2021 Uttarakhand flood

2021 Uttarakhand flood
The state of Uttarakhand within India
Date18 February 2021
CauseIce and rock avalanche
Deaths83
121 missing
Property damageMost houses are damaged. Few houses that remain undamaged on the site were covered in slush up to 21 feet deep.
Map 1: The Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, and Rishganga river valleys, and the Nanda Devi National Park in the state of Uttarakhand
Map 2: The headwaters of the Ganges showing: Rishiganga (rising from meltwater in the Nanda Devi sanctuary, top right), Dhauliganga which it meets near Tapovan; Alaknanda River, which Dhauliganga meets at Vishnuprayag; and the Ganges whose main stem begins at Devprayag, where the Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi River.
Nanda Devi summit (behind a cloud) and the surrounding glaciers
The confluence of the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers at Vishnuprayag
Map 3: the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys shown in a hi-res map based on detailed surveys.

The 2021 Uttarakhand flood, also known as the Chamoli disaster,[1] began on 7 February 2021 in the environs of the Nanda Devi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site[2] in the outer Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand state, India (Maps 1 and 2).[3] It was caused by a large rock and ice avalanche consisting of material dislodged from Ronti peak.[4][5] It caused flooding in the Chamoli district, most notably in the Rishiganga river, the Dhauliganga river, and in turn the Alaknanda—the major headstream of the Ganges (Maps 2 and 3).[6][7] The disaster left over 200 killed or missing. Most were workers at the Tapovan dam site.

  1. ^ "Chamoli disaster: 'It hit the valley floor like 15 atomic bombs'". BBC. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks", India: Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, UNESCO, retrieved 9 February 2021
  3. ^ "Uttarakhand flood wreaks death, damage". The Indian Express. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. ^ Shugar, D. H.; Jacquemart, M.; Shean, D.; Bhushan, S.; Upadhyay, K.; Sattar, A.; Schwanghart, W.; McBride, S.; Vries, M. Van Wyk de; Mergili, M.; Emmer, A. (10 June 2021). "A massive rock and ice avalanche caused the 2021 disaster at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya". Science. 373 (6552): 300–306. Bibcode:2021Sci...373..300S. doi:10.1126/science.abh4455. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 34112725. S2CID 235402626.
  5. ^ "Satellites reveal cause of Chamoli disaster". www.esa.int. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Uttarakhand news live: Glacier bursts in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Glacier bursts in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, causing flash flood in Dhauliganga: Highlights – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 February 2021.