Landslides, cloudbursts kill 48 as rain batters Himachal

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Last Updated17/08/2023

According to officials, at least 48 people lost their lives in landslides and cloudbursts as heavy rain lashed Himachal Pradesh for over 55 hours.

Cloudbursts are short-duration, intense rainfall events over a small area.
It is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100 mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km.
In the Indian Subcontinent, it generally occurs when a monsoon cloud drifts northwards, from the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea across the plains then on to the Himalaya
It is seen that more cloudbursts are happening in Himalayan region because the decadal temperature rise in the Himalayan region is higher than the global rate of rising temperatures.
Consequences include flash floods, landslides, mudflows and land caving

There is no satisfactory technique for anticipating the occurrence of cloud bursts because they develop over a small period of time.
A very fine network of radars is required to be able to detect the likelihood of a cloud burst and this would be expensive.
Much of the damage can be avoided by way of identifying the areas and the meteorological situations that favour the occurrence of cloud bursts.

A sudden movement of rock, boulders, earth or debris down a slope is termed a landslide
Landslides are natural disasters occurring mainly in mountainous terrains where there are conducive conditions of soil, rock, geology and slope.
It includes things like earth flow, mass movement, mudflow, rotational slip and avalanches.

Natural causes: heavy rainfall, earthquakes, snow melting and undercutting of slopes due to flooding.
Anthropogenic factors: excavation, cutting of hills and trees, excessive infrastructure development, and overgrazing by cattle.
Some of the main factors that influence landslides are lithology, geological structures like faults, hill slopes, drainage, geomorphology, land use and land cover, soil texture and depth and weathering of rocks.

Adoption of Area-Specific Measures to deal with landslides.
Restriction on the Construction in Certain Areas like high vulnerability zones
Hazard mapping to locate areas prone to landslides
- Such areas can be avoided for building settlements.
Some positive actions like promoting large-scale afforestation programs and the construction of bunds to reduce water flow should be encouraged
Terrace farming should be encouraged in the northeastern hill states where Jhumming Cultivation is still prevalent.
Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning Systems to warn people residing in landslide-prone areas in advance.
Advancement in scientific techniques that will empower us to understand what factors cause landslides and how to manage them.