NEW DELHI When Ravi Chopra saw the devastating deluge of water and debris crash downstream from a Himalayan glacier on Sunday, his first thought was that this was exactly the scenario that his team had warned the Indian government of in 2014. At least 31 people have died, 165 people are missing many more […]
Disaster Underscores Dam Danger in India’s Uttarakhand
Between climate change effects and multiple hydroelectric power projects, the Himalayan Indian state could face an environmental catastrophe in the future.
February 09, 2021
This photograph provided by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) shows NDRF personnel search for more than three dozen power plant workers trapped in a tunnel after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off Sunday and sent a wall of water and debris rushing down the mountain in Tapovan area of the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, Monday, February 8, 2021.
Credit: National Disaster Response Force via AP
Advertisement
The collapse of a part of a Himalayan glacier in Chamoli district in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on February 7 has unleashed a massive disaster in the region. Around 26 people have lost their lives in the deluge so far and another 171, many of them workers in hydropower projects, are missing. Som
Onlinekhabar
February 9, 2021
Comments
Kathmandu, February 9
Experts and stakeholders have said Nepal could also face a similar disaster as in Uttarakhand of India whereas dozens of people have been killed and hundreds are missing after a glacial lake outburst flood on Sunday.
Water resources expert Deepak Gyawali says Nepal’s glacial lakes are also in the same range, hence the risk is equal for both the countries. “In almost every 10 years, there have been big flood events. Therefore, we cannot say such a disaster cannot happen in Nepal anytime.”
Likewise, another expert Ajay Dixit says, “Of late, the rate of snow melting is increasing, which raises the volume of glacial lakes. It is likely that such incidents could be quite frequent in Nepal.”