouring states. However, the priorities, interests and values of these states may not align necessarily and may even be in conflict with each other. But this is not completely insurmountable. Although Arunachal Pradesh andMeghalaya are less vulnerable to flooding than Assam owing to their hilly terrain, they are highly vulnerable to extreme rainfall-induced landslides and mudslides. Given this, it is imperative that Assam and its neighbouring states convene a regional plan to jointly address the challenges of not only floods but also landslides and mudslides sustainably through nature-based solutions.

The ongoing floods in Assam should be seen as a wake-up call that finally galvanizes action on adaptation. Although engineering solutions such as embankments still have a role to play in mitigating floods, they are no longer sufficient. Nature-based solutions therefore have an obvious place in Assam’s flood defence toolbox and provide a powerful complement (or alternative) to engineering solutions. Working alongside engineering solutions, nature-based solutions will boost the overall resilience at all levels of flooding.

[1] “Assam Daily Flood Report as on 03-07-2022 at 4:00 PM.” Flood Reporting and Information Management System (FRIMS). Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). July 3, 2022. http://www.asdma.gov.in/pdf/flood_report/2022/Daily_Flood_Report_03.07.2022.pdf [2] “Assam Daily Flood Report as on 17-06-2022 at 4:00 PM.” Flood Reporting and Information Management System (FRIMS). Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). June 22, 2022. http://www.asdma.gov.in/pdf/flood_report/2022/Daily_Flood_Report_22.06.2022.pdf [3] Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. 2021. “Flood Management in the Country including International Water Treaties in the field of Water Resource Management with particular reference to Treaty/Agreement entered into with China, Pakistan and Bhutan.” Standing Committee on Water Resources (2020-2021). Seventeenth Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha Secretariat. August. New Delhi. http://164.100.47.193/lsscommittee/Water%20Resources/17_Water_Resources_12.pdf [4] Kalita, Prabin. “Northeast rain: ‘Wettest places on earth’ live up to reputation with highest rain in 56 years.” Times of India. June 18, 2022. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/wettest-places-on-earth-live-up-to-reputation-with-highest-rain-in-56-yrs/articleshow/92265984.cms [5] “Assam Losing ₹200 Crore Annually Due to Floods: Economic Survey.”NDTV. August 20, 2014. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/assam-losing-rs-200-crore-annually-due-to-floods-economic-survey-650610 [6] “Banking on national embankment policy.” The Sentinel. April 5, 2022. https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/banking-on-national-embankment-policy-586094 [7] Sharma, Ashima. “The Mising and the Miyah have learnt to live with the Brahmaputra. Can Assam?” The Third Pole. September 30, 2021. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/livelihoods/adapting-to-brahmaputra-floods-assam-mising-miyah/ [8] Karmakar, Rahul. “In Assam, a trail of broken barriers.” The Hindu. August 2, 2020. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/in-assam-a-trail-of-broken-barriers/article32244695.ece [9] International Panel; on Climate Change (IPCC). 2021. “Summary for Policymakers.” In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3−32. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf [10] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 2020. “Ensuring Effective Nature-based Solutions.” Issues Brief. July. https://www.iucn.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/iucn_issues_brief_-_nbs_standard_eng.pdf

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• Climate Change
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Situation report - assam floods (22 jun 2022), attachments.

Humanitarian Aid International (HAI) is constantly assessing the situation through its local member North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS) in Assam, India. The current situation is summarised below:

Assam, a state prone to flooding and erosion, has been inundated with flooding and the resulting landslides for the past five days, with 28 districts reporting flooding (Central Water Commission's bulletin).

The recent heavy swelled many rivers. As on June 17, eight rivers are flowing above high flood level and three rivers are flowing above the danger level (Central Water Commission's bulletin). Additionally, landslides have been reported in Dima-Hasao, Goalpara, Morigaon, Kamrup & Kamrup (M) in the last few days.

96 Revenue Circles and 2,930 villages have been impacted by flood incidents, including approximately 1.9 million people, over 100,000 of which are taking shelter in 373 relief camps

54 people have lost their lives due to flooding and landslides across the state since the monsoon season began on April 6, 2022

Around 700 families in the area are affected by the flooding and lacking a supply of drinking water and dry rations.

