Uttarakhand disaster was result of extreme rains and haphazard development: report

5 Comments Author(s): Soma Basu Date:Jul 15, !1" @sbasu_in

National Institute of Disaster Management suggests guidelines and action plans for development activities after compilation of comprehensive data

It is believed that a combination of events caused the devastation in Kedarnath town. A massive landslide occurred upstream in the north-east re ion of the Kedar valle!. At the same time heav! rainfall formed a small la"e in the northwest of the valle!. #he debris from the landslide and water from the la"e travelled down the slope$ channelled into the lacier$ and came down to Kedarnath town %&hoto b! 'ohit (imri)

#he *ational Institute of (isaster +ana ement %*I(+)$ in one of its first reports on the ,ttara"hand floods$ has blamed -climatic conditions combined with hapha.ard human intervention/ in the hills for the disaster. Sur!a &ra"ash$ associate professor of *I(+$ travelled over a 0$111 "ilometres in flood- and landslide-hit areas of ,ttara"hand between 2une 33 and 34 to prepare the report. 5e sa!s that the abnormall! hi h amount of rain %more than 411 per cent) in the hill state was caused b! the fusion of 6esterlies with the monsoonal cloud s!stem. 5eav! precipitation swelled rivers$ both in the upstream as well as downstream areas. Besides the rain water$ a hu e 7uantit! of water was probabl!

released from meltin of ice and laciers due to hi h temperatures durin the month of +a! and 2une. #he water not onl! filled up the la"es and rivers that overflowed but also ma! have caused breachin of moraine dammed la"es in the upper reaches of the valle!$ particularl! durin the late evenin on 2une 08 and on 2une 09$ "illin about several hundred persons: thousands went missin and about 011$111 pil rims were trapped. &ra"ash sa!s that the Ala"nanda river and the +anda"ini$ both tributaries of the ;an a)$ occupied their flood wa!s and started flowin alon the old courses where habitations were built over time %when the river had abandoned this course and shifted its path to the east side). #hus$ the rivers destro!ed the buildin s and other infrastructure that came in its wa!. 5e e<plains that eomorpholo ical stud! of the area indicates that the surface slopes consist mostl! of lacial$ fluvio- lacial$ or fluvial materials$ which are mostl! unconsolidated and loose in nature. #he draina e studies indicate a mi rator! or shiftin nature of the river s!stems that causes a radations on the concave end of the river and de radation or toe erosion on the conve< part of the river. (ue to morpholo ical settin of the area$ the river has hi h sinuosit! and hence$ hi h level of erosive capacit!$ especiall! when it is loaded with sediments %the erosive power of river with sediments is almost s7uare of the erosive power without sediments).

(ama ed houses in ;ovind hat. #he *I(+ report sa!s that the Ala"nanda and the +anda"ini caused much destruction because

the! returned to their old course where buildin s were constructed over period of time %&hoto b! Indresh +ai"huri)

-#he area has been denuded to a reat e<tent due to deforestation and tree cuttin for road construction$ and other activities such as buildin construction$ minin and h!del pro=ects. It has also resulted in increased surface flow and rise of river bed due to disposal of debris in the rivers$/ the report said. ;eolo icall!$ the roc"s in this area are found hi hl! deformed$ de raded and dissected b! structural discontinuities and draina es. Seismo-tectonicall!$ the area is traversed b! several lineaments$ faults and thrusts$ which are considered to be eod!namicall! active. #he area had suffered an earth7ua"e on +arch 3>$ 0>>> %+-8.?)$ which caused loosenin of roc" masses$ round crac"s and landslides$ besides "illin more than a 011 people due to collapse of buildin s. #hus$ the natural terrain conditions combined with climatic@weather conditions and hapha.ard human intervention made a conducive environment for such a ha.ardous process to ta"e place in this valle!$ said &ra"ash. -#he ha.ard turned into a ma=or disaster when people alon with their properties and infrastructure occupied such areas without ade7uate information$ "nowled e$ awareness and preparedness a ainst the potential disaster$/ he added. #he main ob=ective of &ra"ashAs visit to the affected areas was to observe the ma=or dama es alon the national hi hwa! from 'ishi"esh to Chamoli and interact with people$ includin victims$ relief wor"ers and local people to learn about the event and its impacts. Based on the field observation$ &ra"ash has su ested terrestrial$ meteorolo ical

and anthropo enic data with particular focus on landslides$ rainfall and other information relevant to the event should be collected and compiled. -*ecessar! uidelines and action plans for tourist@pil rima e places and hotels$lod es and uest houses should be developed "eepin in mind the concentration of people at such locations durin the time of disasters$/ he sa!s.