[Answered] Highlighting the reasons behind and impacts of Cloudburst, discuss the measures to prevent and reduce the devastating impacts of cloudbursts.

A cloudburst refers to an extreme amount of rain that happens in a short period, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines it as unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm (or 10 cm) per hour over a geographical region of approximately 20 to 30 square km. All instances of cloudbursts involve heavy rain in a short period, but all instances of heavy rain in a short period are not cloudbursts if they do not fit this criterion.

Reasons behind Cloudburst:

• It is difficult to predict when exactly a cloudburst will occur. However, they are more likely to occur in mountainous zones mainly because of terrain and elevation.
• Cloudburstsare mostly caused by an excessive amount of condensation in the clouds during a thunderstorm. During a thunderstorm, the warm air currents pull the falling drops of water upwards creating an excess accumulation of water in the clouds. If it reaches a point where the upward air current is weakened, it results in sudden precipitation and downpour of all the accumulated water, in a short time causing floods in the surrounding areas.

Impacts of Cloudburst:

• Flooding: A cloudburst can have a devastating impact triggering flash floods. These floods can cause uprooting of trees and movement of boulders and other debris.
• Damage to infrastructure: Cloudbursts can also damage houses, roads, loss of bridges because of the sheer force in which the downpour occurs.
• Landslides: Sudden heavy rain caused by cloudburstsin hilly and mountainous areas can trigger landslides.
• Another effect of cloudbursts is the damage they can cause to trees, plants, and crops, loss of arable land, livestock.

Measures to prevent and reduce the devastating impacts of cloudbursts:

• Regulation of construction activities along river banks with special consideration to water level during heavy rainfall.
• Strengthening of embankments, barrages and dams to constrain & regulate water flow.
• Localized planning taking into consideration the ecologically fragile nature of the region and involving the local communities’
• Regulate infrastructure projects and preserve the sanctity of eco-sensitive zones.
• Better forecasting by IMD and incorporation of advanced technology to monitor and predict extreme weather events can enable early warning, evacuation and preparedness
• Adoption of ecofriendly policies and eco-sensitive tourism for development of the region.
• Incorporation of disaster management and prevention into the developmental planning process.

Utilization and leverage of local knowledge, resources, can have a multiplier effect on mitigation. Participation of local bodies such as NGOs, Gram Sabhas, Panchayats can strengthen the entire framework of disaster management.