The Humanitarian Situation:

Due to the monsoon season, river water flows above the danger line and comes up the bank as a result of the heavy rain. Overfilling with water, these rivers begin to erode on the riverbanks, destroying homes and making entire communities homeless. Wooden or tin boats and rafts of banana plants are being used to transport those fleeing for their lives, along with the few possessions they were able to save. This transportation method is inadequate as well as hazardous, and the situation of those affected by the flooding is becoming increasingly desperate.

The flood situation of the Barpeta district has become significantly worse as a result of the release of Kurishu Dam water by Bhutan Govt. The situation has become so disastrous that thousands of people have lost their homes and are living in various camps. The condition of the farmers has worsened because they have not been able to transport their crops. Drinking water sources are being submersed. Roads are inundated and disconnected everywhere. Affected communities rush to high ground, hoping for safety. In addition, the animals that have not been lost in the flooding that sustain the livelihood of families do not have feed, particularly cattle, goats, sheep, and poultry. These animals are also difficult to transport, but their loss is devastating to familial income.

Most displaced people are living in small, crowded spaces in camps or on makeshift boats, with little food and other supplies. Health and hygiene have been major concerns for children, who are also victims of malnutrition. Issues of maintaining fires in the continuous wet weather and areas for excretion, among others, are cropping up. Even finding clean drinking water has been a big issue, as most of the drinking sources are now covered by the floodwaters.

Government’s current response in flood affected areas:

So far, 11,881 people have been safely evacuated by the above forces and agencies. Relief materials were distributed to affected populations who are not taking shelter in relief camps through 232 relief distribution centres and temporarily opened sites.

The National Disaster Response Force, the Assam State Disaster Response Fund, fire & emergency services personnel, police forces, and AAPDA Mitra volunteers of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority have been aiding the district administration in efforts to safely evacuate individuals from affected areas of the region.

HAI’s immediate response plan with support from its local member (prioritizing unmet needs):

• digitized needs assessment in collaboration with the government disaster management authorities
• immediate relief kits to at least 3000 families targeting women headed households, marginal and landless farmers, and families with persons with disabilities in affected districts based on unmet needs
• drone-based damage and loss assessment of the affected areas
• early recovery plan based on assessment

In addition, the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), an organisation based in Assam and supported by Humanitarian Aid International (HAI), has received £60,000 in funding from Start Network and is responding to this crisis, taking the lead on providing humanitarian aid to displaced and affected groups. HAI is also collaborating with Monday.com to deploy tools to digitally collect data on the emerging needs on-ground to prepare real-time dashboards of needs and response for all stakeholders. An Emergency Command Centre (EOC) is being piloted in Jorhat, Assam in collaboration with government disaster management authorities to coordinate digitised data collection for the current flood need assessment.

HAI Contact Information:

www.hai-india.org | [email protected]

Mr. Sudhanshu Shekhar Singh | CEO | 9953163572

Ms. Tarini Ross | 918105611488

NEADS Contact Information:

Mr. Tirtha Prasad Saikia | Joint Director | 9957852794, 9101417936

Anchalik Gram Unnayan Parishad (AGUP) Contact Information:

[email protected] | +919435025129

Abdul Malik | General Secretary | [email protected] | 8638199690

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India: assam floods dref operation no. mdrin027 - final report, acaps briefing note - india (odisha state): floods, 31 august 2022, assam flood wash activity begins.

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Disaster Risk Governance and Response Management for Flood: A Case Study of Assam, India

• First Online: 05 August 2017

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Flood and erosion in the State of Assam, India, is menacing and probably the most acute and unique in the country. Every year due to successive waves of floods, most of the areas in the valley of Assam remain submerged for a considerable numbers of days. Regular flooding added with persistent erosion causing land loss of thousands of hectares resulting to hundreds of people landless virtually destabilize the socio-economic development of the state. It has been observed that every year, the mighty Brahmaputra River is eroding more than 2000 ha of land. Subsequent to the National Policy for Flood in 1954 by the Government of India, flood control activities in the State of Assam started taking place. As envisaged in the National Policy for Flood, the state could take short-term as well as long-term measures for flood mitigation, but to get the immediate relief to the flood-ravaged state, construction of embankments as short-term measures had been widely adopted. In the state as a whole, the total area eroded by Brahmaputra, Barak and their tributaries since 1954 is 3.86 lakh hectares, which constitute 7% of the total area of the state.

