Accelerating change: flood hazard-disaster databases in the Indian Himalayan region

Executive Summary: The Problem: Increasing Disaster Risk in Mountain Regions and a Gap in Historical Disaster Knowledge. Disaster statistics for mountain regions reveal a concerning trend of increasing event occurrence, injuries and fatalities, and socio-economic impacts. This reflects increases in population, infrastructure exposure and vulnerability, as well as increasing hazard frequency and magnitude. Amplifying future concerns are complex/contested climate change trajectories and their impact on hazard processes. In response, a much better evaluation of future risk is required, and this needs an improved understanding of historical disaster impacts and losses. Closing this gap will support improved disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable infrastructure planning and development goals, underpinning improved wellbeing and livelihood. The Time for Action, Surging to 2030: Accelerating Implementation of Flood Hazard-Disaster Databases in the Indian Himalayan Region The UNDRR ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030’ (SFDRR) is driving global efforts to stem disaster losses and build resilience via a targeted approach. Since 2015 the SFDRR has continued to mature from an elaborate framework statement to that of a growing implementation effort, now with a ‘Surge to 2030’. India as a signatory of the SFDRR, and member of the pan-national Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, has embraced calls to develop and implement methodologies for the compilation of improved disaster loss data to reduce future disaster impacts, particularly in high-risk flood locations such as the Indian Himalaya. Whilst India can utilise multiple existing global, national, and state disaster databases, it is accepted that these are not necessarily comprehensive, interoperable, accessible, or sufficiently localised. Accordingly, there is a need for new partnership efforts to deliver disaggregated and sub-national flood disaster data. Key Policy-Practice Options: (1) Enhancing Knowledge in the Kullu District & Himachal Pradesh: Using ‘HiFlo-DAT’ to revise disaster management plans and the HVRA database; engage local communities in two-way knowledge sharing; and review planning requirements for infrastructure projects (State and National) (2) Indian National Disaster Management Policy & Practice Development: Undertake policy review on flood database curation, application and governance; consider the integration and hierarchy of Indian disaster databases; and undertake dedicated review of LLOF and GLOF floods (3) Upscaling of Historical Flood Databases across the IHR: Via partnerships and an array of data sources. The University of Cumbria's Institute of Science and Environment’s policy briefings provide an evidence base for policy makers and are developed from our research and expertise including UK land protection and conservation, disaster risk reduction, international conservation and marine mammal acoustics.