2010 Leh floods
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Leh floods occurred on 6 August 2010 in Leh, the largest town in Ladakh
, a region of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
. At least 193 people are reported to have died, five of whom were foreign tourists, after a cloudburst
and heavy overnight rains triggered flash flood
s and mudslides. A further 200 people were reported missing and thousands more were rendered homeless after the flooding caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure.
region of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a plateau at around 3500 meters above sea level
and usually receives very little rainfall. It is predominantly Buddhist and popular with tourists for its natural beauty. August is the peak tourist season when thousands of western backpackers flock the area. Described as a 'high altitude cold desert' the area has sparse rainfall and a heavy downpour is a rare occurrence. Leh receives about 80,000 foreign and 100,000 domestic tourists annually.
The rains came after midnight and surprised everyone. Many buildings were destroyed including Hospitals, bus terminals, radio station transmitter, telephone exchange and mobile-phone towers,even the BSNL communication systems were fully destroyed,the communication was then restored by the Indian Army. The local bus station was damaged and some of the buses were carried more than a mile by the mud. The city's airport was damaged but this was repaired and relief flights were expected to come in the following day. The village of Choglamsar on the outskirts of the city was particularly badly hit. All of the estimated 3000 tourists in the area including 1000 foreigners were safe according to local officials.
soldiers launched a massive rescue operation. Home minister P. Chidambaram
said that over 6000 security personnel were deployed in Leh for rescue operations. Prime minister Manmohan Singh
expressed grief and announced compensation of Rs. 100,000 to the kin of deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured. Chief Minister of the state Omar Abdullah
directed the administration to undertake relief effort on a war footing.
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
, a region of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. At least 193 people are reported to have died, five of whom were foreign tourists, after a cloudburst
Cloudburst
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation, sometimes with hail and thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.-Etymology:There are similar names for such events in other languages...
and heavy overnight rains triggered flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
s and mudslides. A further 200 people were reported missing and thousands more were rendered homeless after the flooding caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure.
Background
Leh city is the largest town in LadakhLadakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
region of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a plateau at around 3500 meters above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
and usually receives very little rainfall. It is predominantly Buddhist and popular with tourists for its natural beauty. August is the peak tourist season when thousands of western backpackers flock the area. Described as a 'high altitude cold desert' the area has sparse rainfall and a heavy downpour is a rare occurrence. Leh receives about 80,000 foreign and 100,000 domestic tourists annually.
Flooding
The flash floods happened after a night of heavy downpour. The cloudburst occurred between 0000–0030 hours IST on 6th August, 2010 leading to flash flood and mud slides over the region. Leh, being in a cold desert, gets an average rainfall for the month of August is 15.4 mm with highest rainfall ever recorded during 24 hours period has been 51.3 mm recorded on 22 August, 1933. In contrast, in the space of an hour and half, Leh received a large amount of rain, the exact amount being disputed. The figures quoted range from 12.8 mm to 250 mm.The rains came after midnight and surprised everyone. Many buildings were destroyed including Hospitals, bus terminals, radio station transmitter, telephone exchange and mobile-phone towers,even the BSNL communication systems were fully destroyed,the communication was then restored by the Indian Army. The local bus station was damaged and some of the buses were carried more than a mile by the mud. The city's airport was damaged but this was repaired and relief flights were expected to come in the following day. The village of Choglamsar on the outskirts of the city was particularly badly hit. All of the estimated 3000 tourists in the area including 1000 foreigners were safe according to local officials.
Response
The rescue efforts were hampered by gushing water and mud which was 10 feet high in places. In addition many of the roads leading to Leh were damaged making it difficult to truck relief supplies in. Four hundred critically wounded people were evacuated and some were admitted to army hospital in Leh. Indian ArmyIndian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
soldiers launched a massive rescue operation. Home minister P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
said that over 6000 security personnel were deployed in Leh for rescue operations. Prime minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
expressed grief and announced compensation of Rs. 100,000 to the kin of deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured. Chief Minister of the state Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah , born 10 March 1970 in United Kingdom, is an Indian Kashmiri politician and the scion of Kashmir's 'first family', the Abdullah family who became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, on...
directed the administration to undertake relief effort on a war footing.
See also
- Global storm activity of 2010Global storm activity of 2010The former article was split into three to avoid confusion between the three periods of storm activity.*Global storm activity of early 2010 – January–April 2010*Global storm activity of mid 2010 – May–September 2010...
- 2008 South China floods2008 South China floodsThe 2008 South China floods began on 26 May 2008. Four rounds of torrential rains with landslides and flooding lasted for 20 days and affected fifteen provinces in Eastern and Southern China....
- 2010 Pakistan floods2010 Pakistan floodsThe 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...
- 2010 China floods
- MonsoonMonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
External links
- Leh , The Post-Flood Report ( December 2010) @ vistet.wordpress
- Video:Leh floods: Omar visits hospital, meets victims, NDTV
- Video:Ladakh: Rebuilding lives, NDTV
- Video:Saving Leh: its people, its children, CNN-IBN
- Leh Flash Floods 2010 at WN
- CDRN Response for Flash Floods Relief Work in Leh, Jammu & Kashmir, India Corporate Disaster Resource Network (http://www.cdrn.org.in)
- Marka valley & Leh & Choglamsar Film of the torrential mud