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A Case Study of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand

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A Case Study of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand aphy & N r at og u e ra G l Khanduri, J Geogr Nat Disast 2018, 8:2 f D o i s l Journal of Geography and Natural a DOI: 10.4172/2167-0587.1000226 a s n t r e u r s o J Disasters ISSN: 2167-0587 Research Article Open Access Landslide Distribution and Damages during 2013 Deluge: A Case Study of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand Khanduri S* Department of Disaster Management, Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, Rajpur Road, Uttarakhand Secretariat, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India *Corresponding author: Khanduri S, Geologist, Department of Disaster Management, Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, Rajpur Road, Uttarakhand Secretariat, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India, Tel: +919927721776; E-mail: [email protected] Received date: Feb 09, 2018; Accepted date: July 31, 2018; Published date: August 08, 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Khanduri S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract In June 2013 multiple disaster involving flash flood and landslides struck many parts of Uttarakhand state. This caused massive devastation in the state on 16 and 17 June, 2013. In the present paper, attempt was made to analysis the landslide incidences and damages in Chamoli district. A total of 220 landslides were observed in the area. About 92% of slide occurred on northerly (48 percent) and southerly (43 percent) facing slopes. These may be subject to freeze-thaw and drier cycles. Heavy rainfall and low shear strength of the rocks have played a major role in facilitating these slides. Moreover, flooding, loose sediments, excavation of hill slopes and river side constructions are considerably responsible to carved out the disaster. The purpose of this study was to delineate the contributing factors of mass damages as to suggest disaster management strategies for the region. Keywords: Heavy rain; Flood; Landslide; Damage; Chamoli; Future excavated material and prevalent practice of rolling down the same strategy; Badrinath; Garhwal Himalaya makes the area prone to landslides. Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh Introduction districts of Uttarakhand Himalaya have experienced worst forms of Landslide is generally understood as being downslope movement of disaster in recent times. Of these, Chamoli district has a history of rock mass, debris, soil and earth, with or without water, under the repeated natural disasters due to its geological, structural and climatic influence of gravity [1,2]. It includes both consolidated and condition. There are many instances in the recent past when these unconsolidated material originating from a variety of geomorphic catastrophes caused heavy losses to human live and property. These features due to natural and manmade causes. The definition makes it include Earthquake of 1803 damage in Badrinath temple [5], landslide clear that relief is a precondition for any area to be affected by blocked the Birahi ganga in 1868 [6], breached of Rishi Ganga artificial landslides and it is relief that is the must for identifying any area as lake in 1970 [7], bursting of Patal ganga lake in 1970 [8], flash flood of being mountainous. Landslides are therefore characteristic feature of Birahi in 1970 [9], natural hazards around Gopeshwar in 1991 [10], hilly or mountainous areas. Whatever the causative factors of cloudbursts at Bhimtala and Chamoli in 1995 [11], Alaknanda flood in landslides, about 90 percent are triggered during monsoon period 1995 and Chamoli earthquake in 1999 [12], cloudbursts and landslides while the rest take place during winter rains [3,4]. near Badrinath in 2004, debris flows through local nala near Govindghat in 2005 and landslides in 2010 [13]. Though causing immense and recurring loss of human lives, infrastructure and property and often looked upon as curse for the The Garhwal and Kumaun divisions of Uttarakhand state, hilly areas, landsliding is an important landform building process that experienced abnormally heavy precipitation during June, 2013. It has promotes soil formation. Most habitations in the hills are situated on been observed that the increased amount of rainfall drained the stabilized old landslides and over river borne materials terraces. With catchments of Alaknanda, Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Pinder and Kali increasing population pressure and switch over to comfort preferring rivers and their tributaries [14,15]. The impact of deluge of June 2013 life style people increasingly prefer to settle down on these materials was extraordinarily violent and it caused heavy loss of human lives, itself that in many cases is close to the road head and streams. Once infrastructure and property. It has been observed that the increased instability is introduced in the hill slope it often becomes chronic and amount of rainfall drained the catchments of Alaknanda river and its slope