{"id":82301,"date":"2021-02-15T17:07:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T11:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=82301"},"modified":"2021-02-15T18:50:15","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T13:20:15","slug":"disaster-management-in-uttarakhand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/disaster-management-in-uttarakhand\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasons and Solutions for disaster management in Uttarakhand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Synopsis: <\/strong>There are various reasons for Disasters in Uttarakhand. It can be prevented by taking some long-term measures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/glacial-lake-outburst-flood-glof-in-uttarakhand-explained\/\"><strong>glacier burst<\/strong> in the Chamoli<\/a> district of Uttarakhand caused the flash<strong> floods. It <\/strong>led to the death of 34 people with more than 170 people missing.<\/li>\n<li>Apart from that, it also caused destruction to public and private infrastructure. For example, It damaged the<strong> NTPC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/tapovan-vishnugad-hydropower-project\/\">Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project<\/a><\/strong> and the <strong>Rishiganga mini-hydro project.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The recent disaster reminds the 2013 disaster in Uttarakhand which resulted in the death of thousands of people.<\/li>\n<li>The scientific community still doesn\u2019t have the exact reason for the cause of this disaster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What are the possible reasons for the cause of the disaster in Uttarakhand?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The scientific community still doesn\u2019t have the exact reason for this disaster. However, some possible reasons are discussed below.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First,<\/strong> the Natural ecology of Uttarakhand and its <strong>fragile mountain ecosystem<\/strong> is prone to such disaster. Uttarakhand is located between the young and unstable mountains. Moreover, intense rainfall makes it more vulnerable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Second,<\/strong> as per <strong>geologists, glaciologists, and climate experts,<\/strong> climate change, rapid and indiscriminate construction activities, and the subsequent ecological destruction are disturbing the balance of the ecosystem in this region.\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>For example, <strong>The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment Report (2019)<\/strong> had pointed out that one-third of the Hindu Kush Himalaya\u2019s glaciers would melt by 2100. It may happen even if all the countries in the region fulfilled their commitments under the <strong>Paris Agreement<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It also warned that any ecologically destructive activities would lead to more intensified disasters like landslides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Third, according to the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology<\/strong>, rock mass might have weakened due to intense freezing<strong> and thawing of snow<\/strong>. This may have created a weak zone. Fractures led to a collapse that resulted in flash floods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fourth,<\/strong> Experts also opine that <strong>massive deforestation<\/strong> is a possible reason for the disaster. For example, in 2014, the <strong>Chopra committee<\/strong> established that the haphazard construction of dams can cause irreversible damage to the region.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fifth,<\/strong> there are also possibilities that the use of explosives in the construction of dams and other infrastructure would have weakened the rock strata.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What needs to be done?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First, <\/strong>Government should Invest in <strong>long-term crisis response mechanisms and resilience solutions<\/strong> such as,\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Flood prevention and rapid response.<\/li>\n<li><b>R<\/b>oad stabilization technologies for fragile road networks, bridges, culverts, and tunnels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strengthening embankments<\/strong> using scientific knowledge.<\/li>\n<li>Investing in monitoring and <strong>early warning system.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Investing in training and <strong>capacity building of local communities<\/strong> to prevent and manage risks effectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Second,<\/strong> hydropower and other public infrastructure projects need reassessment based on the sensitivity of local ecology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Third,<\/strong> implementing pragmatic policies and regulatory guidelines such as responsible <strong>eco- and religious tourism policies<\/strong>. This will restrict detrimental human activities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fourth,<\/strong> applying innovative and inclusive solutions that support nature and marginalized communities, to restore and rebuild a resilient future for Uttarakhand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synopsis: There are various reasons for Disasters in Uttarakhand. It can be prevented by taking some long-term measures. Background: The glacier burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand caused the flash floods. It led to the death of 34 people with more than 170 people missing. Apart from that, it also caused destruction to public&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/disaster-management-in-uttarakhand\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Reasons and Solutions for disaster management in Uttarakhand<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[1446,1477],"class_list":["post-82301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-disas_3","tag-disas_4","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}