Uttarakhand Avalanche: 07 February 2021

Disaster struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on February 7, 2021, in the form of an avalanche and deluge, after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off. This ppt is made for education purpose only.

1. UTTARAKHAND AVALANCHE Manvik Joshi

2. At a Glance Date 7 February 2021 Cause Undetermined Deaths 62 Property damage Most houses are damaged. Few houses that remain undamaged on the site were covered in slush upto 20 feet deep.

3. Causes The flooding was caused due to caused by a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier breaking off early on 7 February, releasing the water trapped behind the ice, and causing a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF). GLOF = is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake . As per another report, landslide had triggered the disaster. The flood was caused by a portion of glacier being torn away and causing a landslide. (The Times, London) Climate change is the major factor in the rapid freezing and thawing of ice that causes glacier fractures.

4. Damage The Rishiganga power project on the Rishiganga river, a tributary to the Dhauliganga River , was damaged along with loss of man power. The Dhauliganga Dam at the confluence of the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers was washed away by the floodwaters. Severely affected= Chamoli, Joshimath , Rini , Nanda Devi National Park , Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant and Sridhar. Flash floods also impacted a hydro project owned by the NTPC with around 176 laborers working on a project which had two tunnels where those workers were trapped. Bridge in tapovan area which connected 13 villages damaged.

5. Relief & Efforts Emergency crews managed to rescue 16 workers who had been trapped inside a tunnel. Another 35 to 40 workers are thought to be trapped in a second tunnel. Two C-130J Super Hercules with 3 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the rescue mission. Many villages were earlier evacuated as authorities emptied two dams farther down the river to stop the floodwaters from reaching towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh .

6. My Views Government of India has been warned for many years that the Himalayas had been warming at a dangerously high rate and the region's ecosystem had become too physically exposed to the dangers of development projects. People's Science Institute in 2014 had advised against building dams in the paraglacial zone, i.e. river valleys in which the floor is higher than 7,000 feet, but the Government of India disregarded their objections. Amount of damage this storm wreaked and the casualties along the way has the clear signature of the impact of human intervention in the region. So, we have to check and recheck our activities that harm our nature. Apart from political highlights citizens must also focus on nature.

7. May God give eternal peace to all who had lost their lives in catastrophe.

8. For Further Readings https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/uttarakhand-glacier-flash-flood-rishiganga-death-toll-7180258/ https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/chamoli-uttarakhand-glacier-burst-alaknanda-river-tragedy-disaster-management-tapovan-hydel-project https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/uttarakhand-glacier-burst/article33798748.ece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Uttarakhand_flood https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/uttarakhand-glacier-burst-53-bodies-recovered-search-on-for-survivors-2370716 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmXI7YlsVQ