The recurrence incidence of extensive floods takes place because of the occasional failure of the existing flood prevention structures, which have outlived their lives. Regular flooding added with unabated erosion causing land loss of thousands of hectares resulting to hundreds of people landless virtually destabilize the socio-economic development of the state. It has been observed that every year, more than 2000 ha of land is being eroded by the Brahmaputra annually.

The present study will analyse the comprehensive approach towards disaster risk reduction for effective disaster governance that is a combination of actions including mitigation activities for specific hazards. A comprehensive approach towards disaster risk reduction for effective disaster governance is a combination of actions including mitigation activities for specific hazards (Pal et al. 2013 , 2017 ). The present study highlights the flood management and response mechanisms already in existence in the State of Assam, one of the most multi-hazard-prone states in India.

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Pal, I., Singh, S. (2018). Disaster Risk Governance and Response Management for Flood: A Case Study of Assam, India. In: Pal, I., Shaw, R. (eds) Disaster Risk Governance in India and Cross Cutting Issues. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3310-0_8

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Unprecedented flood cripples Assam, massive loss of life and property reported

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• Assam faced two severe waves of flood this year, the first one in May and then again in June, which crippled cities and rural areas.
• Silchar, the second largest city of Assam faced its worst flood in living memory with more than 80% of the city being inundated.
• Assam received excess rainfall in the premonsoon season from March to May this year– 672.1 mm instead of an average of 414.6 mm, the highest in ten years. This is the primary cause behind the devastation, though human-caused disturbances have aggravated the situation.

On the edge of the National Highway 31 in Assam, where floodwater had completely submerged the paddy fields, 43-year-old Rahisuddin was waiting with his wife and five children. Rahisuddin, a resident of Kakoti Gaon, under the Raha subdivision of Nagaon district in the state was waiting for a boat to go back to his village and check on his house. His family, along with most other Kakoti Gaon residents, had left the village after the first wave of flood in May and was now living, with their cattle and whatever belongings they could bring with them, in makeshift camps made of tarpaulins.

He was bargaining with a boatman who was ferrying people at a fare of Rs. 20 per person. “Won’t give anything more than Rs. 10 per person,” Rahisuddin told the boatman. When asked why he was going back to his village now, he told Mongabay-India that he wanted to take a chance to see if the water has receded a bit. “We left the village after the first wave of flood in May and for the last one month, we have been moving from one place to the other. Like most people in my village, I work as a daily wager and catch fish sometimes, but now because of the flood, I don’t have any employment.”

“Initially, we took shelter at Chapormukh railway station as it was not flooded. Then we moved here to the highway for the last 15 days. It is very difficult living like this with my children. So if the situation in the village improves a bit, I will go back to my house,” Rahisuddin said.

When Rahisuddin managed to reach his mud house with a tin roof, he found the rooms flooded with water up to his chest. When Mongabay-India contacted him over the phone the next day, he said it was impossible to stay there. “We are staying near the railway track on the Chapormukh railway station. Hundreds of other families are also staying at the railway station now.”

Rahisuddin and his family are one of the millions who have been hit by this year’s flood in Assam. As per the latest flood bulletin released by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 31,54,556 people in 2,675 villages in 26 districts are currently affected. As many as 3,12,085 people are currently staying in 560 relief camps across the state. The death toll so far is 151.

Flood is an annual occurrence in Assam with Rashtriya Barh Ayog (National Flood Commission) calculating 39.58 % of the total area of the state as flood-prone. The state also has 9.40% of the total flood-prone area of the country. Assam faced two severe waves of flood this year, the first one in May affecting parts like Barak Valley, NC Hills and Hojai and then again in June, which crippled most of Lower Assam along with Barak Valley. The pre-monsoon floods impacted rural districts like Barpeta, Nagaon, Morigaon, Nalbari, Kamrup (rural) etc. as well as urban areas such as Silchar, the second largest city of Assam, which had 80% of its area was inundated.

Assam received 62% above normal rainfall in the pre-monsoon season from March to May this year: 672.1 mm instead of an average of 414.6 mm, the highest in ten years. The excess rainfall is behind the devastation with human-caused disturbances aggravating the situation. Assam’s neighbour Meghalaya recorded 93% above normal rainfall in the same season.

