Guwahati, 25th Feb 2023 : Receiving an annual rainfall of 1688 mm, Guwahati, the capital city of Assam and the gateway to north-east India, as known is highly vulnerable towards frequent urban floods because of various reasons such as uncontrolled dumping of solid waste and siltation choking the natural water channels. As per the recent Gross Domestic Climate Risk Report published by Australia-based Cross Dependency Initiative or XDI, Assam has been ranked 28th among the top 50 most at-risk states and provinces in 2050, with a projected increase of over 330% in climate risk to the built environment by 2050 as compared to 1990, adding to the fact that the risk of urban flooding in Guwahati will anything but increase in the coming years. Studies emphasize that one of the most important sectors particularly vulnerable to events like urban flooding is Transportation, as they impair transport systems and facilities, disrupting connectivity and the travel ability of people. As a stable and reliable transportation system is crucial from an economic and welfare standpoint, and is critical to maintaining the consistency of daily life, there is a need to improve its resilience.
In light of this a research is being conducted titled ‘Human Mobility during Urban Flooding Events: A study to enhance Transport Resilience’ in Guwahati through a bottom up approach to understand how the city’s residents cope with the flooded conditions and meet their absolutely necessary travel needs, so that interventions can be suggested accordingly.
Therefore, it is an earnest request to residents of Guwahati aged 25-65 years, especially those residing in the highly flood prone areas to contribute towards this research by filling out the survey form (https://forms.gle/uC4MKT57Hb363L21A). This will help in understanding the situation from a first hand perspective for arriving at an informed outcome and designing better and effective interventions.
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