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HomeEnvironmentFlash floods due to heavy rainfall in Uttarkashi's Dharali, but IMD yet...

Flash floods due to heavy rainfall in Uttarkashi’s Dharali, but IMD yet to confirm ‘cloudburst’

'Can say for sure conditions were favourable for extremely heavy rainfall,' says IMD director. At least 4 people have died & more than 50 are feared missing.

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New Delhi: The Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand recorded 12.7 cm rainfall between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm 5 August, according to the India Meteorological Department. The massive downpour caused flash floods in Dharali village, where at least 4 died and more than 50 are feared missing. It also led to the flooding of the Kheer Ganga river.

“We cannot say for sure whether there was a cloudburst. Based on data gathered from our stations in Uttarkashi, there wasn’t. But we can say for sure that conditions were favourable for extremely heavy rainfall,” IMD Director Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told ThePrint.

“However, since this is the upper Himalayas, there could have been a cloudburst in some remote regions, beyond our stations.”

On Tuesday afternoon, flash floods and landslides inundated the Dharali village of Uttarkashi, which is located 2,680 metre above sea level. The Dharali village is very close to Gangotri and is a major stopover for pilgrims on the way to the Gangotri Dham.

It is also located 3 kms away from the Hershil village, another tourist destination. According to a Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority press release, a ‘cloudburst’ around 1:40 pm in Hershil led to landslides and debris accumulation in Dharali market.

“Whether it is a cloudburst or not is determined by a specific amount of rainfall falling in a short duration of time,” explained Dr. Raghu Murtugudde, a retired professor of Climate Studies at IIT Bombay. “Even if the event in Uttarkashi doesn’t qualify as a cloudburst, because it happened on a slope and near a river, the flooding and erosion were immediate.”

The IMD had issued warnings of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in all of Uttarakhand, including the Uttarkashi district from 1 August onwards. All six weather stations in the Uttarkashi district recorded significant rainfall on August 5, with the one at Sankri recording the highest amount at 4.3 cm. Gangotri received 0.1 cm while Harshil received 0.8 cm.

An inundated road at Dharali in Uttarkashi | X/@UttarkashiPol
An inundated road at Dharali in Uttarkashi | X/@UttarkashiPol

Overall monsoon still low in Uttarkashi

The overall rainfall in Uttarkashi though, is still low compared to other districts in the state. From 1 to 5 August, Uttarkashi’s recorded rainfall was 6 percent lower than the average rainfall during this period. During the period, places like Haridwar experienced 238 percent more rain than normal, while Dehradun saw 67 percent more rain than usual.

“But you have to keep in mind that Haridwar and Dehradun are almost plains compared to a village like Dharali,” said Y.P. Sundriyal, a geologist based in Uttarakhand. “Uttarkashi is much more hilly and runs the risk of floods even with low rainfall,” he added.

Over the monsoon season so far this year in the state, Uttarkashi has recorded 7 percent lower rainfall than average. In fact, only Chamoli and Bageshwar districts have recorded higher-than-average rainfall in Uttarakhand during the monsoon, with all other districts getting less than the normal rainfall.

Raghu Murtugudde pointed this out, talking about the “flip” noticed in the districts over the last two days as compared to the entire season.

In a post on X, he said that the northern low-level jets, which are a stream of monsoon-carrying winds over North India, brought moist air from the Arabian Sea. Also, the easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal brought more moisture, taking the monsoon over Uttarakhand and other parts of North India “on steroids”.

 

Murtugudde also spoke about the impact of climate change. “Every weather event right now is happening in a much warmer world than before. But this specific event in Uttarkashi can be traced back to rapid warming of the Mediterranean, which in turn strengthened the westerlies’ jets going towards North India and Pakistan,” he explained.

A 2022 study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  found that temperatures in the Mediterranean were rising 20 percent faster than the rest of the world, and had breached the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold back in 2022 itself. 

Mindless construction  

Sundriyal pointed out the risks of building infrastructure near the floodplains and other hilly areas in the era of climate change. “The rains are one thing, but most of the damage we’re seeing in Dharali right now is because we had constructed so close to the riverbed, in such a risky area,” he said.

“How many times will the government issue warnings, and then an incident like this happens with loss of life and property, and then the government gives compensation again? Why are we allowed to build in unsafe places at all?” he asked. 

The IMD has issued continued warnings for heavy rainfall from 6 to 9 August in Uttarakhand. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said late Tuesday  that both the Army and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) are working to rescue people in Dharali. Other government departments, he added, are working to restore electricity and water supply and provide medical and food support to the stranded people.

As of Tuesday night, Dhami said, 70 people had been rescued, however the authorities are working to rescue all others feared trapped in the landslide.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)


Also Read: Monsoon fury in Himachal: 20 labourers working at hydroelectric project feared swept away in flash floods


 

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