2013 North India floods 1

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: At least 1000 dead (as of 22 June 2013),[] Many more missing.

Damages: 365 houses destroyed, 275 houses partially damaged (in Uttarakhand)[1]

Areas affected: India (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) Nepal (Far Western Region, Mid Western Region)

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 andtheir 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 22 June 2013[2],more than 1,000 people have died with many more missing.[] Damage to bridges and roads left over 70,000 pilgrimsand tourists trapped in various places,[][][] of whom, many were rescued.[][] As of 23 June 2013[2], about 22,000people are said to be still stranded.[][]

As of 22 June 2013[2], the death toll in Uttarakhand was reported to be 1,000, with several more missing and morethan 60,000 tourists and pilgrims stranded.[][][][][] By 23 June 2013, some sources claimed that the death toll couldeven rise to 5,000.[][] The official death toll in Uttarakhand by 25 June 2013 was 822.[]

2013 North India floods 2

OriginThe upper Himalayan territories of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are full of forests and snow-coveredmountains and thus remain relatively inaccessible. They are home to several major and historic Hindu pilgrimagesites and at least one such Sikh pilgrimage site besides several tourist spots and trekking venues. From 14 to 17 June2013 Uttarakhand received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during anormal monsoon.[3] This caused heavy floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acuterainfall 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 daysas well as melting snow aggravated the floods.[] Warnings by the India Meteorological Department predicting heavyrains were not given wide publicity beforehand, causing thousands of people to be caught unaware, resulting in hugeloss of life and property.[]

Death and damageLandslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures, killing those who were trapped.[] The heavyrains resulted in large flashfloods and massive landslides.[] Entire villages and settlements such as Gaurikund and themarket town of Ram Bada, a transition point to Kedarnath, have been obliterated, while the market town ofSonprayag 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 bythousands of devotees, especially after the month of May onwards. Over 70,000 people were stuck in various regionsbecause of damaged or blocked roads.[] People in other important locations like the Valley of flowers, Roopkund andthe Sikh pilgrimage centre Hemkund were stranded for more than three days.[] National Highway 58, an importantartery connecting the region was also washed away near Jyotirmath and in many other places.[] Because summershave more number of tourists, the number of people impacted is substantial.[] For more than three days, strandedpilgrims and tourists were without rations or survived on little food.[] The roads were seriously damaged at morethan 450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many cars and other vehicles to be washedaway.[] On June 18, more than 12,000 pilgrims were stuck at Badrinath, the popular pilgrimage center located on thebanks of the Alaknanda River.[][][]

As of 22 June 2013[2], the official death toll in Uttarakhand, based on the collected bodies of the victims, hadcrossed 550. Rescuers at the Hindu pilgrimage town of Haridwar on the river Ganga have been reported to haverecovered bodies of 40 victims washed down by the flooded rivers as of June 21 2013.[] By 23 June 2013, somesources claimed that the death toll could even rise to 5000.[][]

2013 North India floods 3

Damage to Kedarnath

Situated in the Himalayan ranges, the town thatgrew around the Kedarnath Temple one of the

famous temples of Shiva in India and part of theChar Dham yatra, was damaged by the floods and

landslides caused by heavy rain.

Although the Kedarnath Temple itself had not been damaged, its basewas inundated with water, mud and boulders from the landslide,damaging its perimeter.[] Many hotels around the temple weredestroyed, resulting in several casualties. Most of the destruction atKedarnath was caused by a sudden rapid melting of ice and snow onthe Kedarnath Mountain, 6 km (3.7 mi) from the temple, whichflooded the Charbari lake (upstream) and then Kedarnath. Within thetemple, a panic-driven stampede resulted in several deaths.[4] Morethan 500 people are currently missing from Kedarnath.[] TheUttarakhand Government announced that due to the extensive damageto the infrastructure, the temple will be temporarily closed to regularpilgrims and tourists for a year; but the temple and its rituals will stillbe maintained by priests.[]The Kedarnath Yatra would also not be heldfor the next 2 years.[][]

Rescue operations

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

Same location, shot on June 21 during the height of the floods

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Indo-Tibetan Border Police,Border Security Force, National Disaster Response Force,Public Works Department and local administrations workedtogether for quick rescue operations.[] Several thousandsoldiers were deployed for the rescue missions.[] Activistsof political and social organizations are also involved in therescue and management of relief centres.[] The nationalhighway and other important roads were closed to regulartraffic.[] Helicopters were used to rescue people, but due tothe rough terrain, heavy fog and rainfall, maneuvering themwas a challenge.[] By 21 June 2013, the Army had deployed10,000 soldiers and 11 helicopters,[][] the Navy had sent 45naval divers, and the Air force had deployed 43 aircraftincluding 36 helicopters.[]

Other affected regions

Flooding in Nepal

About 6000 citizens of Nepal were visiting the Indianregion, of which 1,000 were rescued as of June 22, 2013.[5]

Flooding of the Dhauliganga and the Mahakali rivers hadcaused extensive damage, with reports of 128 houses and 13government offices swept away and over 1000 peoplehomeless.[][] Locals in the Darchula District had claimedthat this was because of the rapid release of water from the Dhauliganga Dam, located on the Indian side.[] TheIndian Embassy stated that the flooding was because of heavy rainfall on the catchment side of the river, and not theDhauliganga Dam.[]

2013 North India floods 4

National Capital Region

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

AftermathDr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas and announced 1,000 crore (US$170 million) aid package for disaster relief efforts in the state.[] Several state governmentsannounced financial assistance, with Uttar Pradesh Government pledging 25 crore (US$4.3 million),[9] thegovernments of Haryana,[10] Maharashtra[11] and Delhi 10 crore (US$1.7 million) each, the governments of TamilNadu[12], Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 5 crore (US$860,000) each while the Gujarat government hadannounced 2 crore (US$340,000).[13]

The Government of India also cancelled 9 batches, or half the annual batches of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, aHindu pilgrimage.[14] The popular Chardham Yatra pilgrimage, covering Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath andBadrinath was cancelled for approximately 2 years to repair damaged roads and infrastructure, according to theUttarakhand Government.[]

As on June 23, US Ambassador to India Nancy Jo Powell declared financial help of USD 1,50,000 through theUnited 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 1 crore (US$170,000) and other jewellery fromlocal persons, including some sadhu babas (or religious men), who reportedly collected it from a destroyed buildingof 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 5

Article Sources and Contributors2013 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 anonymousedits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile: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.rishabhFile:Flag of India.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_India.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Anomie, MifterFile: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:Achim1999file: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 Dederingat de.wikipediaFile: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:Atarax42File: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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