Socio-economic impact of flood: A case study of the Jiadhal River Basin, Dhemaji district, India

Abstract: 
The Jiadhal River is a sub-tributary of the river Brahmaputra in the district of Dhemaji, Assam. The river causes disastrous floods every year during the monsoon season and is prone to bank erosion, a high amount of sediment deposition in the bed of the river and adjoining areas and extensive flooding. The adverse effect of flood had a great socio-economic impact on the lives of the local people living in the river basin. For the study, an extensive field survey was done in the Jiadhal River basin with a total of 210 household surveys. During the field survey, it was found that regular flood in the monsoon period and vast deposition of sediment in the basin has changed the socio-economic status of the people living in the catchment. The loss of residential areas and agricultural land is a major concern among the local people as most of them are dependent on agricultural activities. This paper is an attempt to explore and understand the impact of flood risk on the socio-economic life of the people based on different flood hazard zones.