Impact of the Hydro-Meteorological Disasters in the Upper Beas Basin in the Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

An investigation exploring the people perception about the impact of the hydro-meteorological events was executed in the upper Beas basin of Kullu district using a semi-structured questionnaire. The selection of the study area was made after conducting preliminary studies, revealing that the region experienced property losses amounting to Rs. 18.61 Cr as a result of disasters occurring between 2017 and 2019.. In the past few decades, the occurrence of the extreme weather events of cloud bursts, flashfloods and heavy rainfall in the Beas Basin has affected the livelihood of the local inhabitants. Therefore the current research is designed for the identification the existing disaster related issues of the inhabitants of the Himalayan region. To assess the community perception towards the disaster events, the one third households of the most prone villages of the region were studied i.e. 251 respondents. To find the community perception , the respondents were enquired about the information regarding the past events of the disaster in their area and perception about the probable causes of such events. It was analyzed that the disasters events has affected the agriculture, water supply, infrastructure, tourism and allied businesses in the region. It was found from the insights of the research that 70.18% respondents agree that hydro- meteorological disasters occurs each year furthermore 75.2% of the respondents believe that among the all types of disasters, the flash floods are the most common type of disaster to the area. In addition to this, the 38.40% and 30.02% respondents believed that impact of disaster has increased due to the climate change and the practices of deforestation respectively. The collected statistical data was further evaluated using Pearson’s Chi Square test and it was noticed that the responses such as anthropogenic role in the increased intensty of disasters and the effect of disasters on this tourism dominated area had a significant association at the 95% confidence interval with the respondents having different educational qualification, gender and age groups.  It was examined from the investigation that the activities such as deforestation, over grazing and illegal extraction of medicinal plants in the high altitude areas are the precursors behind the increased impact of the disaster events.  The outcomes of this study will assist the policy makers and scientific community for the better understanding of the disasters and planning the risk management strategies for the region.