Climate scientist Partha Jyoti Das said more data is needed to do event attribution (to climate change) but climate change, as per model projections, is likely to cause more frequent, heavy to extremely heavy, rain episodes in the northeast region. “Therefore, there is a high likelihood that we are already observing extreme rainfall events in our part of the world.”

Bhupen Goswami, former director of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) said climate change is definitely a factor contributing to the heightened impacts of the extreme event.

“Earlier, if extreme weather events were happening every 100 years, then now maybe they will happen every ten years. But floods in Assam are also a result of bad management of dams. The flood which is affecting Barpeta and other places of Lower Assam is because of water released from dams in Bhutan and the impact was aggravated by the heavy rain. The meteorological community gave a good forecast this year that there are going to be intense spells of rain. So, keeping that in mind, the release of water from dams should have been planned better,” Goswami told Mongabay-India.

Guwahati under water

Thirty-four-year-old Dhaneswar Das, who ran a paan (betel leaf) shop in the lanes of Rukmini Nagar in Guwahati was unable to open his shop for seven straight days as waist-high flood water had inundated most parts of his lane. Das devised a novel way to sell his stuff and keep his kitchen running during the extreme rainfall event. He built a raft with bamboo and kolgos (banana tree stems) and started selling items like packaged mineral water bottles, candles, match sticks and betel nuts. “Not just me, many other people had come up with such makeshift rafts in our lane. Some people were selling vegetables on these rafts while some people were using them to navigate through the flooded bylanes,” he said.

On June 13, heavy rainfall had hit the city and after a week of continuous rain, a large chunk of Guwahati was submerged. As boats were seen in areas like Rukmini Nagar and Hati Gaon, netizens started dubbing the city “Venice”. On June 19, when Mongabay-India visited Rukmini Nagar, most of the area had waist-deep or knee-deep water. Anup Deka, a resident of Rukmini Nagar said that earlier, the area saw flash floods but floodwater never remained in the locality for such a prolonged period. Deka, who is an auto van driver by profession, said, “I couldn’t take out my vehicle for seven days. The water reached my bed and I had to send my family away to a safer location.”

While flash floods are not new for the biggest city of northeast India, Guwahati, this year’s deluge exacted a heavy toll. The rainfall also caused severe landslides in many of the hills surrounding the city and in one tragic incident at Boragaon, four construction workers were buried in the debris of their makeshift accommodation. The incident happened on the night of June 13 and a family which was occupying the next room had a close shave. Shivam Sarkar, narrating that ordeal told Mongabay-India, “We heard a loud sound at night and came out and saw large chunks of mud crashing on our room. Next day, the Deputy Commissioner asked us to shift to another location and we have now taken up a rented house elsewhere.”

As landslides were reported in quite a few hills around Guwahati, many people whose homes were destroyed took shelter in the relief camps set up by the district administration.

Engineer J. N. Khatanair, also the technical advisor of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), said that unplanned city growth due to heavy human influx with uncontrolled construction activities are the main reason behind flood in Guwahati.

“The present flood experienced in Guwahati is human-caused. Massive unauthorised human habitation taking place in the hill area with deforestation haphazardly taking place has also played a major role in aggravating the flood situation in the city,” he said.

Silchar submerged

Silchar, the second most populous city of Assam after Guwahati, resembled a set from a disaster movie, with more than 80% of its area submerged since last week. Like Guwahati, Silchar residents are also not alien to flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall.

However, when the water level started increasing on June 21, nobody in Silchar had even imagined what was to follow. On June 22, almost the entire city was inundated. While the rainwater from neighbouring hilly states like Manipur and Mizoram added to the flooding, breaching the Bethukandi dyke on Barak river was primarily responsible for Silchar’s fate.

“My father suffers from hypertension and needs his blood pressure medicine daily. However, stock of one of his medicines finished, and it had to be procured anyhow. There is a pharmacy hardly 200-300 meters from our residence, but no pharmacy nearby was open that day. My brother had to wade through 5-6 km of chest-high flood water before finally finding a pharmacy and my father’s medicine,” recounts Nilotpal Bhattacharjee, whose family lives in Kanakpur, a severely affected locality in Silchar.

