Journal of Environment and Pollution

Assessing Multi-Hazard Risk in Gulmidarbar Rural Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal

Abstract

Sundar Tandan, Basanta Raj Adhikari and Akhilesh Kumar Karna

The occurrences of different kinds of natural hazards in the Nepal Himalaya is increasing in recent years. The complex interaction between these hazards is poorly understood. The multi-hazard mapping underscores the pivotal role of hazard maps in disaster risk reduction, advocating for the creation of a multihazard map despite associated challenges in the Gulmidarbar Rural Municipality. The individual hazard maps for landslides, forest fire, flood and earthquakes were generated. Rigorous validation processes, including field verification, were done to ensure the accuracy of individual hazard maps before integration into the comprehensive multi-hazard map sing the Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP). The vulnerability was calculated at lowest administrative levels incorporating physical and socio-economic factors. The multi-hazard map is prepared by combining the hazard and vulnerability at ward level. The analysis shows that Ward No.4 has high risk followed by Ward No.1. This analysis is important to the mayor and other policy makers in decision- making, emergency response, and urban planning, aiming to develop robust strategies that minimize losses and enhance resilience in the studied region.

PDF

Journal key Highlights