SUBMITTED BY:-

SHUBHAM AGRAWAL

EVS PROJECT ON

DISASTER HAPPENED IN

UTTRAKHAND 2013 From 14 to 17 June 2013,

the Indian state of

Uttarakhand and adjoining

area received heavy

rainfall, which was about

375 percent 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 Mandakini

River which led to heavy

floods near Gobindghat,

Kedar Dham, Rudraprayag

district, Uttarakhand,

Himachal Pradesh and

Western Nepal, and acute

rainfall in other nearby

regions of Delhi, Haryana,

Uttar Pradesh and some

parts of Tibet.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, SHUBHAM AGRAWAL and PRIYANSHU RAWAT of

B.Tech-CCVT under enrollment number R110213023,

R110213053 respectively, are highly grateful to Dr. Aarti

Jain for his untiring help and encouragement during the

course of project titled DISASTER HAPPENED IN

UTTRAKHAND 2013. I highly acknowledge, with deepest

sense of gratitude and indebtedness, his great

coordination and support throughout the course of work.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Origin

3. Death and Damage

4. Damage at Kedarnath town

5. Rescue operations

6. Aftermath

7. Relief Funds

8. Environmental issue

9. Scientific Analysis

10. Bibliography

Introduction

In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state

of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the

country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Though parts

of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India, some

regions of Western Nepal, and some parts of Western Tibet also

experienced heavy rainfall, over 95% of the casualties occurred in

Uttarakhand. As of 16 July 2013, according to figures provided by the

Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed

dead." This total included 934 local residents.

Destruction of bridges and roads left about 100,000 pilgrims and

tourists trapped in the valleys leading to three of the four Hindu Chota

Char Dham pilgrimage sites. The Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, and

paramilitary troops evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood

ravaged area.

Origin

From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining

area received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent 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 Mandakini River which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat,

Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and

Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Tibet.

The upper Himalayan territories of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

are full of forests and snow-covered mountains and thus remain

relatively inaccessible. They are home to several major and historic

Hindu and Sikh pilgrimage sites besides several tourist spots and

trekking trails. Heavy rainfall for four consecutive days as well as

melting snow aggravated the floods. Warnings by the India

Meteorological Department predicting heavy rains were not given wide

publicity beforehand, causing thousands of people to be caught

unaware, resulting in huge loss of life and property. In the city of Dehra

Dun, capital of Uttarakhand, this was the wettest June day for over five

decades.

Death and Damage

Landslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures,

killing those who were trapped. The heavy rains in large flashfloods and

massive landslides. Entire villages and settlements such as Gaurikund

and the market town of Ram Bada, a transition point to Kedarnath,

have been obliterated, while the market town of Sonprayag suffered

heavy damage and loss of lives. Pilgrimage centers in the region,

including Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the hallowed

Hindu Chardham (four sites) pilgrimage centers, are visited by

thousands of devotees, especially after the month of May onwards.

Over 70,000 people were stuck in various regions because of damaged

or blocked roads. People in other important locations like the Valley of

flowers, Roopkund and the Sikh pilgrimage centre Hemkund were

stranded for more than three days. National Highway 58, an important

artery connecting the region was also washed away near Jyotirmath

and in many other places. Because summers have more number of

tourists, the number of people impacted is substantial. For more than

three days, stranded pilgrims and tourists were without rations or

survived on little food. The roads were seriously damaged at more than

450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many

cars and other vehicles to be washed away. On June 18, more than

12,000 pilgrims were stranded at Badrinath, the popular pilgrimage

center located on the banks of the Alaknanda River. Rescuers at the

Hindu pilgrimage town of Haridwar on the river Ganga recovered bodies

of 40 victims washed down by the flooded rivers as of June 21 2013.

Bodies of people washed away in Uttarakhand were found in distant

places like Bijnor, Allahabad and Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.

Damage at Kedarnath town

A temple building made in stone and ice capped mountains seen in

background. Situated in the Himalayan ranges, the town that grew

around the Kedarnath Temple one of the famous temples of Shiva in

India and part of the Char Dham yatra, was damaged by the floods and

landslides caused by heavy rain.

Although the Kedarnath Temple itself had not been damaged, its base

was inundated with water, mud and boulders from the landslide,

damaging its perimeter. Many hotels, rest houses and shops around the

temple in Kedarnath Township were destroyed, resulting in several

casualties. Most of the destruction at Kedarnath was caused by a

sudden rapid melting of ice and snow on the Kedarnath Mountain, 6 km

(3.7 mi) from the temple, which flooded the Charbari Lake (upstream)

and then Kedarnath. Temple was flooded with water resulting in several

deaths due to drowning and panic-driven stampede. The Uttarakhand

Government announced that due to the extensive damage to the

infrastructure, the temple will be temporarily closed to regular pilgrims

and tourists for a year or two, but the temple rituals will still be

maintained by priests. Even after a week, dead bodies had not been

removed from Kedarnath town, resulting in water contamination in the

Kedarnath valley and villagers who depend on spring water suffered

various types of health problems like fever, diarrhea. When the flood

receded, satellite images showed one new stream at Kedarnath town.

