BUILDING RESILIENCE IN A MULTI-HAZARD SCENARIO – A CASE OF GUWAHATI CITY

Abstract

Natural disasters create great destruction when they occur. Significant economic losses are observed even in the most developed countries. Urban centres around the world are hotspots for risk to natural disasters. This study aims to assess the multi-hazard scenario of the city of Guwahati and suggest recommendations to increase resilience through architectural interventions. Strategies for disaster risk reduction are studied and a great deal of research is found along proposing strategies for reducing risk. However, it was found that the strategies did not translate to the ground reality, due to a number of reasons which remain to be explored. The role of building regulations in the development of a city was analysed and it was understood that enforcement of resilience strategies through building regulations could bring about impactful change. Case studies were conducted and it was found that some cities in the world were able to achieve the same. The study area of Guwahati is again revisited and the hazards faced by the city are studied. Further, the study tries to understand the urban flooding scenario of the city. A critical analysis of the city was then conducted, through the lens of policy and building regulations. It was found that great importance was given to earthquake resilient strategies, but the resultant rapid concretization of the city inadvertently turned into a causative factor of urban floods in the city. This issue needs to be addressed. The study takes the example of the new zones that are to be added to the Guwahati Metropolitan Area and analyses the existing threat of hazards. Strategies are recommended based on the learnings from the study to tackle the flood risk prior to the development of the zones by making dedicated building regulations to address the specific hazards faced by the area.