Dehradun
The month of August saw multiple disasters and accidents in the state of Uttarakhand, mostly occurring due to landslides and heavy rainfall. These incidents caused extensive damage to life and property. For the entirety of the month, Uttarakhand remained in a state of damages and distress.
The above is the summary in the monthly Uttarakhand Disaster & Accident Synopsis (UDAS) report released by Dehradun-based think tank and advocacy group, Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation.
SDC has been publishing UDAS reports since October of last year and this marks the 11th UDAS report, and the 8th one in this year.
SDC Founder Anoop Nautiyal reiterated that the purpose of the UDAS report is to document major disasters and accidents occurring throughout the month in the state of Uttarakhand.
The report is primarily based on news articles published in reputable Hindi and English newspapers and news portals.
Disasters in August 2023
On August 3, debris from the hills fell on roadside shops near Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district. A dhaba and two shops were washed away in the Mandakini river due to a landslide. At least 23 people are feared dead in this incident.
A day later, debris entered a house in Maroda village in Dhanaulti Tehsil in Tehri and a brother and sister aged 10 and 12 died. On August 8, two children of a Nepali family living in a hut in Gauri village of Rudraprayag died after being buried under debris.
Again two days later on August 10, debris from a hill fell on a car in Rudraprayag district, killing five pilgrims.
On August 15, 2 laborers died and 5 were injured when a building collapsed near Joshimath.
On August 20, 7 pilgrims from Gujarat died and 28 were injured when their bus fell into a ditch on the Gangotri Highway.
On August 21, four people died after being buried under debris in a landslide at a taxi stand in Chamba in Tehri district. Another body was recovered the next day.
Roads Crumbled, Cracks Appear In Houses
Amid heavy rainfall, the month of August witnessed reports of landslides, cracks in houses, and roads either being washed away or blocked at various places in the state. In many areas, people were forced to evacuate their homes at night.
The Char Dham routes remained closed repeatedly throughout the month. The Badrinath route was most affected, with six locations including Totaghati being blocked on August 8th.
On August 17, the Badrinath Highway between Maithana and Pursari caved in. 70 metre long and 3 feet deep cracks appeared on the highway. Pipalkoti and Pagalnala also experienced repeated closures, as did the routes to Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
In addition to these incidents, there were landslides in places like Kharmoli, Lakhwad, Maldevta, and Jakhan in Dehradun district, Chinyalisaur in Uttarkashi, Kathgodam in Nainital and Amsaur, Kotdwar and Yamkeshwar in Pauri district.
In Chamoli, landslides and cracks on houses occurred in villages like Pagnau, Majju, Laga, Bemru, and Sunil, among others. In these villages, people had to evacuate their homes in the darkness of the night.
According to government reports till August 19; 78 people died, 1471 houses were damaged and 7737 animals lost their lives in Uttarakhand. An estimated loss of nearly 1000 crores was reported.
The Uttarakhand government decided to conduct a carrying capacity survey in 15 towns.
Uttarakhand and disaster management
Anoop Nautiyal said that Uttarakhand needs to focus and urgently strengthen the weak links in the existing disaster management system.
He expressed hope that the Uttarakhand Udas monthly reports will be helpful for the politicians, policy makers, officials, researchers, civil society and media of Uttarakhand. Besides, it can also be hopefully of some use while making policies to minimize the damage caused by disasters.