Rescue operations

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border

Security Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Public Works

Department and local administrations worked together for quick rescue

operations. Several thousand soldiers were deployed for the rescue

missions.Activists of political and social organizations are also involved

in the rescue and management of relief centres.The national highway

and other important roads were closed to regular traffic. Helicopters

were used to rescue people, but due to the rough terrain, heavy fog and

rainfall, maneuvering them was a challenge. By 21 June 2013, the Army

had deployed 10,000 soldiers and 11 helicopters, the Navy had sent 45

naval divers, and the Air force had deployed 43 aircraft including 36

helicopters. From 17 June to 30 June 2013, the IAF airlifted a total of

18,424 people - flying a total of 2,137 sorties and dropping/landing a

total of 3, 36,930 kg of relief material and equipment.

On June 25, one of 3 IAF Mil Mi-17 rescue helicopters returning from

Kedarnath, carrying 5 Air Force Officers, 9 of the NDRF, and 6 of the

ITBP crashed on a mountainous slope near Gauri Kund, killing all on

board. The deceased soldiers were given a ceremonial Guard of honour

by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde at a function organized by the

Uttarakhand State Government.

Aftermath

Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas

and announced INR1000 crore (US$170 million) aid package for disaster

relief efforts in the state. Several state governments announced

financial assistance, with Uttar Pradesh Government pledging INR25

crore (US$4.2 million), the governments of Haryana, Maharashtra and

Delhi INR10 crore (US$1.7 million) each, the governments of Tamil

Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh INR5 crore

(US$850,000) each. The US Ambassador to India extended a financial

help of USD $150,000 through the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID) to the NGOs working in the area.

And announced that the US will provide further financial aid of USD

$75,000.

The Government of India also cancelled 9 batches, or half the annual

batches of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage. The

Chardham Yatra pilgrimage, covering Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath

and Badrinath was cancelled for 2 years to repair damaged roads and

infrastructure, according to the Uttarakhand Government.

Government agencies and priests of Kedarnath temple were planning

mass cremation of the hundreds of victims, after one week of tragedy.

Local youths from several affected villages near Gangotri helped

stranded tourists and pilgrims, by sending messages to their places and

by providing food. Rescuers also retrieved approximately INR1 crore

(US$170,000) and other jewellery from local persons, including some

sadhu babas (or religious men), who reportedly collected it from a

destroyed building of a Bank and damaged shops

Relief Funds

After the disastrous floods, many of the natives were now living without

shelter. Therefore, to help and fund these people, the government and

many other NGO's have decided to lead donation campaigns. One of

such campaigns is known as Goonj. Many newspapers and magazines

have published articles about these campaigns so that the common

people of India can donate some amount of money in order to help

these people.

Environmental issue

Unprecedented destruction by the rainfall witnessed in Uttarakhand

state was attributed, by environmentalists, to unscientific

developmental activities undertaken in recent decades contributing to

high level of loss of property and lives. Roads constructed in haphazard

style, new resorts and hotels built on fragile river banks and more than

70 hydroelectric projects in the watersheds of the state led to a

"disaster waiting to happen" as termed by certain environmentalists.

The environmental experts reported that the tunnels built and blasts

undertaken for the 70 hydroelectric projects contributed to the

ecological imbalance in the state, with flows of river water restricted

and the streamside development activity contributing to a higher

number of landslides and more flooding.

A scientific analysis of the reasons for the disaster that

struck Uttarakhand, particularly the temple town.

By R. RAMACHANDRAN

THE primary trigger for the Uttarakhand disaster following the very

heavy rain during June 16-18 was the extremely unusual behavior of the

monsoon this year over north India. The incessant, heavy rainfall over

three days, perhaps accompanied by a few cloudburst-type events

(which cannot be confirmed), resulted in flash floods and associated

landslides. The devastation all round in their wake has been huge but

the largest impact has been at the temple town of Kedarnath, which

was in the midst of the annual pilgrimage season, with tens of

thousands of people thronging the town and the downstream region

along the Mandakini river .

Rainfall measurements for June 16 and 17 at the Dehradun station, of

220 millimeters and 370 mm respectively, indicate the severity of the

rain during these days in the region. Haridwar received 107 mm and

218 mm of rainfall on the two days. Uttarkashi received 122 mm and

207 mm. While Mukteshwar (altitude over 2,000 meters) received 237

mm and 183 mm respectively on June 17 and 18, Nainital on the same

days received 176 mm and 170 mm. Though rainfall over a 24-hour

period in different parts of Uttarakhand has greatly exceeded these

figures in the past (on many occasions above 450-500 mm and once

even 900 mm at Rajpur near Dehradun), prolonged heavy rainfall for

nearly three days over a large area is perhaps unprecedented, and the

cumulative effect, compounded by geophysical, meteorological and

environmental factors, may be the reason for the enormity of the

disaster.

More pertinently, these numbers do not give the actual quantitative

picture of the very heavy rainfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas

(above 3,000 m) in Uttarakhand, where Kedarnath, Gangotri and

Badrinath are located and where the impact has been most severe. This

is because the rain gauge stations of the India Meteorological

Department (IMD) are all located largely in the lower Himalayan

reaches (below 2,000 m) and there are no stations in the higher reaches

(above 3000 m). This is probably because snowfall data is regarded as

more important than detailed rainfall data in these regions. As a result,

there is no proper estimate of the rainfall in the affected regions

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.google.com

2. Newspapers

3. www.helpageindia.org

4. www.ask.com

5. www.aajtaktv.in