Transcript Uttarakhand Disaster June 2013

Country's worst natural disaster
since the 2004 Tsunami

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.



Fatalities: -About 5,700 (presumed dead) (as
of 16 July 2013)
Damages: 365 houses destroyed, 275 houses
partially damaged (in Uttarakhand) 4,200
villages affected
Areas affected: India (Uttarakhand, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh) Nepal (Far Western
Region, Mid Western Region)
NASA satellite imagery of Northern India on June
17, showing rainclouds that led to the disaster

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.
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 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.

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. The temple will be
temporarily closed to regular pilgrims and
tourists for a year or two
Kedarnath Dham After & Before

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 centers. The national
highway and other important roads were closed
to regular traffic.

Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of
the affected areas and announced 1000 crore aid
package for disaster relief efforts in the state. Several
state governments announced financial assistance,
with Uttar Pradesh Government pledging 25 crore the
governments of Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi 10
crore each, the governments of Tamil Nadu, Odisha,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 5 crore
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.

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
deciding 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.

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.
Kedarnath Dham Before 50Years or More