Himalayan tsunami

Msc PHDE, Pokhara University, School of engineering, Cse study on Himalayan tsunami

1. Er. RajanRanabhat
Er. RavindraLalMul
M.Sc. In PHDE-II/I
Roll no. : 12 And 13
SOE, PokharaUniversity
2013 HIMALAYAN
TSUNAMI in India
(June 14
th
-17
th
2013)
Date: 28thJune, 2020

2. 
In June 2013, a multiday cloudburstcentered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand
caused devastating floods and landslides in the country’s worst natural disaster since the
2004 tsunami.

From 14
th
to 17
th
June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining area received
heavy rainfall, which was about 375%more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal
monsoon. This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 meters, and
eruption of the Mandakani River which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat.

The rainfallresultedinextensiveflooding andlandslidesintheregionthatisgeologically
sensitive due toits geographiclocationintheHimalayanmountainrange.Accordingtothe
MeteorologicalDepartments ofIndiaandPakistan,themonsoonadvancingtowards the
westofSouthAsia,combinedwithwesterlywinds resultedinseveraldaysoftorrential
rains. Theweather interactionofthiskindnormallyoccurs betweenOctober andApril,but
extendedtoJune. Theintensitywasalso muchhigherthannormallyseen.
Introduction

3. Figure:StrongwesterliesactiveoverEuropein
April-June2013andcollideoverHimalayanregion
inJune2013

4. Fig:GrowthofUrbanPopulationin
Uttarakhand
Fig:GrowthsofRegisteredVehiclesinUttarakhand
(2002-03to2012-13)
Fig:TouristsFlowinUttarakhand(2000-2012)

5. District Actual rainfall(mm)Normal rainfall(mm)%Departure
Almora 208.7 26.3694
Bageshwar 391.2 26.31387
Chamoli 316.9 22.61302
Champawat 351.0 33.5948
Dehradun 565.4 36.81436
GarhwalPauri 149.7 15.8847
GarhwalTehri 327.7 22.01390
Hardwar 298.8 21.61283
Nainital 506.5 38.81205
Pithoragarh 246.9 73.0238
Rudraprayag 366.3 53.9580
UdhamSinghNagar 157.7 40.2292
Uarkashi 375.6 25.81356
Table1:district-wiserainfalldistributionfromJune 13-19,2013

6. Major causes of Himalayan Tsunami
1.FormationofSmallLake:
SmalllakewasformedduringtherainsaboveKedarnathtown.Itwasa100square
hectarelakewhichcontained10millionliterofwater.Thewaterthatcollectedinthe
lakecamedownalongwiththewaterfromtheglacier.
2.Construction ofRoadsandHydro Project destabilizing mountains:
ThehugeexpansionofroadandtransportbroughtthemountainsinUttarakhanddown.
Itwasamajordestabilizingfactorforamountainandwasanewphenomenonforthe
Himalaya.

7. 3.Heavy RainfallandCloudburst ledto Flashflood
Therewasrainfallof120mmin24hoursbeforetheflashfloodofJune16atKedarnath.
Thelakeburstduetoabreachintheblockadethatformeditsboundary.Coupledwith
heavyraininthearea,thiscausedflashflood.Itisbecauseofthelakethattherewas
excessivestreamrun-offandathirdchannelwasformed.
4.ImpactofClimateChange:
SurfaceairtemperaturesintheIndianHimalayashaveincreasedbyonedegreeCelsiusin
thepastdecade.Astheaverageglobaltemperaturecontinuestorise,acombinationof
"rapidlymeltingHimalayanglaciers,"extremerainfall,andunpredictableseismicevents
causedtheGLOFSinwhichmassivewavesofwatersuddenlychargeddownmountains
andwipedoutentirevillagesandcommunities.

8. Fig : Landslidein lower
Rudraprayagdestroyed a road,
making relief workdifficult
5.MassiveLandslide
:
Itismeantthatmorethan340millimetersof
rainfall(normalrainfallbeingabout66mm)
coincidedwiththepilgrimageseasoninthe
region.Someareasexperiencedthewettest
seasoninover50years.Tomakematters
worse,therewas snowontheground,
therefore,heavyrainfallcombinedwiththe
snowcreatedsuitableconditionsforlandslides
intheaffectedregion.

9. Impacts of the disaster

Socialimpactwasfeltbycommunitiesthatlostover10,000people,foundoveramillion
touristsstranded/evacuated,andlostaccountofthousandsofmissingpersons.Thetotal
numberofaffectedpersonswasestimatedasanastonishing1.6million.Over15,700villages
suffereddestructioncoveringanestimatedareaof96,000sq.km.Atthetimeoftragedy,
about30milliontourists/pilgrimswerepresentintheregion.

