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Floods and Vulnerability: Need to Rethink Flood Management

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  • Ajaya Dixit

Abstract

Responses to flooding in the Himalaya-Ganga region have conventionally beensought under the hierarchic mode using the strategy of control. Because it has notgiven due consideration to diverse contexts of the region and thereby the specificapproaches that such context necessitate, the particular approach has not broughtabout security from flooding. Three responses are seen in the terrain of flooddisaster. These are the hierarchic manager, individualistic innovator and theegalitarian social activist. The hierarchies define control as the solution to theproblems of flood: this is the approach preferred by state agencies. At theindividualistic level the sought strategy is flexibility to cope with the situation.The response by social activists is guided by egalitarian critiques of the hierarchicapproach. Each pursues his/her own styles and continuously contests the policyterrain. This paper reviews the nature of flood disaster in the Himalaya-Gangaby focussing on plains Nepal. It argues that conventional approach has not beenable to provide the security envisaged. The paper suggests that vulnerability ofpeople in risk-prone areas must be addressed by enhancing resilience capacity.For this to happen the approach must be pluralistic that gives space to eachmanagement style with varying obligations at varying scales. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003

Suggested Citation

  • Ajaya Dixit, 2003. "Floods and Vulnerability: Need to Rethink Flood Management," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 28(1), pages 155-179, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:28:y:2003:i:1:p:155-179
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1021134218121
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    Cited by:

    1. Ioannis Kougkoulos & Myriam Merad & Simon J. Cook & Ioannis Andredakis, 2021. "Floods in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and lessons for French flood risk governance," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 109(2), pages 1959-1980, November.
    2. Mary. N Ezemonye, 2015. "Flood and Female Headed Households in Illah Rural Community of Delta State, Nigeria," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 4, July.
    3. Phong Tran & Fausto Marincioni & Rajib Shaw & Massimo Sarti & Le An, 2008. "Flood risk management in Central Viet Nam: challenges and potentials," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 46(1), pages 119-138, July.
    4. Louis Lebel & Jianchu Xu & Ram Bastakoti & Amrita Lamba, 2010. "Pursuits of adaptiveness in the shared rivers of Monsoon Asia," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 355-375, December.
    5. Aznarul Islam & Susmita Ghosh, 2021. "Economic transformation in the wake of flood: a case of the lower stretch of the Mayurakshi River Basin, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 15550-15590, October.
    6. Hongjian Zhou & Weixing Zhang & Yehong Sun & Yi Yuan, 2014. "Policy options to support climate-induced migration: insights from disaster relief in China," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 375-389, April.
    7. Crow, Ben & Singh, Nirvikar, 2008. "The management of inter-state rivers as demands grow and supplies tighten: India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 12433, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Shakeel Mahmood & Kiran Hamayon, 2021. "Geo-spatial assessment of community vulnerability to flood along the Ravi River, Ravi Town, Lahore, Pakistan," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(3), pages 2825-2844, April.
    9. Amrit Prasad Sharma & Xudong Fu & Giri R. Kattel, 2023. "Is there a progressive flood risk management in Nepal? A synthesis based on the perspective of a half-century (1971–2020) flood outlook," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(2), pages 903-923, September.
    10. Qian Wang & Qi-peng Zhang & Yang-yang Liu & Lin-jing Tong & Yan-zhen Zhang & Xiao-yu Li & Jian-long Li, 2020. "Characterizing the spatial distribution of typical natural disaster vulnerability in China from 2010 to 2017," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 100(1), pages 3-15, January.

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