Flood Problem of Puthimari River Basin: History and Present Pattern

Abstract

Flood is one of the most devastating natural disasters that occurs in all depths, from just a couple inches to many feet. Assam has the vast network of its two major rivers viz. the Brahmaputra and the Barak and their tributaries. However, the Brahmaputra river valley is the most flood prone area in Assam. The research article is made to understand the history and pattern of the damage caused by the flood in the Puthimari basin in Kamrup District of Assam. The study has been carried out using both field survey as well as remote sensing techniques. The hydrological data such as water level and water discharge have been collected from Water Resource Department and Brahmaputra Board, Govt of Assam. The water discharge data has been collected from 1955 to 2010 and the flood damage report from 2016 to 2020 have been collected from different newspapers and Flood Report of Assam State Disaster Management Authority. The flood of 2004 has been recorded as the highest from the danger perspectives. The stage hydrographs have been prepared using maximum and minimum water level from 1958 to 2016 where the flood of 1958 has been recorded as the highest devastating with (54.81- 49.79) 5.02 metre deviation from the danger level.