Disaster History Of Dakshin Dinajpur

Over the last 32 years and more it has been observed that this district has mainly been experiencing flood, flood like circumstances and water logging situations and that too again occurs very scarcely unfolding the loss of crops, cattle and human lives and pisciculture sectors. Once on April 27, 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on richter Scale stuck this district with no report of loss of properties or casualties. 

Major contributing factors to flood are the run-off because of heavy local rainfall, discharge of upper basin areas and also outfall condition in the neighbouring country as major rivers are trans-boundary in India (Dakshin Dinajpur, W.B.) and Bangladesh. Poor drainage systems and uncontrolled nature of rivers having no continuous embankments on both the sides of these cross-border rivers are also responsible for flood. 

Depending on predominance-3 (three) types of flood may be marked from 1987 and onwards. 

Less intensified floods occurred in the years : 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005 (confined to water logging only)

Moderately intensified floods occurred in the years : 1987, 1992, 1995, 1998

Intensified flood occurred in the year : 2017 (with a death toll of 29 people, damages to Kutcha Houses- Fully – 40,996, Severely – 12477, Partly – 41079, Hut-1309 with livestock, agricultural yields and other properties too.