Actual and perceived causes of flood risk: climate versus anthropogenic effects in a wet zone catchment in Sri Lanka

The Kalu Ganga Basin in Sri Lanka is generally flooded once a year. A network of low-lying lands acts as natural retention and storage that captures floodwater, minimizing damage. An increase in the flood frequency has been observed in recent years. It is commonly perceived that this increase is cau...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water international 2017-10, Vol.42 (7), p.874-892
Main Authors: Eriyagama, Nishadi, Thilakarathne, Madusanka, Tharuka, Praveen, Munaweera, Tharindu, Muthuwatta, Lal, Smakhtin, Vladimir, Premachandra, Wickrama Waththage, Pindeniya, Dhammi, Wijayarathne, N. S., Udamulla, Lakshika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
Catchment area
Catchments
Climate
Climate effects
Environmental risk
extreme events
Flood damage
Flood frequency
flood retention
Floods
Floodwater
Frequency analysis
Human influences
Land
Land use
Man-induced effects
Networks
Rainfall
Risk
Risk perception
River discharge
Sri Lanka
Storage
urbanization
Water resources management
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Summary:The Kalu Ganga Basin in Sri Lanka is generally flooded once a year. A network of low-lying lands acts as natural retention and storage that captures floodwater, minimizing damage. An increase in the flood frequency has been observed in recent years. It is commonly perceived that this increase is caused by a rise in the frequency and severity of 'very wet' precipitation events. We conclude that land-use changes may have played a larger role in generating floods.
ISSN:0250-8060
1941-1707
DOI:10.1080/02508060.2017.1373321