MANAGEMENT OF FLOODS IN FLOOD PRONE REGIONS OF EASTERN UTTAR PRADESH

Abstract: Physio-geographic and climatic conditions along with land characteristics makes India one of the most disaster prone countries of the world exposed to different kinds of natural disasters like cyclones, floods, earthquakes, famines, drought, and landslides which are responsible for loss of life and damage to property. Amongst natural disasters flood is one such calamity that is highly recurring event in entire India especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Some of the major rivers which create floods in the State are the Ganga, the Ghaghra, the Yamuna, the Ramganga, the Gomti, the Rapti, the Sharda, and the Gandak. Eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh are the most vulnerable to floods in comparson to the western districts and central region .The recurrence period of highly deficient rainfall in Eastern Uttar Pradesh has been calculated to be around 6 to 8 years whereas in Western U.P. it is 10 years. The geographical area of the State is 240.93 lakh hectares and in it about 73.06 lakh hectares is flood prone. According to the Irrigation Department's estimate, protection from floods could be given to only 58.72 lakh hectares annually. This paper deals with chronically flood prone region of eastern Uttar Pradesh "Ballia district" with the risk posed by river Ghaghara and the various structural and non- structural measures adopted for management of floods in these regions. Nowadays space technology too, plays an important role in assessing and monitoring about damage caused by floods and its mitigation measures required for effective flood management.

Keywords: Flood prone regions, Eastern - Uttar Pradesh, Structural - Non-Structural measures, Physio-geographic condition.