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In case you haven't read it..
part of the editorial that looks at the causes
for the yearly flood problem in Assam..
..........Many investigators have identified a special type of flood hazard
in the mountainous areas that results from failure of natural dams. The
Himalayan rivers have a potential danger of catastrophic floods due to breaching
of natural dams. Landslides caused by heavy rains or earthquakes are known to
block rivers that caused massive floods when they fail. Channel migration,
meander growth and evulsions may also affect water levels during flood season.
Earthquakes can have a dramatic effect for causing flood which occurred in Assam
after the 1950 earthquake. Sometimes tributary streams can experience floods due
to back flooding. Many tributaries of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra experience
this sort of flood. In Assam, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries cause
devastating floods almost every year causing loss of crops and property and
damage to environment. In Assam, floods have become more disastrous after the
1950 earthquake. The total flood prone area in the State is 32 lakh hectares
which is about 9.4 per cent of India’s total flood prone
area.
Floods in Guwahati city has become a chronic hazard during the last few years. The city is facing the problem of flash flood and water logging after a heavy spell of rain and also overflow of Bharalu and the Brahmaputra river. Heavy monsoonal rainfall, high flood level of the Brahma-putra river, back flow of Bharalu river, inadequate drainage system, heavy siltation, deforestation, haphazard growth of urbanisation, encroachment of wetlands are some of the cause for occurring floods/water logging in Guwahati. |
