An Account of the Flood History in the Ghatal Region of West Bengal, India

Floods, being the most common natural disaster, affect millions of people worldwide. Out of 3290 lakh hectare (3,290,000 km2) land area in India, 40 million hectares have been declared as flood prone, with an annual average of 75 lakh hectares being affected, either directly or indirectly. West Bengal is considered as one of the most flood-prone states in India, with its southern portion being severely affected by floods annually. Although natural factors are probably the usual causes of floods, the Silabati (also called Silai) River basin, near its mouth in the vicinity of Ghatal town of Paschim Medinipur district, experiences annual flooding partly due to its regional setting within the subdued Bengal fan, while much of the inundation here occurs due to direct anthropogenic interventions into the channel and the floodplain. The various natural and anthropogenic causes of flooding in the region have been explained in this study with a special emphasis on the embankment circuits of the area that make the river flow constrained, thereby causing siltation and rising of the river bed with resultant flooding. An analysis of the extent, recurrence and duration of flooding in the region has also been done to highlight the severity of the event and the annual suffering of the resident communities in the region. The formulation of the Ghatal Master Plan in the region has not been much of a success, with non-structural mitigation measures being a viable means to reduce floods in the region.