The flood zones surrounding the waterways that run through the Kashmir region are not clearly demarcated based on how much flood load the river can carry. Because of this, no clearly defined rules or regulations exist about where it's safe to build. The result is what Thakkar calls "encroachment" of the river bed—residential and government buildings (even hospitals) have been cropping up on vulnerable areas near the Jhelum River. The river "embankments," meant to stop the flooding, only give a "false sense of security," he says, enabling more careless building.

Local water bodies such as lakes have also been neglected, and so their water-holding capacity is negligible. Existing and future hydropower projects are partly responsible.  

"These projects, all of them involve damming of rivers, submergence, deforestation, tunneling of the rivers, blasting, diversion of the rivers," Thakkar says. All of those processes increase the possibility of landslides and flash-floods.

The problem lies in the way government and builders in India have been intervening in traditional urban planning and management practices, says Saleem Beg of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage.

In the past, only those who had river-related occupations tended to live by the river and evacuate immediately at the first flood warning. Residential areas, including villages, in this region were traditionally built on higher ground. Natural topography was used to divert flood water, and simple early-warning systems were in place, he says.