On an average, natural disasters take 951 lives and damage property worth NRs 1,242 million every year.Of these hazards, the overall impact caused by floods, landslides, and avalanches is most severe. Hence, they constitute the main hazard.Among the three ecological regions: the Mountains, Hills, and the Terai, the Terai is the most affected by flood hazards. Devastating floods in Nepal are triggered by several different mechanisms.
Flooding is a natural process and its complete control is beyond the capability of human efforts. However, the magnitude of flooding and its impact can be reduced to a certain extent through development and effective implementation of land-use zoning guidelines and building codes and standards. The problems of increasing risk and vulnerability are not associated with physical features only, but also with socio-economic conditions.
Flood hazards, their impact, and the resilience of communities have been assessed here on three spatial scales – national at macro-level, watershed at meso-level, and village development committee/municipality at micro-level. The study was coordinated by ICIMOD with support from the UNESCO, New Delhi, India.
Flood-hazard, risk, and vulnerability mapping in the Ratu Watershed was carried out through three different approaches: a geomorphic approach using a geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS), measurement of rainfall-runoff processes using the Hydrological Engineering Corporation's River System Analysis (HEC-RAS) model, and social flood hazard mapping based on local experiences. Flood risk and vulnerability maps prepared for the Ratu Watershed show that nearly 18% of the area is in the high-risk category. This publication is a summary of a detailed study on flood-risk and vulnerability mapping of the Ratu Khola using GIS methods.
#NEPALFLOODS2007 #FLOODS
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Publisher:
UNESCO, ICIMOD
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(2007
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Type / Script:
Publication
in English
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Keywords:
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, NATURAL DISASTERS, FLOODS, AVALANCHES, LANDSLIDES, RAIN, PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, DRAINAGE, RIVERS, RIVER BASINS, DISASTER PREVENTION, POPULATION DYNAMICS, DEMOGRAPHY, FLOOD CONTROL, CARTOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS, DROUGHT, DISASTER-PRONE AREAS, DAMAGES, EMERGENCY RELIEF, GEOGRAPHY
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Thematic Group:
UNESCO
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Educational, Scientific and Cultural
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Thesaurus:
13.02.00
- Disaster Prevention, Preparedness And Relief
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Reference Link:
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