Uttarkashi flash floods: Can We Prevent The Next Tragedy?
It began with regular monsoon rain tapping on roofs, creating thin streams down the hillsides. Hours later, a wall of water, rock and mud tore through Dharali. Nestled in Uttarakhand's upper reaches near Gangotri, Dharali lies close to a sacred source of the Ganga River. But on that day, the river smashed into homes, ripped apart roads and swept away everything in its path. Families fled with nothing. Lives were lost.
The Himalayas are young mountains that shift, crack and shed rock. But our choices make them more dangerous: carving roads into fragile slopes, building too close to rivers and the warming the climate.
In this episode, a scientist explains the forces shaping the mountains, and an environmentalist shows how our actions magnify the risk. Together, they trace the path from an ordinary day's rain to a disaster and reveal how to stop the next tragedy before it strikes.
Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran
Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
Listen to more In Focus podcasts:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
9 hours ago
- India Today
Video: Army builds 90-ft Bailey bridge in Uttarkashi to reconnect flood-hit areas
The Indian Army, in a swift mission in the cloudburst-hit Dharali area of Uttarakhand, has constructed a crucial Bailey bridge, restoring connectivity to cut-off regions and facilitating the transport of rescue teams and relief supplies to stranded bridge, built jointly by the Army and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) after an overnight operation, now awaits the construction of approach roads to allow vehicles to reach Dharali, where four people were killed, and scores remain missing and stranded after a flash flood washed away the village days along the Gangotri National Highway, the Bailey bridge spans the Limchagad between Gangnani and Dharali. With a load capacity of nearly 50 tonnes, it is expected to significantly aid rescue operations in the challenging Himalayan terrain. 'It is a 90-foot triple-single Bailey bridge. The work is almost complete, with only minor finishing tasks pending, which will be done shortly,' BRO Commander KVN Raja Kumar told India Today at the site, just before construction was Secretary Shailesh Bagauli said that until the approach roads are repaired, horses and mules should be used to transport essential supplies to the affected villages. He has also directed officials to ensure the supply of 2,000 litres of diesel per day to Dharali and to facilitate the delivery of LPG cylinders to those impacted. Authorities are also clearing blockages along the highway at Songad, Dabrani, Harsil, and Dharali on a war footing. However, heavy rains on Sunday morning hampered helicopter evacuations of stranded evacuation efforts began on Wednesday, more than 1,000 people had been airlifted by Saturday evening from around Dharali and Harsil, where an Army camp also suffered damage in the flash floods, leaving nine personnel missing.- EndsInputs by Anjilee Istwal in DharaliTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Uttarakhand
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Light rain expected in parts of Delhi today, no alert issued
Delhi witnessed clear skies on Sunday after a day of heavy rainfall lashing the national capital. Light rain with thundershowers is expected today, but there's no alert issued as of this morning. Heavy downpour that started early morning on Saturday continued throughout the day, which led to the death of eight people. (PTI) The weather today in Delhi is expected to remain partly cloudy with a possibility of very light to light rain or thundershowers, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The maximum temperature is expected to hover between 28-30 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature will remain between 23- 25 degrees Celsius. Also read: 8 die as heavy rain again overwhelms Capital's infra Heavy downpour that started early morning on Saturday continued throughout the day, which led to the death of eight people. 78.7mm of rainfall hammered the city in 24 hours, resulting in severe waterlogging and traffic snarls. In an X post IMD on Sunday morning said that light rainfall is very likely to occur at Bhiwari, Tizara, Kotputli (Rajasthan). Meanwhile, drizzle is very likely at isolated places of Delhi ( Burari, Badili, Model Town, Azadpur, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad), NCR ( Noida, Ballabhgarh), Rohtak, Rewari (Haryana). In the NCR areas, no warning has been issued for Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Palwal, Sonipat, Sirsa, and others. In Haryana, a yellow alert has been issued for Hisar, Bhiwani, and Mahendragarh for moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms. A yellow alert has also been issued in parts of Uttar Pradesh, including in Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Lakhimpur Kheri, Basti, and others. Also read: Forecast flip-flop: IMD misses again as unwarned showers pound Delhi The monsoon trough is shifting to its normal position from the Himalayan foothills, resulting in widespread rain across northwest India. Along with this, there is also a cyclonic circulation over Uttar Pradesh. These two conditions have been seen as the cause of heavy rainfall over Delhi on Saturday, M Mohapatra, director general, IMD, said. Meanwhile, the continuous rains yesterday kept the maximum temperature at 26.4°C, which was the lowest for August in at least 34 years, according to IMD.
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Rains to pick up over northwest, says IMD
The monsoon trough is gradually shifting to its normal position from the Himalayan foothills, setting the stage for widespread rain across northwest India over the coming week, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday. Rains to pick up over northwest, says IMD Saturday's heavy downpour in Delhi was directly linked to this shifting pattern, which is expected to bring isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh during the next seven days, IMD officials said. 'The monsoon trough is shifting towards its normal position. There is also a cyclonic circulation over Uttar Pradesh. Continued heavy rain over Delhi was because of these two features,' said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD. However, there may be temporary relief for hill states. Around August 12-13, another circulation is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal, which will push the monsoon trough south of its normal position and reduce rainfall over the hills, Mohapatra explained. The current weather pattern shows the monsoon trough running near its normal position at mean sea level, accompanied by multiple atmospheric disturbances across the subcontinent. An upper air cyclonic circulation lies over west Uttar Pradesh while another has formed over south Bihar and adjoining north Jharkhand in lower tropospheric levels. A separate trough extends from Gujarat to west Uttar Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels, while an upper air cyclonic circulation lies over north interior Karnataka in the middle tropospheric levels and another over south coastal Andhra Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels. The IMD forecast indicates heavy to very heavy rainfall will continue over sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh during the next seven days. In contrast, central India and Rajasthan are likely to experience subdued rainfall activities for the next 3-4 days. A low-pressure area is expected to form over northwest and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal around August 13, while a western disturbance appears as a cyclonic circulation over Kashmir and neighbourhoods in lower tropospheric levels. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Himachal Pradesh on 10 and August 15; Uttarakhand until August 11; Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on August 10; East Uttar Pradesh on 10, 14 and August 15; West Uttar Pradesh on 10, 12 and August 15; and East Rajasthan on August 15. Very heavy rainfall is forecast for Jammu and Kashmir during August 13-15; Himachal Pradesh during August 11-14; Uttarakhand on August 10, 11 and 14; West Uttar Pradesh on August 13-14; and East Uttar Pradesh on August 12-13.
