ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses flood causes in the Hindu Kush region. Additionally, the causes of a flood that occurred in 2010 have been spatially analysed in detail. The Hindu Kush is a high mountain system located immediately west of Karakorum. It is the watershed between the Kabul-Swat River in Pakistan, and the Amu River in Central Asia. It is a place of numerous glaciers and provides year-round water to streams and rivers. The Hindu Kush region is vulnerable to various hazards including floods, earthquakes, landslides, drought, and desertification. However, floods are the deadliest recurring natural disaster in the region. Normally, they are caused by heavy and prolonged rainfall in summer, melting of snow and glaciers, sedimentation in the channels, soil impermeability, excessive deforestation in the past three decades, human encroachments onto the active flood channel, and the bursting of temporary dams behind the bridges. The analysis reveals that flow regimes of Hindu Kush rivers largely depend on spatio-temporal variations in precipitation. Nevertheless, the flood of 2010 was caused by a 4-day wet spell generated by the monsoon, combined with the impacts of Cyclone Phet, and dozens of cloudbursts. It was further, intensified by the construction of buildings in the river bed and the build-up of temporary dams behind bridges. The 2010 flood incurred more than 400 fatalities in the Hindu Kush region, and is considered the worst flood of the century so far. The upper reaches of the region experienced characteristics of flash floods, while in the lower reaches the scene was dominated by river floods.