instability repeatedly take place at the same place. tributaries. This sudden increase in sediments laden discharge resulted high flood water washed away almost everything falling across its Moreover construction of road in the hills involves change in slope routes. Alaknanda valley in Chamoli district that houses the highly geometry of the hill slope that induces instability in the mass to the revered holy Hindu shrine of Lord Vishnu at Badrinath, was the most upslope side of the road. Adequate measures are often not resorted to adversely affected. for countering this instability that makes the slopes vulnerable to landslides. Appropriate measures are at the same time not resorted to Besides flash floods, heavy and continuous rains in the area induced for ensuring safe and quick disposal of rainwater from the road slope instability and triggered massive mass movements in the area. surface. This often induces landslides in the hill slopes after road Total of 220 landslide incidences together with 30 heavy localized construction. Due care is at the same time not taken for the disposal of rainfall/cloudbursts induced debris flows have been observed in the area around the study on the aftermath of the disaster. Geomorphic and field observations show the presence of a number of tectonic J Geogr Nat Disast, an open access journal Volume 8 • Issue 2 • 1000226 ISSN: 2167-0587 Citation: Khanduri S (2018) Landslide Distribution and Damages during 2013 Deluge: A Case Study of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand. J Geogr Nat Disast 8: 226. doi:10.4172/2167-0587.1000226 Page 2 of 10 contacts that have rendered the area prone to landslides. The area is Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state, Jolly Grant is the airport. also falls in the high seismic Zones V of the Indian Seismic Code [16]. Besides, nearest airport is at Gauchar in the area. The author carried out field work for preliminary slope stability Shri Badrinath temple is one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites assessment in the area. This study is largely based upon the located along the right bank of Alaknanda river at an elevation of observations made during the fieldwork undertaken in the area in year 3,133 m above the mean sea level (amsl). The temple is dedicated to 2013 and 2014. Lord Vishnu and is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India. Shri Hemkunt Sahib (4632 m amsl) is also one of the most famous Study area pilgrimage site of Sikh community situated in the study area. Present study covers Chamoli district that fall in Lesser and Higher Administratively the district is divided into ten tehsils namely, Himalaya and is bounded by Latitude N 29º 15' 00" and 31º 00' 00" and Joshimath, Chamoli, Karnaprayag, Pokhari, Gairsain, Tharali, Longitude E 79º 15' 00" and 80º 00' 00" and falls in Survey of India Narayanbagar, Jilasu, Adibadri and Ghat. The total population of the toposheet numbers 53 O, M and N (Figure 1). Apart from Alaknanda, district is 391,605 out of the male and female populations are 193,991 Pinder is the major river draining this area and has confluence with the and 197,614, respectively. The population density is 49 persons per former at Karanprayag. The geographical area of the district is 7,604 square kilometers and the male, female sex ratio is 1000:1019. The square kilometers. It is the second largest district of Uttarakhand and is average literacy rate is 82.65% of which male and female literacy rate also important from strategic point of view as it shares its northern are 93.40 and 72.32, respectively [17]. boundary with Tibet (China). Methodology and Tools Survey of India toposheets no. 53 O, M, N on the scale of 1:50000 have been use to prepare the base map of the area. With the help of Survey of India toposheets and Handset Global Positioning System (GPS), location of landslides along with debris flows, overburden materials and damages were confirmed in the field. Thematic maps of geology, overburden materials and landslide and cloudburst distribution have been prepared using Geographical Information System (GIS) software (Arc View 9.3). Geomorphology and physiography The topography of the Chamoli region is highly precipitous, consisting of series of peaks as Nandadevi (7816 m), Kamet (7756 m), Chaukhamba (7138 m), Trishul (7120 m), Dunagiri (7066 m), Nandakot (6861 m), Hathiparvat (6727 m), Neelkanth (6596 m), Mana (5545) etc. The slopes of these peaks are covered with glaciers and separated by the traverse, deep, narrow gorges of Alaknanda, Saraswati, Dhauli Ganga, Birhi Ganga, Rishi Ganga, Kail, Pindar, Nandakini etc. rivers. Glaciers, horned peaks, cirques, hanging valley etc., sculpture this zone. The morainic materials occupy the valleys areas. The prevalent landforms are lateral moraines, end moraines, U-shaped glacier valleys, V-shaped fluvial valleys, river terraces and Denudational Structural Mountain. This region is prone to landslides due to high relief, presence of overburden and high precipitation. The Alaknanda river is the main river in the area which originates from Satopanth-Bhagirat Kharak Group of glaciers.
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