Govind Tekale
According to the District Flood Severity Index (DFSI) developed by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and IIT-Roorkee, the most severe floods in India occur in Patna, followed by Murshidabad in West Bengal and Thane in Maharashtra.
The index takes into account the number of people affected, the extent of the flood, and its duration to gauge historical severity.
Researchers stated that the top ten districts with the highest flood severity include Patna, Murshidabad, Thane, North 24 Parganas (West Bengal), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Ballia (Uttar Pradesh), East Champaran (Bihar), and East Medinipur (West Bengal).
Following these are Muzaffarnagar (Bihar), Lakhimpur (Assam), Kota (Rajasthan), Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Malda (West Bengal), Rajkot (Gujarat), Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Aurangabad (Bihar), Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Darjeeling (West Bengal), Dibrugarh (Assam), Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), Chamoli (Uttarakhand), West Champaran (Bihar), Amravati (Maharashtra), Medinipur West (West Bengal), and Samastipur (Bihar).
Chamoli in Uttarakhand does not frequently experience floods, but due to several exceptionally devastating flood events, it has also been included in this list.
Assistant Professor Manbendra Saharia of IIT-Delhi, among other researchers, stated that 17 of the top 30 districts most at risk of flooding are located in the Ganga Basin, with three in the Brahmaputra Basin.
They mentioned that among all Indian river basins, the Ganga Basin has the highest population, which raises significant concerns about the high probability of floods.
The DFSI was formulated considering the number of people affected, the extent, and the duration of floods, based on historical severity from 1967 to 2023.
Assam experiences the most floods in India, with the state facing over 800 flood incidents in the past 56 years.
Researchers noted that despite the population increase in India, the human mortality rate from floods has remained stable or decreased in recent years due to better management.
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Data shows that the annual number of deaths since 2015 is approximately 1,000. The research also revealed that since 1967, Assam has recorded the highest number of flood events in the past 56 years, facing over 800 flood incidents, averaging about 14 events per year.
Following Assam, states like Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar have also faced numerous flood incidents.
In Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), more than 231 flood incidents have been recorded over the past 56 years, averaging four to five events per year.
Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Kamrup, and Nagaon have also suffered extensively from floods, with each district facing 178 or more flood events on average, translating to about three incidents annually. Additionally, 28 districts have recorded 113 or more flood events in the last 56 years