Thirty-four-year-old Bhattacharjee, an academic and journalist currently in Tezpur, is having sleepless nights worrying about his aged parents and younger brother back home. Silchar’s residents have questioned the government for the lack of timely intervention.

“Despite having information, the government didn’t repair that embankment,” said Krishanu Bhattacharjee, who is also the convenor of the Silchar Chapter of India March for Science. He further said it is the need of the hour to make wetlands near Silchar like Mahisha Beel and Malini Beel encroachment free. Cachar Cancer Centre, the premier cancer facility in Barak Valley, established in 1996, also faced a major problem when the campus and parts of the hospital building were waterlogged.

Speaking to Mongabay-India, Kalyan Chakraborty, founder and Chief Administrative Officer of the hospital, told Mongabay-India, “The entrance of the hospital is flooded, so we are transporting patients on makeshift rafts. Currently, 140 patients are admitted to the hospital along with 200 staff. We are grateful to the administration and civil society for helping us with supplies so that we could take care of all these people.”

H. P. S Kandari, Commandant of 1st Battalion of NDRF, told Mongabay-India that the magnitude of the flood combined with the city’s large population was scuttling disaster response efforts in Silchar. “We have 22 units in Assam, of which nine are in Silchar. In some areas, the current is too strong. Maintaining our equipment is sometimes difficult because we don’t know what is beneath when we ply our boat in these waters. So, sometimes our boats get punctured. We have mobile workshops to repair such damage though it is not always possible to send mobile workshops everywhere at such short notice. We are working without rest in this situation to ensure we can reach everyone needing help.”

No respite in rural Assam

On a portion of the road which connects Nagaon district’s Raha to Jakhalabandha, one can see a cluster of small tents that have now become the home of Podumoni and Kakati Gaon village residents. Hafizuddin, who came from Podumoni, has been living with his family of ten in a small tent for the last ten days that he had never seen such a devastating flood before. “This is bigger than 2004 (flood),” he said.

The village residents say their houses were submerged because water was released from three dams- Umrangshu, Karbi Longpi and Khendong. Not just the village residents, but many government officials have also been unable to return home after the floods.

Parishmita Saikia, Flood Officer at Raha Circle Office, has been living in her office for the last 15 days. “My house is 7-8 km from Raha. I have heard that water has also entered my house, but I have been unable to go to check on my parents. I have to stay till three at night because there is so much paperwork involving the relief work. There is a colleague’s house nearby where I go and freshen up sometimes,” said Saikia.

The NDRF is assigned the task of sending relief to some of the worst affected areas. Mongabay-India encountered one such team at Raha. Inspector Milan Jyoti Hazarika, who was leading the team, said that while he hails from Lakhimpur, known for its floods, the event he witnessed this year will be unmatched for its intensity. “In Chapormukh, we rescued people whose houses were completely submerged, and somehow they had taken shelter on the roof,” Hazarika said.

Sofiqul Islam, who conducts boat clinics at the chars or riverine islands of Barpeta district, said that in Lower Assam, the havoc was mainly created by the swollen tributaries of the Brahmaputra like Jiabharali and Pagladia. He also expressed concern over waterborne diseases affecting the flood victims once the floodwater recedes.

Criticising the government approach towards flood management in the region by constructing embankments, independent researcher Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman said, “Flood management in this region means constructing embankments which are nothing but merrymaking for contractors. Since the 1950 earthquake, we are constructing risks (embankments and dams) in the landscape without properly mapping the floodplains. Even small dams like Kopili, Ronganodi and Umrangshu can create huge havoc.”

“If you remove even one boulder from the river bed, it will have an impact. These boulders act as cushions, and the floodwater will come in much higher intensity in their absence. The interventions we are doing on the ground can lead to catastrophic events. Entire northeast India is sitting on a veritable pack of cards, ready to collapse. The way this government responds to climate change shows that they are not even keen to acknowledge this issue. They are piling double the infrastructure of what our landscape can absorb,” Rahman added.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has plans like developing climate-resilient villages to combat floods. Elaborating on this, Mandira Buragohain, Project Officer (Knowledge Management and Climate Change), ASDMA said, “We are planning to come up with climate-resilient villages in Assam which will have a raised platform, handpump built on an elevated structure, community cowsheds and also we will do capacity building of women and youth. We will be setting up flood shelters in Bihpuria, Majuli and Barpeta where around 500 people can take shelter.”

