KNOWLEDGE BASE SYSTEM FOR CLOUDBURST DAMAGE ZONATION WITHIN A GIS ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

CloudBurst is the most devastating and frequently occurring natural hazardous event in Indian Himalayan region. Localized deep cumulus convective clouds have a capability of giving enormous amount of rainfall over a limited horizontal area, within a short span of time. Such types of extreme rainfall events are most common over the high elevated areas of Northern India during the Southwest monsoon season which causes widespread damage to the property and lives. Whenever, such events occurs, lead to flash floods, landslides, house collapses, dislocation of traffic, and human casualties on a large scale. The intensity and frequency of these Cloudburst hazards, as terrestrial and atmospheric, have been increased multifold during the last decades. In last ten years around 15 Cloudburst cases are identified majorly in Northern part of India called Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh states. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the Cloudburst inundation zones accurately to avoid damage associated with them. For this, High resolution Remote sensing Imagery from CartoSat-1 (Stereo pair) are integrated in MIKE 11 hydrodynamic 1D model for longitudinal profile of the study area, water level and routed peak discharge, Flow velocity and Flow width along the river at different reaches were generated, to know the Cloudburst flood inundation scenario. The parameters which are influence the damage due to CloudBurst like rainfall, slope, topography and landuse/landcover are combined with hydrodynamic simulation results through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment and Knowledge Base System is developed for identification of most critical damaged zones due to CloudBurst. Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand state, experiences Cloudburst every year. During 3rd August 2012 one of the major CloudBurst event occurred in Asi Ganga Valley. The event was considered for simulation of hydrodynamic model and development of knowledge base system for most critical damaged zones. ii About 426 total settlements are identified in rural and urban areas of Asi Gnaga Valley from Dodital to Joshiyara, out of that 70 settlements are deposited along the main channel of Asi Ganga and Bhagirathi River. Moreover, identified 45 settlements are in most critical damaged zones and 35 are in most probable damaged zones with their natural geographical features. The developed Knowledge base System for identification of most critical CloudBurst damaged zones by this study can contribute its share to reduce hazardous loss and transform developing India to developed India.