ABSTRACT
Rudraprayag district is one of the 13 districts of Uttarakhand, established on 16th September 1997 and is bounded by Uttarkashi on the north, Chamoli on east, Pauri Garhwal on south and Tehri Garhwal on the west. It covers an area of 1984 sq. km. and lies between 30°19’ 00” and 30° 49’ North and longitude 78° 49’ and 79° 21’ 13” East. The district has faced many natural hazards in past years, Kedarnath Floods 2013 being the worst of them. These natural hazards are the most common in state of Uttarakhand which lies in seismic zone V and receives immense rainfall. The present study shows user-friendly GIS maps to determine district vulnerability assessment to earthquake, landslides, and floods. Hazard and Social Vulnerability maps have been prepared with the help of ArcGIS 10.2.2. Secondary data from Census 2011 has been used to analyze vulnerability of population to the mentioned hazards. Three types of hazard maps have been presented in this paper. First Landslide Susceptibility Map with the help of Digital Elevation Map, slope and aspect showing the areas prone to landslide using GIS. Secondly, Flood Zonation Map has been prepared to identify flood hazard zones and categorize them from very low to very high. Lastly, an Earthquake Zonation Map for the year 2017 is prepared showing magnitude, its impact on settlement. The paper shows that people are most vulnerable by floods as most of the settlement is at low level where flood zonation shows high risk followed by landslides and at last earthquake which is unpredictable. Thus, this study will help the Government, NGOs and other stakeholders to prepare for these natural hazards in a better way and mitigate accordingly to create resilience among the communities that are vulnerable to such hazards. This study will also help in updating the present District Disaster Management Plan of Rudraprayag and create a disaster resilient environment.