When asked if the challenges are more this time, she said, “2020 was also very challenging because along with the flood, there was also a raging pandemic. However, this year the flood is more intense.”

Banner image : A shop set on a raft in Guwahati. Assam has 9.40 percent of the total flood-prone area of the country. Photo by Nabarun Guha.

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Climate Change and Natural Disaster: A Case Study of Flood-Affected Women of Assam, North-East

2020, International Journal of Academic Research and Development

Northeast India is home to rich traditions and great diversity of cultures and languages. Equally, it is home to great tragedies - political, social as well as natural. The natural tragedies or disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, droughts, floods etc. affect populations on a large scale. The impact of floods on people in general and women in particular is immense and is most felt in Assam. In the lives of women, the floods take a heavy physical, mental, emotional and economic toll. In the rural areas they have to experience risk in their pregnancies, ill health, shortage of foods and pure drinking water. Poor sanitation facilities, early drop-out of girls from schools, early marriages etc. make the lives of women more pitiful. The current paper, therefore, makes a study of the impact of floods in the lives of women in Assam where the floods are recurrent due to the torrential rains and the rising level in the river Brahmaputra. Thus, this paper throws light on the impact of flood in general and on women life in particular. Further this paper will scrutinise the government policies and programme to cope up such natural hazard.

Related Papers

Journal of Geography & Natural Disasters

Shahid Rizvi

Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research

Shivanand Handigund

AKM Abdul Ahad Biswas

Flood disaster is very common in Bangladesh and women and children are the most vulnerable group in this context. Role of the society makes them the vulnerable during flood. Current study has been conducted aiming to assess flood risk and risk factors for women of Rudrokor union in the Shariatpur Sadar upazila; and to explore some risk reduction strategies towards flood risk. To fulfill these objectives, Intensive literature review, FGD, face to face interview and questionnaire survey methods were applied. Flood risk was calculated ranging from 1 to 15 depending of flood frequency, intensity and severity for the study area. Women are found to be very active and resourceful disaster responders. But men headed social systems combined with flood disaster variability has pushed them into a vulnerable and marginalized position in the study area and most often they are regarded as helpless victims due to the different risk factors like limited access to awareness information and resources; illiteracy; insecure housing system; dietary deficiencies; insecure and mismanaged sheltering; lack of proper sanitation and hygienic measures and significant increase in family burdened etc. Hence to survive in disastrous situation rural women adopted some special ideal imitable and encouraging preparedness strategies such as storing certain commodities like handful of rice, rice by product and animal feed; small savings of money. They also collect and store firewood; arrange of temporary migration; practice homestead gardening and rare and sell cattle and poultry, mortgaging or borrowing against own assets during crisis; renovate house and increase plinth height. Regarding rapid and well-organized adaptation to risk reduction strategies rural women are found to be more efficient survivor than men. Due to the over burden of family responsibility after devastation female show an efficient role in rebuilding activities. The large unrecognized role which helps them to carry out gainful income-generating activities in different stages of disaster, make their lives a purpose and significant family fulfillment.

Assessment of Women’s Vulnerability and their Coping Mechanism Living in Flood prone Areas: A Case Study of Belkuchi Upazila, Sirajganj

Md. Juel Rana Kutub , Prof. dr Vladimir M . Cvetković

Women are the most vulnerable in a disastrous situation compared to their male counterpart. It is evident in several studies that among all other natural disasters, flood causes immense sufferings of women due to the low standard of living condition in flood prone areas of Bangladesh and poor institutional arrangement. The geographical location and low elevation of land with numerous rivers is caused Bangladesh most vulnerable to flooding. This research is focused to explore women’s vulnerability at the community level due to flood and possible coping mechanisms. Both secondary and primary data have been used and analyzed to identify vulnerability and women’s coping mechanism with flood at Khidrachappur, Baradul in Belkuchi Upazila. The study found that the flood has adverse impacts which are different for different population groups. In reality, women are affected more severely & their role is quite negligible in decision making, and participation in training related to flood issues is also insignificant. Women suffer from physical injuries and are often evicted from their dwellings due to floods. Difficulties in finding adequate shelter, food, safe water, and fuel for cooking, as well as problems in maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation, prevent women from performing their usual roles at home. Despite this heavy burden, which women bear in extremely difficult circumstances, they demonstrate considerable fortitude and ingenuity in their attempts to cope with the flood by taking several steps like selling assets, moving towards high place, storing dry food, social networking, borrowing money, collecting safe drinking water and managing household activities etc. It was noted that despite all adversities women can cope with the flood situation and show their resilience capacity.

