If climate change is perceived as a global threat, this can mean that too little attention is paid to the ways in which it affects local populations and settlements. This also means too little attention to the importance of locally driven adaptation, both to reduce risks and to be better …
A cloud burst over arid Himalayan town of Leh in Ladakh on August 6, pouring some 250 mm of rain in an hour. The sudden downpour triggered flash floods and mudslides, killing over 180 people and wiping out the old town of Leh and two villages. Weathermen say the high-altitude …
Cloudbursts are usually triggered by mountain formations that lead to lifting of moisture-laden winds and forming of a convective cloud. Cloudbursts are common in the western Himalaya. Western disturbances over the Leh region on August 5 might have also triggered the cloudburst, said M Rajeevan, of National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, …
Pune Leh cloudburst was an impact of global warming, feel scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. They said extreme events have been increasing in monsoon season due to warming.
Siddharth Kelkar Was the Leh cloudburst a result of the global warming? Scientists at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, think it was.
This draft action plan on climate change by the Orissa government proposes strategies to move towards as a carbon conscious and climate resilient state. It envisages an outlay of around Rs 17,000 crore in 11 key sectors over the next five years and with this, Orissa is the first state …
The present decade could be called as disaster management decade. There have been a number of large mega geo events such as Sumatran earthquake of magnitude 9.3 in December 2004, and destructive earthquakes in India (Bhuj earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on 26 January 2001), Pakistan (Kashmir earthquake of magnitude 7.9 …
Victims of the 2008 Kosi flood in Bihar are awaiting compensation. They cannot farm because their land is full of fine silt. Officials in the flood-affected districts say villagers complain because they don’t understand the formalities—they need to furnish a first information report (fir) and death certificate to claim compensation. …
a tornado accompanied by thunder squall hit parts of northern Bengal and Bihar on the night of April 13 reviving memories of cyclone Aila last year. The meteorological department gave no warning; 129 persons died when the winds blowing at 120-130 km per hour caught them unawares. The storm was …
The Kosi flood disaster of 2008 in Bihar and also in Nepal highlights two key issues relating to flood control. The first is the failure of the structural approach to flood control on the Kosi and the second is institutional dysfunction with respect to trans-boundary flood management. This article discusses …
The 18 August 2008 avulsion of the Kosi River draining the parts of north Bihar in eastern India may well be regarded as one of the greatest avulsions in a large river in recent years. The Kosi River shifted by ~120 km eastward, triggered by the breach of the eastern …
This is the first biennial global assessment of disaster risk reduction prepared in the context of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. It focuses on the nexus between disaster risk and poverty, in a context of global climate change. The 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction is the …
Some of the Arabian Gulf states are busy developing several large, reclaimed islands and offshore townships. These structures are undoubtedly futuristic and the ideas are quite novel. However, there are serious issues of long-term sustainability of these townships. This article reviews and discusses natural hazards that have struck this region …
The breach of the Kosi embankment in Nepal in August 2008 marked the failure of conventional ways of controlling floods. After discussing the physical characteristics of the Kosi River and the Kosi barrage project, this paper suggests that the high sediment content of the Kosi River implies a major risk …
In the Himalayan terrain, the Kosi river is formed by the confluence of seven smaller streams, viz. Indravati, Sun Kosi, Tama Kosi, Likhu Kosi, Dudh Kosi, Arun Kosi and Tamar Kosi at different places in China, Tibet and Nepal, before its entry into the Indian state of Bihar. The Kosi …
The recent Kosi megaflood, caused by a breach in the Kosi embankment in Nepal on August 18, 2008 and a sudden change in the course of the Kosi River, was one of the most significant and damaging flood events ever to hit Bihar. The Kosi disaster also ranks as one …
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a systematic qualitative analysis of the costs and benefits of constructing embankments in the lower Bagmati River basin, which stretches across the Nepal Tarai and into northern Bihar. This paper analyzes the costs and benefits of both structural flood …
The Kosi river in north Bihar plains, eastern India presents a challenge in terms of long and recurring flood hazard. Despite a long history of flood control management in the basin for more than 5 decades, the river continues to bring a lot of misery through extensive flooding. This paper …
Look at the contours of the disastrous consequences of the current Orissa floods in Mahanadi River basin: According to Engineer in Chief, Water Resources Department of Orissa, this is the worst floods in Orissa since 1982. The reason behind this flood disaster is the filling up of the Hirakud Dam …
