The Great Flood and its Aftermath in Kashmir Valley: Impact, Consequences and Vulnerability Assessment

Floods have serious implications on land and people. They disrupt the ecological balance, hamper the economic development, affect the social fabric of the society, create chaos, damage the infrastructure, put constraints on the movement of people and create displacement of millions of people. In 2014, Kashmir Valley witnessed the worst flood in the last 100 years. The impact of the flood is still felt in the Kashmir Valley, which has changed the perception of the people of the valley regarding floods. The flood had enormous impact on environment, economy, society, political set up and all the aspects of life. The present study analyses the impact of the 2014 flood in Kashmir valley and its aftermath. It analyses the physical and social vulnerability of different districts regarding floods and analyses the variability of the impact. The study is based on primary as well as secondary sources of data, and the data was analysed by statistical techniques like Z-score and composite Z-score and also remote sensing techniques and GIS.