Fahad Rahul

Dimla Upazila due to its geo-physical position and socio-economic context, is highly prone to regular natural hazards. Dimla, being a flood-prone area, exacerbates the vulnerabilities experienced by women due to pre-existing inequalities. Socio-economic factors such as limited access to resources, education, and employment opportunities further compound their vulnerability. This study aims to analyze the specific challenges and vulnerabilities faced by women during flooding events to examine the socio-economic conditions that contribute to women's vulnerability to flooding, to explore the coping mechanisms and resilience strategies adopted by women in areas prone to flooding. Data from both primary and secondary sources were gathered. Field level surveys provided the primary data, while secondary data came from the texts books, national and international journals, publications, newspapers, websites and others published and unpublished documents of governments and non-government. The women are more vulnerable to natural disaster than men. Women’s physical vulnerability, low level of education, liability to family, clothing pattern and lack of awareness are responsible for increasing the vulnerability of them during flood. The literacy rate is very low so the people don’t have deep knowledge about the adaptation measures of flood. The study includes that providing skills training, mentorship opportunities and low-interest finance to enable women diversify incomes into non-farm industries, constructing durable flood shelters equipped with emergency supplies, daycare facilities, healthcare should must be addressed

Universal Multidisciplinary Research Institute

Manuranjan Gogoi

Flood is the major recurrent natural disaster of Assam. The economy of Assam mainly is based on agriculture, a large number of agrarian people and a vulnerable section of the society affected by flood in every year. The heavy monsoon coupled with various unscientific human activities is causes of heavy flood in the state. In every year during the successive waves of floods, thousands of people are rendered homeless; causing widespread damages of agricultural crops, properties (public and private) including communication system between regions, leads negative impacts in the economic activities. Thus, the monetary value of the flood damage is showing an increasing trend and the state is losing a good percentage of its GDP in flood disaster, which is creating hindrance to the progress of the economy. Government of India along with state Government has initiated various measures and approaches to mitigate the flood victims and also taken many initiatives every year to control flood and erosion. Modern technology and proper implementation of government schemes are needed to reconstruct the whole situation. Thus, here an attempt is made to analyze the economic impact of flood, role of governments for the victims with remedial measures to correct the critical situation.

Khulna University Studies

Mahbuba Nasreen

Natural disasters are the most frequent phenomena in Bangladesh. More or less every year, the people of Bangladesh face various kinds of disaster such as flood, draught, and cyclone. Considering the existing social structure of Bangladesh women are the most vulnerable to natural disasters and bear the challenges of the pre, post and during disaster survival. However, despite various difficulties they play the most crucial role to maintain their families during natural disaster. The present study intends to focus on the vulnerabilities and the capabilities of the rural women during the flood of 1998. For women and children the flood of 1998 caused tremendous sufferings due to their socio-economic conditions in the society. It was noticeable that although women were more vulnerable to disasters they did play the most crucial role for coping with disasters. Women faced severe problems to protect their families during flood. Among those the poor people suffer from lack of food, clothing...

M. Abul Kalam Azad , Prof. Mahbuba Nasreen

This study examines flood-induced vulnerabilities among women in northern Bangladesh. Poor and disadvantaged women are more vulnerable to disasters than men due to the conditions that predispose them to severe disaster impacts. Women suffer from physical injuries and are often evicted from their dwellings due to floods. Difficulties in finding adequate shelter, food, safe water, and fuel for cooking, as well as problems in maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation, prevent women from performing their usual roles at home. All of these are problems related to women’s gender identity and social roles. Many poor and destitute women remain unemployed during and after floods. Women also suffer from domestic violence and are subject to harassment when taking shelter or refuge at community centers. These particular vulnerabilities and problems interrupt women’s mitigation efforts and adaptation capacities in disaster risk reduction.

