Impact of Flood on Prayag Chikhali Village of Karveer Tehsil in Maharashtra (India): A Comparative Analysis (2005-2006)

Abstract

During  the  last  two years (2005-2006) floods  caused  by  heavy  monsoon  rains  have  swamped  large  parts  of  western  and  central  India ,  including  the  states  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  Gujarat,  Maharashtra,  Chhatisgarh and  Orissa,  of  these  first  three  have  been  the  worst   affected . As many as 31 districts  in  Maharashtra  were  affected  by  flood ,  which  included  7, 375  villages  and  nearly  one  lakh  families. Besides that 468 people were died. The districts viz; Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Pune and Nashik in the western part of Maharashtra have been severely affected by flood due to the heavy rainfall during the monsoon. In Kolhapur, particularly Karveer, Shiroal and Hathkangale tehsils were severely affected by flood that included 711 villages. The focus of present study is to look into the severely affected village Prayag Chikhali and to compare the severity of floods occurred in the consecutive years of 2005 and 2006. The present study also intends to plan for controlling the floods and to minimize the flood affect in the area under study.

Key words: Heavy rainfall, river flood, magnitude, frequency, flood impact