Resilience flood disaster in Ratukhola watershed Mahottari district, nepal

Abstract

The idea of resilience is getting increasing attention among researchers, policymakers and experts. Abundant frameworks have been introduced and papers conscripted, and projects formulated to build community resilience. As a result, this is being undertaken in the various community of Nepal as well. This study addressed the issue of flood vulnerability and resilience at the level of communities residing along with Ratu watershed, Mahottari Nepal. This study sets out to analyze the community resilience to flood disasters in the Ratu watershed of Nepal based on the Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP). This study introduces resilience as an active process varying with antecedent conditions, disaster severity, and exogenous variable effects. Although resilience is supposed to be adaptive, immediately before the disaster, recovery level results in the static modeling of the antecedent conditions. The local community has been facing floods since the time of their ancestors, so they have exceeded their absorptive capacity. Similarly, the recurring impact of floods decreases the economic capability to bounce back from the following flood event and thus becomes ever more challenging to recover. In the same manner, the community learnings from the hazard event and the opportunity to improve mitigation and preparedness are very limited, the community is not able to increase their inherent resilience and capacity before the next event. The study truly highlights the need of the hour which is an inclusive approach and long-term disaster risk management strategy within Bhangaha Municipality Ward No. 1, to cater to the vulnerability of these marginalized groups along with the seasonality floods experiences. Further stating the inadequacy of temporary flood protection measures and a lack of comprehensive disaster risk reduction policies at the municipal level. The research emphasizes the need for building community engagement and public awareness in resilience enhancement, further calling for increased participation in disaster preparedness. The outcomes of such studies point to increased preparedness action through an increase in financial resources and improved governance that enhances flood response and recovery. Thus, these insights provide policy-level guidelines for the future development of better flood management strategies and stronger community resilience. Keywords: community resilience, flood disaster, Ratu Khola watershed, disaster risk reduction, adaptive capacity, absorptive capacity, Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) framework, social capital, Terai region, Nepal.