Aims: To explore the women's vulnerabilities to climate induced hazards and coping strategies related to their life, livelihood, health, sanitation and water supply in disaster. Study Design: The semi-structured questionnaire survey for primary and secondary data Original Research Article Biswas et al.; BJESBS, 14(1): 1-15, 2016; Article no.BJESBS.22763 2 collection; physical observation and key informant interview (KII) methods were followed. Place and Duration of Study: This research has been conducted in Chandradip union under Bauphal Upazila in Patuakhali district of Bangladesh between 1 st January 2015 and 30 th June 2015. Methodology: A total of 100 adult female respondents were selected through stratified random sampling method and 05 KII was conducted in 11 villages of the study area for primary data collection. The secondary data was collected from secondary sources. Results: Study revealed that women's vulnerability to disaster is a combination effect of both climate change and social factors. The first factor includes exposure to climate induced disasters such as-cyclone, storm surge, tidal flood, bank erosion, nor'easter etc. The second factor involves social arrangements and expectations related to status of gender, age, livelihood, availability of basic needs, social safety and existing social barriers to the full participation of women in all phases of disaster management activities. Although women in the study area are worse victim but do carry out major vital role in coping with and prepared for prevention, response, recovery and adaptation activities that often counted their activities as housewife or caregiver. Present study discovered that they have the remarkable potentiality to make greater contributions to their own safety as well as that of others including family members. Conclusion: More attention needs to be given to developing gender specific action plan in which women can participate in all phases of disaster. Community based research should be conducted to identify and characterize the women and child sensitive vulnerabilities; and gender-sensitive approach to reduce risk.

Md Sanaul Haque Mondal

Bangladesh is recognized as one of the worst affected countries of the world due to climate induced disasters. The disadvantageous geographical setting along with various socioeconomic factors is triggering the vulnerabilities of people. The impacts of climate change are multifaceted and disproportionately distributed regardless of race, caste, ethnicity, sex and level of income. The perception and impact of climate change is completely gender differentiated. Women are ever more vulnerable to the impact of climate change than men, because they have very limited access to financial resources, land, education, health services and in decision making process. All these insufficiencies make women vulnerable to climate induced disaster than men. This study has found an appealing relationship between climate change impact on women’s livelihoods and health. Climate change adversely impact on women’s livelihoods and health and create extra burden on women. Keywords: climatechange, gender, livelihoods, health, coastal area.

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Urban flood risk assessment and mapping using gis-dematel method: case of the serafa river watershed, poland.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. study area, 2.2. methodological approach, 2.3. dematel method.

• Determining the direct-influence matrix;
• Normalizing the direct-influence matrix;
• Obtaining the total-relation matrix—direct and indirect impact;
• Determining the cause–effect diagram or the influential relation map (IRM);
• Determining the weights of factors.

2.4. Factors Used in Assessing Flood Risk—Literature Review

3.1. factors, 3.1.1. lulc.

• Built-up areas: single-family housing, multi-family housing, sealed and unsealed roads, sealed and unsealed squares, railway areas, landfills, and other built-up areas;
• Greenery areas: allotment gardens, agricultural areas, low-greenery areas, and high-greenery areas;
• Surface water.
• the ratio of built-up areas,
• the ratio of greenery areas.

3.1.2. Elevation

3.1.3. slope, 3.1.4. population density, 3.1.5. distance from river, 3.1.6. soil, 3.1.7. ndvi, 3.2. factor analysis using the dematel method determining factor weights, 3.3. designation of areas at risk of flooding in the serafa river catchment area, 4. discussion, 5. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Natkaniec, W.; Godyń, I. Urban Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping Using GIS-DEMATEL Method: Case of the Serafa River Watershed, Poland. Water 2024 , 16 , 2636. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16182636

Natkaniec W, Godyń I. Urban Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping Using GIS-DEMATEL Method: Case of the Serafa River Watershed, Poland. Water . 2024; 16(18):2636. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16182636

Natkaniec, Wiktoria, and Izabela Godyń. 2024. "Urban Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping Using GIS-DEMATEL Method: Case of the Serafa River Watershed, Poland" Water 16, no. 18: 2636. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16182636

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