Climate
The Natural disaster that occurred in Uttarakhand in 2013.
What was the DISASTER ?
From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining areas suffered from a natural disaster.
Landslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures, killing those who were trapped.The heavy rains resulted in large flashfloods and massive landslides.
Entire villages and settlements such as Gaurikund , Ram Bada were destroyed.
On 18 June, more than 12,000 pilgrims were stranded at Badrinath,
Many hotels, rest houses and shops around the temple in Kedarnath township were destroyed, resulting in several casualties
The temple was flooded with water resulting in several deaths due to drowning and panic-driven stampede
Over 70,000 people were stuck in various regions because of damaged or blocked roads
For more than three days, stranded pilgrims and tourists were without rations or survived on little food
As late as September, 2013, about 556 bodies were found out of which 166 bodies were found in highly decomposed state during fourth round of search operations.
Reasons for the disaster ( I )
Natural
Reason
From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining areas received heavy rainfall, which was about 375% more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon.
In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand
This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 metres, and eruption of the Mandakini River which led to heavy floods
A massive landslide occurred upstream in the north-east region of the Kedar valley. Heavy rainfall occurred at the same time formed a small lake in the north-west of the valley. The debris from the landslide and water from the lake travelled down the slope, channeled into the glacier, and came down to Kedarnath town.
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
Reasons for the disaster ( II )
Manmade
Reasons
Large scale deforestation in Uttarakhand
Unchecked large scale tourism and unplanned construction of buildings in fragile areas.
Many hydro electricity dams and other mining and power projects in the area has led to the diversion of river water leading to major disasters.
Historical significance of places in Uttarakhand where disaster was more severe
Most of The upper Himalayan territories Uttarakhand are full of forests and snow-covered mountains which led to the disaster due to glacial runoff
Pilgrimage centres in the region, include Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, which were the reasons for a large number of pilgrims present during the disaster
Steps taken by the government
The Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas and announced 10 billion aid package for disaster relief efforts in the state
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,
Government agencies and priests of Kedarnath temple planned mass cremation of the hundreds of victims, after one week of tragedy
the Defence Ministry deployed more than 45 Army and IAF choppers along with more than 10,000 troops in the state. evacuated over 1,500 people. The Army has so far rescued more than 11,000 people, About 10,000 people are also being provided food and medical assistance,"