Abstract:
The Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin is one of the largest river basins in the world and extends a large area of Nepal, India and Bangladesh. The area is very vulnerable to floods due to the combination of heavy rains, high sediment load and tectonic activity. Although floods can result in more fertile soils, floods in the Kosi catchment resulted in extensive damage and the river is often called 'the Sorrow of Bihar'. After severe floods in 1953-1954, social and political pressure resulted in a consensus between the Nepal and Indian government in the form of the 'Kosi project' which aimed at flood control and provide water for irrigation. The Kosi River is characterized by its strong meanders. Two spurs, respectively 12.1km and 12.9km from the Bhirmnagar Barrage at the Nepal embankments became eroded and damaged by the meandering river. The first signs of erosion of those embankments were recognized on 5 August 2008 as the embankment collapsed on 18 August 2008. The collapse of the embankment resulted in damage or destruction of houses, cultivated land and properties. Furthermore, there were many victims as people died or were displaced. There were heavy monsoon rains which resulted in a high discharge of the Kosi River. The meandering river eroded the western river banks at the Nepalese side. From mankind perspective, the erosion was recognized but the embankment had not been repaired and there was no risk preparation from governmental bodies.
This study adopted the safety chain approach in analysis of the Bihar floods. The Dutch version of the safety chain was used; it consists of pro-action, prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. The 5 links can be divided into two categories: risk management and crisis management. Pro-action and prevention are important for risk management and preparation. This five links provide a way to structure the disaster management and policies. Therefore it is a good way to get an overview of the disaster management.
Across the safety chain, the relationships between both India-Nepal and India-Bihar can be characterized as discussing each other's responsibility and the one-dimensional technical focus. This resulted in a lack of proper emergency plans. The aid and response of governmental bodies was very inadequate and ineffective due to slowly responses as the floods were not considered as important by governments. It can be concluded that it seems to be better to invest in pro-action measurements which address the need of the locals, indigenous knowledge and local capacity as well the political situation. Alternative technologies which do not require advanced technical skills, maintenance and money, may address local situation better and result in advances of flood regulation. The situation of people living in the banks should be controlled. The lack of services within the embankment their vulnerability and thereby enlarges the negative impacts of the floods. It is also imperative to improve people's local capacity to deal with floods.
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