The Indus flood of 2010 in Pakistan: a perspective analysis using remote sensing data |
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| Authors: | Kumar Gaurav R Sinha and P K Panda |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, UP, 208016, India; |
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| Abstract: | The Indus flood in 2010 was one of the greatest river disasters in recent history, which affected more than 14 million people
in Pakistan. Although excessive rainfall between July and September 2010 has been cited as the major causative factor for
this disaster, the human interventions in the river system over the years made this disaster a catastrophe. Geomorphic analysis
suggests that the Indus River has had a very dynamic regime in the past. However, the river has now been constrained by embankments
on both sides, and several barrages have been constructed along the river. As a result, the river has been aggrading rapidly
during the last few decades due to its exceptionally high sediment load particularly in reaches upstream of the barrages.
This in turn has caused significant increase in cross-valley gradient leading to breaches upstream of the barrages and inundation
of large areas. Our flow accumulation analysis using SRTM data not only supports this interpretation but also points out that
there are several reaches along the Indus River, which are still vulnerable to such breaches and flooding. Even though the
Indus flood in 2010 was characterized by exceptionally high discharges, our experience in working on Himalayan rivers and
similar recent events in rivers in Nepal and India suggest that such events can occur at relatively low discharges. It is
therefore of utmost importance to identify such areas and plan mitigation measures as soon as possible. We emphasize the role
of geomorphology in flood analysis and management and urge the river managers to take urgent steps to incorporate the geomorphic
understanding of Himalayan rivers in river management plans. |
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