Economicimpactbecameevidentwhenthousandsoflivestockwerefounddead,illegal
housingonriverbedswerediscoveredandreported,andthousandsofillegalminingsites
wereuncovered,notified,andstoppedintheregion.ClosetoUSD500millionwerelostin
damages–mostofwhichwasuninsured.

10. 
Environmentally,therewerewatercontamination
concerns,millionsofdollarslostinforestdamage
andlossoffloraandfauna inthisextremely
ecologicallyvaluableandsensitiveregion.Critical
facilitiesandessentialserviceswereseverely
crippledbytheshortageofmedicinesanddrinking
waterinhundredsofvillages.

Criticalinfrastructure,suchasimportantbridges,
roadsconnectingremotelylocatedvillages,water
distributionandhydroelectricplants,andpower
lineswere criticallycompromisedanddamaged.
Estimatessuggest that695waterschemeswere
affectedandover athousandbridges were
damaged.

11. Figure:Kedarnathtempleareaaferthe
landslideinJune2013
Figure:Abridgeonthevergeofcollapse
inKedarnathvalley

12. Devastating effects of the Himalayan tsunami

ChorabariglacierwastheepicentreofthisHimalayanTsunami.Peoplerecallthaton
June16theChorabarilakeexplodedwhencloudsburstoverit.Ensuingrainscutoff
thehillydistrictsofUttarkashi,Rudraprayag,ChamoliandPithoragarhfromthe
mainlandandbatteredthelandtillitcrumbled.

TheragingBhagirathi,AlaknandaandMandakinihadswollenlikeneverbeforeand
sweptawaywhatevercameintheirway.Asmanyas 2,052houseshadbeenwiped
out,147bridgeshadcollapsedand1,307roadsdestroyed.Theupperreachesof
Uttarakhandlookedasiftheregionhadtravelledahundredyearsbackintime.

13. 
TheGangotriandYamunotrihighwayswere
damagedatseveralplaces.

Therivershaddamagedthe36-kmstretch
fromUttarkashitoBhatwariatsixplaces.

ThestretchofroadbetweenMatlitoManeri
inUttarkashiwassobadlydamagedthatit
couldnotbemakingfunctionalformany
months.

Threedrinkingwaterprojectshadgot
washedaway,while 71streamsand40
canalshadbeendamaged.

14. Disaster natural but damage manmade
UttarakhandthehillstateintheHimalayanrangeissofar theworsthit bythe extreme
rainsthatstrucknorthernIndia.Heavy rainfall had wreakedhavoc onthe regionbecause
ofthe fragile natureofthe Himalayan rangeandpoorsoilstabilityinitssteepslopes. Butit
was human-inducedfactors thathadcompoundedthe scaleofthedisaster.
The indiscriminatecuttingof mountainslopesforconstructionofbuildings hadresultedin
fillingoftheflood plains.
Unabated expansionofhydro-power projectsand constructionofroadsto accommodate
ever-increasingtourism,especially religioustourism,weremajor causes forthe
unprecedented scaleofdevastation.

Shortageofdwelling unitshad ledtomushrooming ofillegal structures,somerightonthe
riverbanks.

Themainindicatorofathriving realestatebusinesswastheHimalayasitself, hollowed
downforboulders,pebbles,sandandgravel.Statisticsoftheforestdepartment showed
thatbetween2000and2010,asmany as3,903.24hectaresforestlandwasdivertedfor
miningprojects .

15. Figure:Evidenceofpoorbuildingcodesandlackof
safedevelopmentpractices.
Figure:Kedarnathtempleareain2010,showing
urbangrowth.

16. Emergency Rescue and Relief Operations

Search, rescue and relief operations during Uttarakhanddisaster were the most difficult
operations carried out in the Indian history of disaster management.

Various Central and State level government and non-government agencies played a
significant role in making this operation successful, despite difficult terrain, adverse weather
conditions, disrupted roads and lack of telecom connectivity.

17. Government of India Initiatives

Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India provided necessary support in managing the
UttarakhandDisaster in an effective and efficient manner.

Ministry of Defense and other ministries during June 17-19 to review evacuation and relief
operations. The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) reviewed the situation in the State
on day-to-day basis.

Government of India supported the State Government in carrying out its evacuation and relief
operations by providing support of armed forces and paramilitary forces, including NDRF
.

The supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the air operations was a challenge, which was
successfully met by the combined efforts of the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas.

To restore the communication, 105 satellite phones were distributed by the Government of
India to various Central and state agencies. Besides, the efforts of BSNL towards restoration
of communication were closely monitored by the National Crisis Management Committee.

