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Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum Basin in Kashmir Himalaya by Gowhar et al., 2015

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  • A. Shah

Abstract

This comment raises a number of scientific questions about the research work conducted by Gowhar et al. 2015. It shows that the structural, topographic, and geomorphic architecture of the Kashmir Basin is mainly shaped by an active interaction between the tectonics and climate. This is backed by the historical and geological records, which clearly demonstrate that climate change and unplanned urbanization are NOT the major reasons for flooding. The historical data show that the devastating floods occurred in Jammu and Kashmir before the climate change science came into existence, and this strongly brings into question the climate argument made by the authors and equally challenges the urbanization argument because the population of Kashmir was much less in the past and has increased in the last 24 years, plus urbanization is a recent phenomenon in the history of Kashmir. Therefore, it is an over-exaggeration to claim that unplanned urbanization is the single-most important factor causing the flooding in Jhelum in 2014. It equally questions the proposed construction of an alternate flood channel for the Jhelum River because the geological and tectonic history has clearly shown that a number of destructive floods were caused by earthquakes, and significant drainage reversals have also been reported in the KB. Therefore, it is important to reassess the various causes of flooding and offer a balanced alternative. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • A. Shah, 2015. "Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on the flood vulnerability of Jhelum Basin in Kashmir Himalaya by Gowhar et al., 2015," 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. 77(3), pages 2139-2143, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:77:y:2015:i:3:p:2139-2143
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-015-1775-x
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rajesh Kumar & Prasenjit Acharya, 2016. "Flood hazard and risk assessment of 2014 floods in Kashmir Valley: a space-based multisensor approach," 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. 84(1), pages 437-464, October.
    2. A. A. Shah & Javed N. Malik, 2017. "Four major unknown active faults identified, using satellite data, in India and Pakistan portions of NW Himalaya," 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. 88(3), pages 1845-1865, September.
    3. Desirée Tullos & Elizabeth Byron & Gerald Galloway & Jayantha Obeysekera & Om Prakash & Yung-Hsin Sun, 2016. "Review of challenges of and practices for sustainable management of mountain flood hazards," 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. 83(3), pages 1763-1797, September.
    4. Meenu Rani & Sufia Rehman & Haroon Sajjad & B. S. Chaudhary & Jyoti Sharma & Sandeep Bhardwaj & Pavan Kumar, 2018. "Assessing coastal landscape vulnerability using geospatial techniques along Vizianagaram–Srikakulam coast of Andhra Pradesh, India," 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. 94(2), pages 711-725, November.

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