• Dr. G. M. Dar

Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing floods and other natural disasters from times immemorial. There have been many events on account of floods especially in the Kashmir Valley on account of its bowl shaped topography which makes it one among the most vulnerable regions of the country. The state of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of the worst floods in its history on 7th of September 2014 leaving life paralysed especially in the capital city of Srinagar and adjoining areas. Considered to be an unprecedented event ,the Flood fury inflicted a loss of more than one lakh crore rupees as per the official estimates. The hardships were further aggravated due to communication breakdown and as such a poor response initially. However, the need felt was to have a robust response mechanism to deal with such disasters in future in order to save life and property. Flood Early Warning System needs to be strengthened all across the region to ensure timely warnings and forecasts. Prioritisation of both structural as well as non- structural measures needs to be made on both short and long term basis. Despite some big initiatives like the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) or the PMDP , need to strengthen the Institutional Mechanism at various levels remains of paramount importance.

Disaster Vulnerability Structural Mitigation Rehabilitation

"Kashmir Floods 2014: Realities versus Possibilities", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.2, Issue 7, page no.1332-1340, July-2015, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1701604.pdf

"Kashmir Floods 2014: Realities versus Possibilities", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.2, Issue 7, page no. pp1332-1340, July-2015, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1701604.pdf