2013 North India floods

2013 North India floods

2013 North India floods

NASA satellite imagery of Northern India on June 17, showing rainclouds that led to the disaster Fatalities: Damages: Areas affected: At least 1000 dead (as of 22 June 2013), Many more missing. 365 houses destroyed, 275 houses partially damaged (in Uttarakhand) India (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) Nepal (Far Western Region, Mid Western Region)
[1] []

Map of India showing Dehradun and Shimla, capitals of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh states respectively. In June 2013, the North Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, some regions of Western Nepal and their adjoining areas experienced heavy rainfall that triggered devastating floods and landslides. Parts of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall. As of 22June2013[2], more than 1,000 people have died with many more missing.[] Damage to bridges and roads left over 70,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in various places,[][][] of whom, many were rescued.[][] As of 23June2013[2], about 22,000 people are said to be still stranded.[][] As of 22June2013[2], the death toll in Uttarakhand was reported to be 1,000, with several more missing and more than 60,000 tourists and pilgrims stranded.[][][][][] By 23 June 2013, some sources claimed that the death toll could even rise to 5,000.[][] The official death toll in Uttarakhand by 25 June 2013 was 822.[]

2013 North India floods

Origin
The upper Himalayan territories of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are full of forests and snow-covered mountains and thus remain relatively inaccessible. They are home to several major and historic Hindu pilgrimage sites and at least one such Sikh pilgrimage site besides several tourist spots and trekking venues. From 14 to 17 June 2013 Uttarakhand received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon.[3] This caused heavy floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Tibet.[] In the city of Dehra Dun, capital of Uttarakhand, this was the wettest June day for over five decades.[] Heavy rainfall for four consecutive days as well as melting snow aggravated the floods.[] Warnings by the India Meteorological Department predicting heavy rains were not given wide publicity beforehand, causing thousands of people to be caught unaware, resulting in huge loss of life and property.[]

Death and damage

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 centres 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.[] National Highway 58, an important artery connecting the region was also washed away near Jyotirmath and in many other places.[] Because summers have more number of tourists, the number of people impacted is substantial.[] For more than three days, stranded pilgrims and tourists were without rations or survived on little food.[] The roads were seriously damaged at more than 450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many cars and other vehicles to be washed away.[] On June 18, more than 12,000 pilgrims were stuck at Badrinath, the popular pilgrimage center located on the banks of the Alaknanda River.[][][] As of 22June2013[2], the official death toll in Uttarakhand, based on the collected bodies of the victims, had crossed 550. Rescuers at the Hindu pilgrimage town of Haridwar on the river Ganga have been reported to have recovered bodies of 40 victims washed down by the flooded rivers as of June 21 2013.[] By 23 June 2013, some sources claimed that the death toll could even rise to 5000.[][]

2013 North India floods

Damage to Kedarnath
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 around the temple were destroyed, resulting in several casualties. Most of the destruction at Kedarnath was caused by a sudden rapid melting of ice and snow on the Kedarnath Mountain, 6km (3.7mi) from the temple, which flooded the Charbari lake (upstream) and then Kedarnath. Within the temple, a panic-driven stampede resulted in several deaths.[4] More than 500 people are currently missing from Kedarnath.[] The Uttarakhand Government announced that due to the extensive damage to the infrastructure, the temple will be temporarily closed to regular pilgrims and tourists for a year; but the temple and its rituals will still be maintained by priests.[]The Kedarnath Yatra would also not be held for the next 2 years.[][]

Situated in the Himalayan ranges, the town that grew around the Kedarnath Temple one of the famous temples of Shiva in India and part of the Char Dham yatra, was damaged by the floods and landslides caused by heavy rain.

Rescue operations
The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force, National Disaster Response Force, 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 centres.[] The national highway and other important roads were closed to regular traffic.[] Helicopters were used to rescue people, but due to the rough terrain, heavy fog and rainfall, maneuvering them was a challenge.[] By 21 June 2013, the Army had deployed 10,000 soldiers and 11 helicopters,[][] the Navy had sent 45 naval divers, and the Air force had deployed 43 aircraft including 36 helicopters.[]

Satellite image of the affected region, taken on May 30 by NASA's MODIS.

