on 3 in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand August 2012 along Bhagirathi Valley rd A Study on Flash Floods and Landslides Disaster A Study on Flash Floods and Landslides Disaster on 3rd August 2012 along Bhagirathi Valley in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand Surya Parkash World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction ISBN 978-93-82571-10-0 National Institute of Disaster Management World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India National Institute of Disaster Management 5 B, I.P. Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi – 110 002 9 7 8 9 3 8 2 5 7 1 1 0 0 Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India www.nidm.gov.in 5 B, I.P. Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi – 110 002 www.nidm.gov.in A Study on Flash Floods and Landslides Disaster on 3rd August 2012 along Bhagirathi Valley in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand by Surya Parkash, Ph.D. World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction National Institute of Disaster Management Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India 5 B, I.P. Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi – 110 002 www.nidm.gov.in A Study on Flash Floods and Landslides Disaster on 3rd August 2012 along Bhagirathi Valley in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand Report Prepared and Submitted by Dr. Surya Parkash to NIDM, New Delhi during August 2012 ISBN 978-93-82571-10-0 © NIDM, New Delhi Edition : First, 2015 Published by National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi - 110 002, India Citation Parkash Surya (2015). A Study on Flash Floods and Landslides Disaster on 3rd August 2012 along Bhagirathi Valley in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi - 110 002, 230 Pages Disclaimer This document may be freely reviewed, reproduced or translated, in part or whole, purely on non-profit basis for humanitarian, social and environmental well-being, We welcome receiving information and suggestions on its adaptation or use in actual training situations. The content of this documents are solely those of the author (s). The document can be downloaded from http://www.nidm.gov.in Design and Printing Image Print, N -78, Kriti Nagar, New Delhi. jk”Vªh; vkink izca/ku laLFkku ¼x`g ea=ky;] Hkkjr ljdkj½ National Institute of Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India) Towards a disaster free India..... 5B, I.P. Estate, M. G. Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 izks- larks”k dqekj dk;Zdkjh funs’kd Prof. Santosh Kumar Executive Director Foreword As per sections 42 and 43 of Chapter VII of Disaster Management Act 2005, National Institute of Disaster Management has been mandated to undertake documentation studies related to disasters in the country as part of its activities for disaster risk reduction. The Institute has already published some of such documentation studies, viz Kumbhkonam Fire incident, Kosi Floods, Barmer Floods, Sikkim Earthquake, Kutch Earthquake etc. The present report is an endeavour in the same direction where the recent disaster in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand has been studied by Dr. Surya Parkash, Associate Professor, NIDM and published in this document as “A Report on the Study of Flashfloods and Landslides (3rd August 2012) in the Bhagirathi Valley of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. NIDM expresses its unfathomable grievances and condoles the untimely deaths of the victims in this disaster and hopes that the document would bring out various issues, challenges and opportunities that would help in reducing the risk from such disasters in future. The efforts made by Dr. Surya Parkash, Associate Professor, NIDM, are immensily appreciated, especially the fact that he had visited the affected area immediately after the event and gathered relevant information, ideas and experiences to derive lessons from the event and propose onsite suitable recommendations to the relevant stakeholders for avoiding, preventing or reducing the risks in a systematic manner. The readers of the document are requested to provide feedback, comments and suggestions to the Institute for improving specifically the quality of documentation and making it more effective and user friendly to the public, administration, professionals, government and other stakeholders. (Prof. Santosh Kumar) Executive Director vxj mfpr gS vkink izca/ku] rHkh feysxk fodkl dks /kuA Qksu //Ph: +91-11-23702445,QSDl Fax: +91-11-23702446, bZ esy / E-mail:[email protected], osc lkbZV / Website : www.nidm.gov.in iv Preface The monsoon period i.e., June to September is infamous for causing catastrophic and devastating disasters due to cloudbursts, flashfloods and landslides in the hilly