Using historical data for developing a hazard and disaster profile of the Kashmir valley for the period 1900–2020

Abstract

Disasters cause high mortality and suffering and also thwart development and damage local economies. Kashmir valley in the NW Himalaya is subject to a multitude of hazards and has been an area of many disasters ranging from landslides to catastrophic earthquakes, with heavy loss of life and property. However, information on most of these events is poorly reported or exaggerated and in some cases not recorded at all. The availability of an organized and reliable database of past hazards and disasters is essential for understanding risk and mitigating future disasters in the valley. The present study addresses the lack of data availability by developing a hazard and disaster catalogue for Kashmir valley based on an investigation of secondary data sources. The database comprises 1858 events including 1693 earthquakes, 39 floods, 69 landslides, and 57 snow avalanches for the period of 1900–2020. Information on triggers and impacts, and insights into spatial and temporal trends are also included. There is a general increase in the incidence of the extreme events over this period of the study, except for floods, which show little change in frequency. The results further reveal that the valley has experienced numerous small to major earthquakes that appear to be randomly distributed in space. In contrast, floods recur at regular intervals and are restricted to floodplains, and landslides and snow avalanches have occurred only on slopes adjacent to the valley. The historical disaster database is an aid in regional planning and policy development to facilitate the disaster risk reduction process.