Other affected regions

Flooding in Nepal About 6000 citizens of Nepal were visiting the Indian region, of which 1,000 were rescued as of June 22, 2013.[5] Flooding of the Dhauliganga and the Mahakali rivers had caused extensive damage, with reports of 128 houses and 13 Same location, shot on June 21 during the height of the floods government offices swept away and over 1000 people [][] homeless. Locals in the Darchula District had claimed that this was because of the rapid release of water from the Dhauliganga Dam, located on the Indian side.[] The Indian Embassy stated that the flooding was because of heavy rainfall on the catchment side of the river, and not the Dhauliganga Dam.[]

2013 North India floods National Capital Region Delhi, Gurgaon and surrounding areas received a high amount of rainfall on 16 June 2013, leading to flooding of the low lying areas of the cities.[6] The Yamuna River swelled to a new high of 207.75 meters submerging the low lying flood plains along the banks.[7][8]

Aftermath
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas and announced 1,000crore (US$170million) aid package for disaster relief efforts in the state.[] Several state governments announced financial assistance, with Uttar Pradesh Government pledging 25crore (US$4.3million),[9] the [10] [11] governments of Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi 10crore (US$1.7million) each, the governments of Tamil Nadu[12], Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 5crore (US$860,000) each while the Gujarat government had announced 2crore (US$340,000).[13] The Government of India also cancelled 9 batches, or half the annual batches of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage.[14] The popular Chardham Yatra pilgrimage, covering Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath was cancelled for approximately 2 years to repair damaged roads and infrastructure, according to the Uttarakhand Government.[] As on June 23, US Ambassador to India Nancy Jo Powell declared financial help of USD 1,50,000 through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the NGOs working in the area.[15] Government agencies and priests of Kedarnath temple were planning mass cremation of the hundreds of victims, after one week of tragedy.[][] Rescuers also retrieved approximately 1crore (US$170,000) and other jewellery from local persons, including some sadhu babas (or religious men), who reportedly collected it from a destroyed building of a Bank and damaged shops.[][] Some of the rings were reportedly stolen after cutting the fingers of the victims.[][]

References
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=2013_North_India_floods& action=edit

External links
Flood video (http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/401151/ watch-dramatic-visuals-of-floods-and-landslides-when-they-first-struck-uttarakhand-on-june-17.html) Image gallery (http://www.indianexpress.com/picture-gallery/ uttarakhand-worst-hit-as-rain-floods-kill-at-least-60-in-north-india/2914-1.html), Indian Express Rescue Updates on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/uttarakhandfloods2013?ref=ts&fref=ts) Uttarakhand Disaster Management Contact Details (http://indialookup.in/uttarakhand-disaster-management/) Uttarakhand Flood Helpline Numbers (http://indialookup.in/uttarakhand-helpline-numbers/) Uttarakhand Flood Relief (http://uttarakhandfloodrelief.org/) Uttarakhand Flood Relief Network (http://uttarakhandfloodrelief.org/) Resources on Uttarakhand (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/ uttaranchal-uttarakhand)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

2013 North India floods Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=561506814 Contributors: AmericanLemming, Anir1uph, Anitek bhattacharya, Another Believer, Apokalyps2547, Benisonpanthaplackal, Boven, Brian Everlasting, Ceranthor, ClaytonD313, D Eaketts, DaGizza, Dharmadhyaksha, Dirty nihgr, Eik Corell, Ekabhishek, Ericoides, Evano1van, Faizan, Fraggle81, GiantSnowman, Gilliam, HMSSolent, Hczar, Hrihr, Inks.LWC, Jarble, Jethwarp, Jguy, Karthikndr, KhushbooVira, Kr1st1deejay97, Kristijh, Magentic Manifestations, Martarius, Mike Rosoft, Neo., NottNott, Oliverlyc, Ottawahitech, Padh12, Ratnakar.kulkarni, Rayabhari, Redtigerxyz, Rif Winfield, Roland zh, Rsrikanth05, Sathyasaagar001, Shail0213, Skycycle, Ssrkchaitanya, Tatiraju.rishabh, Tentinator, ThaddeusB, TheOriginalSoni, ThinkingYouth, Titodutta, Truthanado, Uncletomwood, Utkarshsingh.1992, Wavelength, Yadav eklavya, Yeskarthik, 117 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Northern India 17 Jun 2013.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Northern_India_17_Jun_2013.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Roland zh, Tatiraju.rishabh File:Flag of India.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_India.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie, Mifter File:Flag of Nepal.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Nepal.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Drawn by User:Pumbaa80, User:Achim1999 file:India location map.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:India_location_map.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Uwe Dedering at de.wikipedia File:Kedarnathji-mandir.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kedarnathji-mandir.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Atarax42 File:North India May 2013 satellite preflood.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:North_India_May_2013_satellite_preflood.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). File:North India June 2013 satellite postflood.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:North_India_June_2013_satellite_postflood.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Image:Indian Rupee symbol.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Indian_Rupee_symbol.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Orionist

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