ISSUE DATE: February 22, 2021
UPDATED: February 15, 2021 14:06 IST
MISSION RESCUE: ITBP troopers look for survivors inside a tunnel at a hydropower plant in the aftermath of the flash floods in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, on February 7
The disaster that unfolded on February 7 in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand after a portion of a ‘hanging glacier’ on the slopes of Nanda Devi broke off and triggered flash floods strikes yet another environmental alarm bell for India’s Himalayan regions. The glacial collapse, near Raini village above Joshimath in the state’s Chamoli district, sent a wall of water and debris down the Dhauliganga and Rishiganga tributaries of the Alaknanda river, causing significant destruction along the route, including damage to major hydropower projects. At least 32 people are dead and over 170 are reported missing.
A torrent of ice, water, mud, and debris surged through a steep river valley in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand this week. Here's what happened.
We have learnt nothing from 2013 Uttarakhand disaster
Nivedita Khandekar
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It is not for the first time that the area is witnessing such a natural disaster. It is also not the first time that the government has allowed dam projects in the fragile Himalayan ecology
It has been more than 48 hours, but the villagers of Raini are still reeling from effects of the loud crashing sound that was followed by an almost deafening roar of the river, as it bolstered down the narrow gorge on February 7. From the cluster of glaciers of the Nanda Devi massif, a hefty chunk got detached and was swept down the Rishiganga gorge towards the base of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, and it took less than ten seconds for the flash flood to completely submerge the dam structure of the Rishiganga hydropower project, blasting it into smithereens.
India News: The glacier burst at Uttarakhand is an outcome of climate change in the Himalayan region which is warming up faster than the other mountain regions, s