Massive Rock Broke From Left Valley Of Raunthi Gad, Main To Uttarakhand Flood In February: Record
January 2021 was once the warmest January on file in Uttarakhand in six many years, the record states. (Document)
New Delhi:
An enormous mass of rock and snow broke from a left valley of Raunthi Gad, crashing down within the Rishiganga valley and triggering a dangerous flood within the Rishiganga river that burnt up a hydel energy plant in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district in February, a record by way of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has stated.
In line with Saibal Ghosh, Director, Geo-hazard Analysis and Control (GHRM) Centre, GSI Central Headquarters, the development was once initiated by way of a “snow/ice/rock” mass avalanche, together with a portion of jointed rock mass having an approximate measurement of 400m x 700m x 150m, from the left valley wall of Raunthi Gad (a left-bank tributary of the Rishiganga river).
“The dislodged rock or ice constituting from the avalanche crashed to the Raunthi Gad valley ground after travelling about 2,900 metre with a vertical fall of round 1,800 metre.”
“The power of have an effect on at an overly excessive pace has pulverised the snow/ice/rock, but even so producing soften water, and all of the dislodged subject material of snow/ice/rock has abruptly flown within the downstream of Raunthi Gad and extra down the slope alongside the Rishiganga valley, inflicting this large deluge and affects to the elements-at-risks uncovered throughout its trail, together with the formation of a brief lake at the Rishiganga river simply right away upstream of the confluence with Raunthi Gad,” Mr Ghosh was once quoted as announcing in a commentary.
He identified that adjustments have been additionally seen within the hydro-meteorological stipulations between February four and February 6 (heavy snow fall adopted by way of surprising hotter local weather), which most likely brought about this large snow and rock avalanche or a landslide, inflicting a surprising domino impact of flash flood downstream.
January 2021 was once the warmest January on file in Uttarakhand in six many years, the record states.
The particles from the river burnt up the 13.2-MW Rishiganga Hydel Mission close to Raini and the barrage web page on the under-construction Tapovan-Vishnugarh Hydel Mission (520 MW) of the Nationwide Thermal Energy Company (NTPC) at Tapovan was once seriously broken by way of the debris-laden flood water.
Then again, no primary harm has been spotted additional downstream of Joshimath, however the fury of the flash flood reached right down to the Srinagar reservoir web page in Rudraprayag district.
Greater than 72 other folks have been killed the incident and a number of other are nonetheless lacking.
Vulnerability of the open joints in rock mass within the high-altitude spaces, the place freeze and thaw movements are prevalent, and the spaces that face dangers posed by way of smaller mountain glaciers or glacierets also are changing into necessary places the place such form of danger can also be initiated, the record stated.
The steep upper order streams and the slim river valleys within the high-altitude spaces of the Himalayas stay extraordinarily danger inclined, which don’t seem to be simplest susceptible to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) or Landslide Lake Outburst Flood (LLOF) hazards, however have additionally develop into locale for a big crisis led to because of the domino impact of a big or mega landslide or avalanche, it added.
Straight away after the crisis, the GSI, the 171-year-old premier geo-scientific organisation of the rustic, constituted a group of professionals to determine the reasons resulting in the crisis.
In line with Satya Prakash Shukla, DDG, World Affairs Department, GSI Central Headquarters and the chief of the group of geoscientists who performed the first-hand find out about of the crisis web page, “More than one classes had been learnt from this match of February 7, which is a superb however merciless instance of multi-hazard phenomena that came about throughout the iciness time, when this sort of a phenomenon resulting in this kind of disastrous deluge is the least anticipated within the Himalayas.”
It seems that, no flooring proof has to this point been seen favouring the incidence of a GLOF inflicting this match, the record stated.
It was once ascertained that the momentum of the flowing particles was once extremely excessive and the similar allowed a backflow of the particles close to the confluence between the Rishiganga river and Raunthi Gad, and in addition close to the confluence with the Dhauliganga river.
A synthetic dam was once shaped close to the confluence of Raunthi Gad and the Rishiganga river by way of the flowing particles, which blocked the go with the flow of the river and shaped a small lake, briefly posing every other domino impact.
A find out about performed by way of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology has additionally pointed to equivalent findings.
A find out about by way of the Nationwide Far off Sensing Centre of the Indian House Analysis Organisation (ISRO) has indicated that the time taken from the initiation of the avalanche and its disastrous have an effect on as much as the Tapovan barrage web page close to Joshimath was once slightly 50 mins, which signifies the provision of an overly low lead time for elevating any caution for the downstream spaces.
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