On average, J&K loses Rs.1,774 Cr annually to floods, earthquakes
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which lies in seismic zone-IV and V, and more vulnerable to flood hazards suffers an average annual loss (AAL) of Rs.1,774 crore due to flood and earthquake hazards. Residential buildings face the maximum wrath of these hazards.
According to the final report of the Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment (MHRA) for the entire J&K and Ladakh UTs presented during the day-long workshop organised by Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) and RMSI Private Limited at SKICC Srinagar, the AAL due to earthquakes for J&K is Rs.1,488.44 crore, which is about 0.15 percent of the total exposure value.
“The riverine flood hazard AAL for J&K is Rs.286.50 crore, which is about 0.03 percent of the total exposure value of the UT. Srinagar district has the highest losses due to riverine flood followed by Baramulla district,” the report said, adding “the flash-flood AAL for J&K is Rs.6.38 crore”.
“The major losses are due to damages to bridges, schools, and commercial and residential buildings, which together contribute about 73 percent of the total losses, with damages to bridges contributing a significant share of 29.5 percent. Rajouri district of Jammu has a higher percentage of the population that is likely to be affected due to flash floods,” it said.
An official statement said that the MHRA report provided the key findings of the survey, recommendations, and the way forward for the government towards disaster risk resilient development planning and separate reports for the UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
The extensive MHRA for J&K conducted by RMSI included a physical vulnerability survey of 42,000 buildings, a survey of 30,000 households as part of the social vulnerability survey and the procurement of a high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) for the flood-prone areas of the two UTs.
While highlighting the critical findings for J&K, it was given out that the loss numbers show that J&K was more vulnerable to earthquake and flood hazards, though landslide events also occur frequently in many parts of the UT.
The RMSI also conducted an avalanche hazard assessment in the UT’s civilian-occupied areas. The evaluation identified as many as 659 avalanche sites and classified them based on frequency and severity.
“Assets worth Rs.335 crore are estimated to be in potential avalanche-prone areas in J&K. A major part comprises buildings (61%) and transport infrastructure (34%),” the study said.
Further, landslide hazard susceptibility analysis shows that the losses are predominantly for residential buildings followed by losses to transportation infrastructure.
The districts with the highest number of residential buildings, in landslide susceptible zones are Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Poonch, Baramulla, Rajouri, Kishtwar, and Udhampur (ranked from highest to lowest).
Districts of Kishtwar, Ganderbal, Doda, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Pulwama, and Udhampur are highly prone to frequent avalanches. Similarly, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Baramulla, and Kupwara districts have a substantial percentage of the population living in snow avalanche hazard vulnerable areas.
