Flood Disasters and their Management in Hoogly District, West Bengal

Abstract

Floods, cyclones, earthquakes, and droughts are only some of the natural calamities that hit West Bengal regularly, resulting in casualties and material destruction. A flood disaster profile of West Bengal is the need of the hour, highlighting the kind and scope of floods and the damage inflicted by floods in recent years. West Bengal continues to be one of India's most flood-vulnerable states. This paper discusses flood-prone areas in West Bengal's Hoogly district, the historical impact of flooding, and government responses to the problem. Devastating floods hit the area every monsoon and late monsoon when water is released from the barrage on the river that forms the upper catchment, the Damodar Valley Corporation, and then flows downstream, damaging the embankment on the smaller rivers. As a result, this article serves to inform us of the flood's current state and sheds light on the ways in which locals in a catastrophe-stricken area have taken initiative to improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Most of the time, these standards are derived from what people have seen, felt, and been able to afford in the area.