Devastation in the Kedarnath (Mandakini) Valley, Garhwal Himalaya, during 16–17 June 2013: a remote sensing and ground-based assessment

Rakesh Bhambri (), Manish Mehta, D. P. Dobhal, Anil Kumar Gupta, Bhanu Pratap, Kapil Kesarwani and Akshaya Verma
Additional contact information
Rakesh Bhambri: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Manish Mehta: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
D. P. Dobhal: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Anil Kumar Gupta: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Bhanu Pratap: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Kapil Kesarwani: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Akshaya Verma: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2016, vol. 80, issue 3, No 19, 1822 pages

Abstract: Abstract The Garhwal Himalaya tragedy of 16–17 June 2013 was perhaps the worst disaster of the last century seen in India owing to unprecedented rainfall. The extreme rainfall together with bursting of moraine-dammed Chorabari Lake caused devastating flooding of the Mandakini River and its tributaries in the Garhwal Himalaya. Several downstream settlements such as Kedarnath (3546 m a.s.l.), Rambara (2740 m a.s.l.) and Gaurikund (1990 m a.s.l.) were damaged due to flash floods. The present study was taken up to assess the extent of devastation in the Mandakini Valley from Kedarnath to Sonprayag based on ground observations, repeated ground photography, discussion with local residents (eye witnesses) and analysis of pre-event and post-event high-resolution satellite data. Overall 137 ‘flash flood-induced debris flow’ events were mapped in the Mandakini Valley between Kedarnath and Sonprayag which led to the catastrophe and miseries to the pilgrims. The area of ‘flash flood-induced debris flow’ and the main channel of Mandakini River were increased by ~575 and ~406 %, respectively, during the 16–17 June 2013 event. About 50 % (7 km) of the pedestrian route (14 km) between Gaurikund and Kedarnath was completely washed away which obstructed the rescue operations to evacuate pilgrims, tourists and local people after the 16–17 June 2013 event. The ‘flash flood-induced debris flow’ and moraine-dammed lake outburst events together washed away ~120 and ~90 buildings around Kedarnath shrine and in Rambara town, respectively, although the main Kedarnath temple survived with minor damage. The database of flash flood-induced debris flows and flood effected area generated in the present research will facilitate to other disciplines (e.g., future settlements planning) for long-term reconstruction work in the affected areas of the Mandakini Valley.

Keywords: Devastation; Kedarnath; Himalaya; Moraine-dammed lake outburst; Flash flood; Debris flow (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-015-2033-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:80:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11069-015-2033-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11069

DOI: 10.1007/s11069-015-2033-y

Access Statistics for this article

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards is currently edited by Thomas Glade, Tad S. Murty and Vladimír Schenk

More articles in Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards from Springer, International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().