Most landslides occur during the monsoon season, but the one around Sari in Rudraprayag district of Uttrakhand occurred during the winter season on February 28, 2022. Despite there being no causalities, occurrence of landslide during the winter season is certainly unusual. After winter season flood in Dhauliganga in February 2021 and post-monsoon rainfall induced landslides in Nainital in October 2021, this incidence highlights the surprises and challenges in store for disaster managers, and they are accordingly required to gear up their preparedness.
Landslide
Explosives and earthquake threat
Restricting explosive use in construction works in Himalayas is welcome and this is to help in effectively managing landslides in Himalayas. Explosive use however does not have any impact on earthquake risk.
Efficient rainwater disposal for the safety of Nainital
Recent landslides in Nainital are warning of a major devastation and are owed to non-maintenance and encroachment of the drainage network meticulously planned during the British Raj.
Slope monitoring around Nainital
Successful monitoring of the hill slope around the Naini lake by British Raj authorities highlights the importance of vision, resolve and will power over technology and resources.
Mitigation Measures to Protect the Lake City
Not many would believe, but the expert committee constituted 04 days after Sher-ka-Danda landslide carried out detailed field investigations, established the causes of slope instability, and recommended not only elaborate mitigation measures but also suitable implementation mechanism in just 19 days, and these were actually implemented on ground in less than 02 years. The Lake […]
Sher-ka-Danda landslide of 1880
More than the devastation caused in Nainital town, Sher-ka-Danda landslide of September 18, 1880 needs to be remembered not only by Disaster Managers but also by the masses for prompt and detailed post-disaster investigations, and enactment of not only mitigation but also monitoring measures undertaken during the British Raj. 18 सितम्बर 1880 को नैनीताल में […]
Landslide disasters and rainfall forecasts
Landslide is a commonly occurring phenomenon in all the mountainous regions of the world, with even the developed countries like Japan not spared. What however follows in these countries is quite different from what we practice. Rather than shifting the blame on abnormal rains and trying to manage landslides based on weather forecasts, the reasons that […]
Traditional landslide management practices of Himalaya
Ignorance of traditional practices under the lure of economic opportunities, comfort, and convenience have aggravated the menace of landslides in the Himalayan region. The Himalayan region has always been prone to a number of hazards that are generally owed to its unique tectonic and geomorphic setup as also evolutionary history, and meteorological conditions. Stabilisation of […]