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Investigating the Impact of Recent and Future Urbanization on Flooding in an Indian River Catchment

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Stephen Birkinshaw

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© 2024 by the authors. Socioeconomic growth in India has caused massive infrastructure development which has resulted in extensive damage to the natural environment. A consequence of this urbanization has been extensive monsoon flooding in many locations within the country. The impact of recent land use and land cover (LULC) change because of urbanization and a series of future LULC scenarios is assessed for the Meenachil river basin in central Kerala, India. This catchment flows into the Kuttanad administrative area, which has the country’s lowest elevation, an increasing population, and currently suffers from regular flooding. Hydrological modeling using SHETRAN and hydraulic modeling using HEC-RAS predicts that an extreme event will produce a 105% rise in flood depth in 2100 compared to 2005. A scenario that incorporates Nature-based Solutions suggests the rise in flood depth could be reduced by 44%. A catchment response for future development is needed but is hindered by different administrative boundaries within the river basins that flow into the Kuttanad administrative area, and so this study concludes by providing regional-scale planning recommendations that integrate hydrologic components.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Thaivalappil Sukumaran S, Birkinshaw SJ

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Sustainability

Year: 2024

Volume: 16

Issue: 13

Online publication date: 02/07/2024

Acceptance date: 27/06/2024

Date deposited: 24/07/2024

ISSN (electronic): 2071-1050

Publisher: MDPI

URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135652

DOI: 10.3390/su16135652

Data Access Statement: Data are contained within the article and Supplementary Materials.

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