Flood damage assessment of an urban area in Chennai, India, part I: methodology

Floods are random phenomena that not only cause damage to the lives, natural resources and the environment, but also affect the health of people. The severity of flooding tends to increase with urbanization. Socio-economic impacts of floods depend on the area, duration and depth of inundation, population density, housing typology, construction materials of dwellings, etc. This article examines the different available methods to trace the flood damage and illustrates the methodology to explore the economic loss through social investigation in Velachery, a part of urban Chennai in India. This paper is Part I of a two-part series in which the objectives and methodology are discussed. Based on the objectives and methodology developed for the study, a comprehensive flood management strategy can be proposed for the efficient management of future flood disasters. The results of the study are discussed in Part II.