RSD 15 - Data in relation
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
Traces
Between the Ripples
Mapping the lived narratives of the 2025 Punjab [floods]
KEYWORD
Kashika Chawla ¹, Vivek Kant ¹
#disaster response #lived narratives #flood memory
#Punjab floods #synthesis map
1 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
ABSTRACT
Between the Ripples maps the lived narratives of the flood-affected individuals of the 2025 Punjab floods through a systemic design lens. The gigamap uncovers flood memory, emotion, and local knowledge as forms of evidence often excluded from formal disaster response. It aims to bridge lived experience and technical knowledge by tracing how information, power, and memory move between communities and the administration, thereby surfacing leverage points for more inclusive flood recovery and preparedness.
CREATIVE PROCESS
The study combines field observations, thematic analysis of interviews, and comparisons with the 1988 floods to map the lived narratives of the 2025 Punjab floods. Insights on decision-making, cognition, and information flow were layered onto the gigamap, synthesising primary and secondary data into a single system of memory and information. The map is visualised through the metaphor of “ripple effects of the floods,” showing how each ripple (theme) can impact the entire system.
IMPLICATIONS AND NEXT STEPS
The map reveals a structural gap: those with the deepest knowledge of the ground hold the least power to act on it. It calls for flood response frameworks that formally incorporate local and intergenerational knowledge. Next steps include validating interpretations with the surveyed communities and translating identified leverage points into actionable interventions.
References
Bandyopadhyay, S., Banerjee, S., & Banerjee, S. (2024). Resilience to future floods through flood memory approach: An example from West Bengal, India. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 112, 104788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104788
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., & Wisner, B. (2004). At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. Routledge.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124