18. Government of UttarakhandInitiatives

Duringtheentirecrisisperiod,theUttarakhandGovernmentdiditsbesttomanagethe
calamitynotwithstandingthegiganticproportionofthedisaster.

Soonafterthedisasterstruck,theStateGovernmentinitiatedmassiverescueand
evacuationoperationswiththehelpofvariousCentralandStateGovernmentagencies.

TheentirerescueandevacuationoperationwasajointeffortofboththeGovernmentof
IndiaagenciesandtheStateGovernment.

Despitethemostarduousanddifficultterrain,inclementweatherandlackofconnectivity,
approximately1,20,000personsstranded/trappedindifferentlocations(whichincluded
bothpilgrimsandlocalresidents)weresafelyevacuatedandtakentothereliefcamps.

Themajorpartoftheevacuationwasaccomplishedinlessthanafortnightmakingitoneof
thelargestandswiftestrescue/evacuationoperationsbytheciviladministration.

Alltheessentialsupplieslikefood,drinkingwater,medicines,keroseneoil,solarlamps,etc.
werecontinuouslyprovidedbyairdroppingaswellasbysurfacemeans.

19. Government of UttarakhandInitiatives

Atotalof69reliefcampswererun,where1,51,629pilgrims/localresidentswerelooked
after.Somecampscontinuedoperatingbeyondtheemergencyphaseforthelocalresidents.
Approximately900trucksofreliefmaterialwerereceivedfromotherstatesanddispatched
totheaffecteddistrictsfromanodal/reliefcentre,setupatDehradun

Forty-threemedicalteamscomprisingof313doctorsand4977para-medicalstaff,were
deployedandessentialmedicines,bleachingpowderandchlorinewereregularlysupplied.
TheHealthDepartmentoftheStatecoordinatedtheefforttopreventoutbreakofany
epidemic.

TheStateGovernmentestablishedaMissingPersonsCellonJune27attheDisaster
MitigationandManagementCentre(DMMC)atDehradun.The“missingpersons”datawas
managedwiththesupportofInternationalBusinessMachinesCorporation(IBM)
professionals.

FacebookandTwitteraccountswereopened,wherestate-wisephotographsandother
accountswerepostedwhichprovidedaverysuccessfulbackup.

20. Government of UttarakhandInitiatives

Missing Persons Cell made nearly 43,000 calls using the mobile numbers provided by the
Department of Telecommunications which they could collect using the call data between 14
June and 19 June 2013. Statewiselists of missing persons were sent to Chief Secretaries of
the concerned states and repeated follow up was made to validate the information.

After sifting the information through multiple filters, the Missing Persons Cell provided
name-wise information of missing persons, which became the basis of issuing death
certificates, as per procedure prescribed.

21. Role of the Armed Forces

TheArmedForcescarriedouttherescueandreliefoperationswitharemarkablesenseof
urgencyandprofessionalism.Whiledoingso,themostimportanttaskwastotrudgeevery
trailandcombtheentireareaofresponsibility,findsurvivors,liftandassistthestrandedand
shiftthemtoreliefcentres.Thereafter,arrangementsweremadetoevacuatethemsafely.

22. The Indian Army Operations

Atthecommencementofoperations,about5600troopsweredeployed.Butseeingthe
magnitudeoftheproblemtwodayslater,thestrengthwasreinforcedtoapproximately
8,000troops.On21Jun2013,150SpecialForcesParatroopersweredeployedtoundertake
searchandrescueoperationsinvalleys,gorgesandinaccessibleareas.

FourteenhelicoptersofArmyAviationwerepressedintoaction,whichflew737sortiesand
transportedabout30tonsofreliefmaterial.Armyaviationhelicopterswerealsousedto
establishahelicopterbridgeatGovindghatwhichfasttrackedevacuationoperationto
Joshimathsignificantly

AdditionalEngineerTaskForcesweredeployedalongeachaxistoclearthelandslidesand
breaches.Thetroopsweretaskedtoconstructropeways,makeshiftropebridgesandfoot
bridges.

Twenty-fourmedicalteamsweredeployedbytheArmyintheaffectedareasfromMilitary
HospitalslocatedinDehradun/Uttarakhand.TwopsychologistsfromMilitaryHospitalsat
BareillyandJabalpurwerealsodeployed.

23. Indian Air Force Operations

TheunprecedentedmagnitudeofdestructioncausedbytheflashfloodsinUttarakhand
calledforanimmediateandlargescalereliefandrescueeffort.

TheIAFrespondedtothisenormouschallengewithcharacteristicspeed,resolveand
fortitudelaunching‘OperationRahat’.

