Analysing the Household-Level Adaptation to Flood Hazard in Bhagirathi Sub-basin of West Bengal, India: A Concern for Mitigation

Floods are leading to havoc in the rapidly urbanized world and affecting the coping capacity of the impoverished and vulnerable communities. The implications of floods are beyond the damages of infrastructure and assets. The growing implications of floods have raised the attention of communities to adapt to the changes driven by this hazard. Though, several studies have been carried out to assess the implications of floods. However, mitigation and adaptation to flood hazard are still less addressed for effective decision making. This study has tried to investigate the adaptation to floods among the households of Bhagirathi sub-basin in West Bengal, India. A total of 432 households were surveyed and their perception on the effect of early warning system, adaptation by community, during and post flood strategies, protection strategies and role of stakeholders in respective villages was examined. Findings indicated that individual retention ponds, switch to other crops, pond fisheries, selection of appropriate location to stay, perfect communication at community level, rehabilitation camps, preparing temporary settlement, equal distribution of relief and resources and probable health facilities were preferred by the respondents in the study area. Analysis of adaptation would facilitate to deeper understanding of vulnerability and subsequent policy framework. Evaluated findings would support the policymakers and regional planners to comprehend the causes and implications of floods in the Bhagirathi sub-basin.