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Causes of Flood Hazard in Murshidabad District of West Bengal: Victims’ Perceptions

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Neo-Thinking on Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin Geomorphology

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Abstract

The flood is almost an annual phenomenon in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Geographical location and socioeconomic diversity of the district deserve particular consideration in the matter of its sensitivity to flood risk. A number of factors contribute to the flood hazard in Murshidabad district. The study attempts to examine the causes of flood in the study area through the perceptions of the inhabitants living in 13 sample hamlets spread throughout the district. To quantify the rate of the responses of the inhabitants the RIDIT analysis method has been applied. It is found that victims’ perceptions are subjective in terms of their past experience and the geographical location of their hamlets. The study also concludes that the geographical location of the hamlets plays the most noteworthy role in determining the perception of the inhabitants regarding the causes of flood in Murshidabad district.

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Correspondence to Swati Mollah .

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Mollah, S. (2016). Causes of Flood Hazard in Murshidabad District of West Bengal: Victims’ Perceptions. In: Das, B., Ghosh, S., Islam, A., Ismail, M. (eds) Neo-Thinking on Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin Geomorphology. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26443-1_7

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