Abstract
Garhwal Himalaya has witnessed extreme climatic conditions in the form of incessant rainfall during June 15–17, 2013, generating numerous primary as well as secondary landslide hazards due to flooding event in the Bhagirathi River. This was probably the second highest flood after the 1978 flood in the area. The paper documents the spatial distribution of landslides and its consequences in the lower reaches of the Bhagirathi Valley between Bhatwari and Uttarkashi. It has been observed that within a stretch of 28 km in the study area, the river gradient is highly variable ranging from 3.6 to 66.6 m/km and is marked by three major knick points. These knick points are well correlated with the disposition of thrusts and a fault present in the area. An inventory of 23 active landslides has been prepared. Based on these knick points, the entire area has been divided into four zones. The area between Bhatwari and Ganeshpur is marked by the zone of transportation and between Ganeshpur and Uttarkashi, the zone of deposition of river sediments. It has been estimated that there is an average aggradation of about 0.5 m/year in the Bhagirathi River around Uttarkashi. Further, the huge volume of material deposited in the river around Uttarkashi township is posing serious threat to the slope stability on either banks of river. This calls for an urgent need for the formulation of policy for dredging the material from riverbed in order to maintain the continuous and uninterrupted flow of water during high discharge, in order to mitigate the problems of slope stability along the course of the river.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartarya SK, Virdi NS, Sah MP (1996) Landslide hazards: some case studies from the Satluj Valley, Himachal Pradesh. Himal Geol 17(1&2):193–207
Cruden DM (1991) A simple definition of a landslide. Bull Int As Eng Geol 43:27–29
Durga Rao KHV, Rao VV, Dadhwal VK, Diwakar PG (2014) Kedarnath flash floods: a hydrological and hydraulic simulation study. Curr Sci 106(4):598–603
Gupta V, Bist KS (2004) The 23 September 2003 Varunavat Parvat landslide in Uttaranchal township, Uttaranchal. Curr Sci 87(11):1600–1605
Gupta V, Sah MP (2007) Impact of the trans-Himalayan landslide lake outburst flood (LLOF) in the Satluj catchment, Himachal Pradesh, India. Nat Hazards 45:379–390
Gupta V, Dobhal DP, Vaideswaran SC (2013) August 2012 cloudburst and subsequent flash flood in the Asi Ganga, a tributary of the Bhagirathi river, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Curr Sci 105(2):249–253
IMD (2013) A preliminary report on heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand during 16–18 June 2013. India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences; July 2013. http://imd.gov.in/doc/uttrakhand_report_04_09_2013.pdf
Nand N, Kumar K (1989) The holy Himalaya: a geographical interpretation of Garhwal. Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, p 411
Paul SK, Bartarya SK, Rautela P, Mahajan AK (2000) Catastrophic mass movement of 1998 monsoons at Malpa in Kali Valley, Kumaun Himalaya (India). Geomorphology 35:169–180
Purohit KK, Islam R, Thakur VC (1990) Metamorphism of Psammo-pelitic rocks of Bhagirathi valley, Garhwal Himalaya. J Himal Geol 1:167–174
Sah MP, Bist KS (1998) Catastrophic mass movement of August 1998 in Okhimath area Garhwal Hımalaya. In: Proceeding of international workshop cum training programme on landslide hazard and risk assessment and damage control for sustainable development, New Delhi, pp 259–282
Sah MP, Asthana AKL, Rawat BS (2003) Cloud burst of August 10, 2002 and related landslides and debris flows around Budha Kedar (Thati Kathur) in Balganga valley, District Tehri. Himal Geol 24(2):87–101
Sarkar S, Kanungo DP, Chauhan PKS (2004) Landslide disaster of 24 September 2003 in Uttarkashi. Curr Sci 87(2):134–137
Varnes DJ (1978) Slope movement, types and processes. In: Eckel EB (ed) Landslides and engineering practices, Highway Research Board Special Rep., vol 29, pp 20–47
Zaruba Q, Mencl V (1982) Landslides and their control, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, for providing all the necessary facilities to carry out the work. The work has been supported financially by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India “Map the neighbourhood of Uttarakhand” (MANU) scheme and the Norwegian funded NORSAR project. Research fellowship to Hemlata Nautiyal from the NORSAR project is thankfully acknowledged. We also thank Disaster Management Officer, Sh D. S. Petwal, Uttarkashi district, and Asst Engineer, Sh Mukesh Verma, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), Maneri, Uttarkashi, for providing the discharge data and district administration Uttarkashi for providing the rainfall data of the area. Information provided by the local people about the damages caused by the flash flood was of immense help.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gupta, V., Nautiyal, H., Kumar, V. et al. Landslide hazards around Uttarkashi township, Garhwal Himalaya, after the tragic flash flood in June 2013. Nat Hazards 80, 1689–1707 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-2048-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-2048-4