Enhancing Resilience: Flood Vulnerability Assessment in the Uttarakhand Himalaya

This chapter delves into the critical task of categorizing Chamoli District in Uttarakhand, India, into five distinct flood-vulnerable zones by meticulously evaluating the influence of physiographic, hydrological, and geological parameters on the dynamics of flooding. The study also seeks to unearth the impact of flooding on various land use classes within these different flood hazardFlood hazard zones. A comprehensive set of fifteen parameters has been identified to delineate these flood-vulnerable zones. These parameters encompass drainage density, flow accumulationFlow accumulation, river distance, normalized difference water index (NDWI)Normalized differences water index, elevation, aspect, stream power index (SPI)Stream power index, fault distance, soil depth, soil textureSoil texture, land use/land cover, slope, rainfall, topographical wetness index (TWI)Topographical wetness index, and geomorphology. To achieve this, a sophisticated fuzzy logicFuzzy logic approach was employed to create a flood vulnerabilityFlood vulnerability zone map for the entire study area. The process involved assigning fuzzy membership values ranging from 0 to 1 to all thematic layers, with the aid of Arc-GIS software. The resulting flood vulnerabilityFlood vulnerability zone map reveals a stark reality: approximately 7.13% of the region lies within the highly precarious “very high” vulnerability zone. The significance of this map extends beyond research, offering invaluable insights to decision-makers for formulating effective flood management strategies, rapid response plans, and rescue operations. In a world grappling with increasing climate variability and its devastating consequences, this study’s findings hold the promise of bolstering the region’s resilienceResilience against the looming threat of floods.