All you need to know about glacial disasters

The flooding due to cloudburst or breaching of a reservoir has destroyed many river bankside houses.

A massive glacial burst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district led to massive flooding and avalanche along the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers on Sunday morning. Reports suggest flooding in areas around the Dhauliganga river, following an avalanche near Rishiganga Power Project in the Chamoli district. Let’s read more about glacial disaster and its different types…

Extensive damage

At least 14 people are dead and 150 missing after a piece of a Himalayan glacier fell into a river and triggered a huge flood in northern India. The floodwaters burst open a dam and a deluge of water poured through a valley in the State.

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The flooding due to cloudburst or breaching of a reservoir has destroyed many river bankside houses. Hundreds of ITBP personnel have rushed for the rescue of feared casualties, the ITBP said

What is glacial lake outburst flood?

According to a statement by Chamoli police, the Rishiganga Power Project was damaged after a breach of a glacier in the Tapovan area. The statement said that people living on the bank of the Alaknanda river were advised to move to safer places.

A glacial lake outburst is a type of outburst flood that occurs when water dammed by a glacier or moraine is released. In other words, it’s an outburst that happens when a dam containing a glacial lake fails.

When and why a glacier breaks?

Failure can happen due to multiple reasons like erosion, the build-up of water pressure, an avalanche of snow or rocks, and also an earthquake under the ice. It can also happen if there is a massive displacement of water in the glacial area when a large portion of an adjacent glacier collapses.

Retreating glaciers, like several in the Himalayas, usually result in the formation of lakes at their tips, called proglacial lakes, often bound only by sediments and boulders. If the boundaries of these lakes are breached, it can lead to large amounts of water rushing down to nearby streams and rivers, gathering momentum on the way by picking up sediments, rocks and other material, and resulting in flooding downstream.

Stores huge water

Glacier lakes can vary in volume but are known to hold millions to hundreds of millions of cubic metres of water. Failure to contain ice or glacial sediment can result in water being released for minutes, hours, or even days.

A glacial outburst may occur due to several factors. According to experts, the direct causes of glacial lake outbursts resulting in floods are heavy rainfall/snowmelt, earthquake, cascading process, long term dam degradation, and rapid slope movement into the lake.

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