The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc on the region because of the fragile nature of the Himalayan range and poor soil stability in its steep slopes. But it is mand-made factors that have compounded the scale of the disaster. Read this special report by Down To Earth.
Residents of Charu Khet say they would have been languishing in apathy if not for the deluge It is a small hamlet of about a dozen households just off the national highway near the Narendra Nagar bypass in Tehri district. And Charu Khet is noticeable only because of a huge …
An important challenge in geomorphology is the reconciliation of the high fluvial incision rates observed in tectonically active mountain ranges with the long-term preservation of significant mountain-range relief in ancient, tectonically inactive orogenic belts. River bedrock erosion and sediment transport are widely recognized to be the principal controls on the …
It’s clear that the devastation caused by the flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand was at least in part due to environmental degradation of fragile mountain slopes and reckless commercialization. Yet, weeks before the calamity — during a meeting in Delhi with plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on …
Intense rains in Kedarnath-Badrinath unleashed death and destruction Facing criticism that it didn't predict the cloudburst that ravaged Uttarakhand, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday that cloudburst was not to blame for the disaster that has killed hundreds. Rather, it were the intense rains in the Kedarnath-Badrinath sector …
Kathmandu, June 24: The government said that death toll from the floods and landslides in the Mid Western and Far Western Development Regions has reached 37. Eight persons were still missing and over 137 houses, including government offices, were completely damaged in the flash floods triggered by the torrential rainfalls …
What could turn out to be Uttarakhand’s worst tragedy was a disaster waiting to happen. This catastrophe seems to be an amplified version of past landslides and flash floods which typically hit the state in August, after the peak tourism season has ended. Studies on the flash floods and landslides …
The death toll from the floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfalls in the Mid- and Far Western Development Regions of the country has reached 37 while eight persons were still missing and over 137 houses and government offices in Darchula and Kanchanpur were completely damaged, said the Ministry of …
PUNE: Landslides, severe waterlogging and flash floods are natural disasters but environmentalists are firm that their epic proportions are brought on by human activities. Last week, Vishakha Sachin Wadekar (30) and her daughter Sanskruti (18 months) were washed away in the flow of water gushing down the hills near the …
Shimla, June 23: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has drawn the attention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the devastation caused by the rains and snow in Himachal Pradesh and sought prompt assistance. In his letters to the PM and the AICC chief, the Chief Minister …
Rescue and relief operations were intensified on a massive scale today in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand as multiple agencies evacuated the worst-affected Kedarnath town and other areas even as the death toll is feared to be in thousands. Union Home Ministry officials said over 50,000 people were stranded in various parts of …
At least 39 people have died and 19 others have gone missing in floods and landslides in the Mid and Far Western regions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) said on Thursday. It said at least half a dozen were injured in the floods triggered by incessant rainfall. According to …
The Bihar government Thursday announced Rs.5 crore aid to Uttarakhand for relief and decided to send a team of officials to trace at least 300 people from the state still missing in the calamity-hit hill state, an official said. Vayasji, principal secretary of disaster management department, said the state government …
Ecologists point out that the huge expansion of hydro-power projects and construction of roads to cope with the lakhs of tourists in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has compounded the scale of the disaster. Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment said, “This is very much a man-made …
Only 77 could be evacuated as IAF choppers lacked fuel The death toll due to landslides and collapse of houses in Kinnaur rose to 14 with recoveries of four more bodies from Pooh. The airlifting of stranded persons was hampered as helicopters of the Indian Air Force ran out of …
The government has announced a relief package for the flood and landslides victims across the country. Chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi convened an emergency cabinet meeting over the issue with ministers of concerned ministries and other stakeholders related to disaster management and preperadeness on Wednesday and announced …
Landslide triggered by incessant rainfall hit a house in a remote village in Palpa district and claimed the lives of three members of a family on Tuesday night. The deceased have been identified as Khagisara Bahraghare, 46, of Birkot VDC-3, her daughter Nirmaya, 13 and son Manish, 10, the District …
At least 30 people have died and 16 others are missing in the recent floods and landslides in the Mid- and Far-western regions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) confirmed on Wednesday. The ministry also said at least half a dozen were injured in the disaster triggered by incessant rains. …
As the death toll in Uttarakhand mounts and rescue operations continue in various parts of the Himalayan state, environmentalists have been blaming the successive governments ruling the ecologically sensitive region as well as the Centre for the disaster. They claimed that the recent flash floods in the state that ravaged …
Monsoon fury continued to wreak havoc on Uttarakhand on Tuesday with flash floods, landslips and cloudbursts claiming 54 lives and leaving 61,890 Char-Dham yatris stranded in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi districts. Twenty-five thousand people are stranded in Rudraprayag, 27,040 in Chamoli, 9,850 in Uttarkashi, and 900 in Tehri districts. Of …