terrains, particularly the habituated areas of Himalaya. However, such events also happen during other periods of the year as well, when heavy to very heavy precipitation occurs on susceptible slopes with poor drainage system. Besides the natural factors like geodynamically active seismic belt, immature topography and high to very high intensity rainfalls, the role of human beings in aggravating the impacts of these catastrophic events cannot be over-sighted. The increasing concentration of population over susceptible unstable slopes and ill-developed planning / mining / construction of habitations as well as highways, infrastructure in close proximity with the rivers or footslopes without proper protective measures have added to the woes of the people who suffer from the impacts of these hazardous events. The victims include the local community, pilgrims, tourists, trekkers, labourers, shopkeepers and visitors in the affected locality and indirect impacts are faced by people who depend on trading / resources from these hills. In addition to the haphazard and unscientific developments, lack of adequate disaster risk reduction measures and in efficient disaster management system, results in chaotic and adverse approach leading to delayed and poor risk management. Thus, it is the dire need of the society to revamp the whole system of development and disaster risk management in a proper systematic and scientific way so that incidences and the adverse impacts of such catastrophic events on humanity, environment development and resources can be reduced. The present study of recent disasters (flashfloods and landslides) in the Upper Bhagirathi valley of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India is an endeavour in this direction. The present document provides an insight on the incidences of past disasters, and administrative, demographic, socio-economic and infra-structure perspective of the Uttarkashi district for assessing the vulnerability and capacity of the district in disaster risk reduction. The author has also attempted to discuss the causes and consequqneces of the recent event along with the response by various stakeholders. The report summarises the lessons learnt achieving and recommends measures that would be useful in devising strategies for achieving disaster risk reduction. v The readers are requested to provide their free and frank opinion about the usability of this report vis-a-vis its aims and objectives. Any good and practically acceptable suggestion which would help in strengthening our efforts towards disaster risk reduction would be welcome. (Surya Parkash, Ph.D.) Head Knowledge Management & Communication Division, NIDM, New Delhi E-mail : [email protected] vi Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi for his kind encouragement and support in carrying out the field study and in preparing the present document on Study on Flash floods and Landslides (3rd August 2012) in the Bahgirathi Valley of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. I am grateful to Shri Om Prakash, Principal Secretary (Disaster Management), Government of Uttarakhand; Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Uttarkashi and other civic servants of the state, viz; Shri Sanjay Gunjiyal, DIG Police; Shri B.K. Mishra, ADM; Dr. S.K. Baranwal, Dy. Collector; Mr. Ghildyal, District Information Officer; Shri D.C. Nautiyal, AE (PWD), Uttarkashi; Mr. Kamal Singh Rawat, Local Represenative; Mr. Sharad Singh Chauhan, Mr. Phool Babu, Mrs. Urmila Semwal, Digvijay Singh Negi and Attar Singh Negi – people directly affected by the disaster; Mr. Yogesh Mishra of Infromation and Public Relations Department, Dehradun; and Mr. Girish Gairola, Bureau Chief Garhwal Mandal from Avanti Media Limited (TV 100) for their kind cooperation during the field visit and meeting held with them on the matter. Their inputs and experience sharing have added a great value to this report. Thanks are due to Dr. Piyoosh Rautela, Executive Director, Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, Dehradun and Shri Davender Singh Patwal, District Project Officer, Disaster Management, Uttarkashi for sharing valuable experiences on disaster management. All district and the state officials as well as the local representatives and affected people who have shared information and experiences deserve appreciation for highlighting the response actions, challenges and difficulties faced in managing the disaster. The role of central government agencies in the area, NDRF, ITBP and army in the affected area can never be over emphasized. Special thanks are due to the officials from Border Roads Organization (Shri K.K. Razdan, Shri U.K. Pandey, Col. Sunil Sharma and Mr. Rajesh Singh), Inspector Ajay Pal Singh from ITBP 6th Battalion, the 8th Battalion of NDRF, and