IAFresourcesweremarshalledfromdifferentcornersofthecountry,andupto45
helicoptersand13transportaircraftwereinvolvedduringthemajorpartoftheoperations.

TheentireIAFteam,beitthemenorwomenwhoflewthehelicoptersinadifficult
environmentmarredbyfrequentspellsofbadweatherorthetransportcrew,pitchedin
withalltheresolve.

TheC-130JHerculestransportaircraftprovidedinnovativesolutionandwasusedasmobile
weatherplatformaswellasanAirborneCommandPost.

TheHerculeswasalsousedasan‘AirBridge’toferryfuelandrescuepeoplefromDharasu
toDelhi.BridgingequipmentfromdistantlocationswasairliftedbyAN-32aircrafttoJolly
GrantairfieldtosupportBROefforts.

24. Figure:ThesatelliteimagesISRO acquiredonJune20, 2013showstheextensive damageKedarnathsuffered
aftertheJune2013floods .

25. Conclusion

FourancientholysitesofUttarakhand(Kedarnath,Badrinath,Gangotri,andYamnotri)innorthern
HimalayanregionofIndiathatarevisitedbymillionsofHindupilgrimsandtouristseveryyearwere
intheimpactarea.Ifthereisanothereventinthefuturethatissimilartothisone,thepotential
impactcouldbetentimesascomparedtotheJune2013event.

Changingnaturalenvironmentandhumaninteractionswithitneedstobeaddressedinorderto
bringmeaningfulawarenessamongstakeholders.

Achallengingaspectoftheparticulareventdiscussedhereisthatitcrossesadministrative
boundarieswhichmakesitdifficulttoprepareforpotentialriskandrespondtothedisaster.Every
summerseason(May-August)millionsofreligiousdevoteesparticipateinthepilgrimagetothe
difficultHimalayanterrain.Therefore,itisimportantthatresiliencebuildingincommunitiesand
institutionsistakenseriously.

Identificationofunsafelocationsandconditionsandassessmentofisavitalfirststeptoward
mitigationoffuturedisasters.riskandvulnerability

Mitigationmeasuresshouldaddressimprovingofroadsandtouristaccommodations,reducing
soilerosioninthehillyterrain,andregularlymonitoringrainfallandriverflowsinthearea.

26. Lessons learnt from the Uttarakhand tragedy / Suggestions

Govt.mustensurecredibleenvironmentalandsocialimpactassessmentof
allactivitiesincludingalldamsandallhydropowerprojectsofabove1MW
capacity,suchassessmentsshouldalsoincludehowtheprojectscanincreasethe
disasterpotentialofthearea,howtheywillaffecttheadaptationcapacityofthe
localpeopleinthecontextofclimatechange,howtheprojectsthemselves
wouldbeaffectedinchangingclimate,amongotheraspects.

Govt.mustensurecredibleenvironmentalcompliancemechanisminplacefor
eachprojectinwhichlocalpeoplehaveakeyrole.Noprojectsshouldbecleared
untilandunlessthereiscrediblecumulativeimpactassessmentforallprojectsin
anyriverbasinandsubbasin,whichincludescarryingcapacitystudy.

27. Certainriversandcertainhighriskzonesshouldbedeclaredasnoprojectareasineach
basin.
Inanycase,thereshouldbeatleast5kmoffreeflowingriversbetweentwoprojects.At
least50%ofriverflowsinleanseasonandatleast30%ofriverflowsinmonsoonseason.
Thisshouldbeapplicableforallprojects,includingexistingandunderconstructionprojects.
Govt.mustputinplacesystemofearlywarning,forecastinganddisseminationforallkinds
ofdisasters,particularlythoserelatedtorainfallandlandslides.Itistechnologicallyfeasible
topredictevencloudburstsatleast3hoursinadvance.A DopplerRadarSystemwas
sanctionedforUttarakhandsince2008thatwouldhaveenabled,butduetolackof
coordinationbetweenNDMA,IMDandUttarakhandgovernment,thiswasnotinplace.
Putinplaceaclearlydefinedmonitoringsysteminplacethatwillgivepromptreportof
actualrainfalleventsevenastheeventstartssothatthedownstreamareapeopleand
administration.

28. Protectionandconservationofrivers,riverbedsand
floodplains,includingaquaticbiodiversity.
Encroachment ofriverbeds and floodplains should notbe
allowed.
Prepareclearlydefinedspaceforrivers,haveriver
regulationzoneinplaceandremoveallillegal
encroachmentsinriverbedsandfloodplainsina
timeboundmannerurgentlythroughlegislative,
followedbyexecutiveaction.
Unsustainable miningofriverbeds should not be allowed.
Fig:NASAsatelliteimageryof
NorthernIndia on17June