Latest news with #GPRs
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Hanging ‘vulnerable' glacier may have led to havoc in Uttarkashi
A team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) suspects that a 'hanging glacier' feeding the Kheer Ganga channel may have contributed to the series of flash floods in Dharali on August 5. Mud and debris after the August 5 flash floods in Uttarkashi. (PTI) HT reported on August 7 that a preliminary analysis by the National Disaster Management Authority indicated that a glacier collapse may have led to the flash floods. There are 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins according to the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc, which, as part of an ongoing study has just completed a geo-spatial mapping of hanging glaciers in Uttarakhand. A hanging glacier is one that originates high on the wall of a glacier valley and descends only part of the way to the surface of the main glacier. Also Read | Landslide blocks key route in Uttarakhand's Chamoli days after Uttarkashi flash floods 'Through geospatial analysis, we have mapped all 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins. We also found that this particular glacier on the Kheer Ganga channel was in a very vulnerable position. In fact there are two hanging glaciers in the vicinity with a combined volume of approximately 1 cubic km. We have historical satellite images of the glaciers. The run-off time during the flash floods was very short. Normally, if flash flood is from rainfall then we can observe a gradual increase and then a decrease. But the sudden run-off points to two probabilities. One that the hanging glacier has fallen, or a lake has formed due to the obstruction of river flow. Then sudden outburst was caused due to overflown,' said Anil Kulkarni, distinguished visiting scientist, Divecha Center for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science who has been studying the disaster since August 5. 'At IISc we have been doing a lot of modelling exercises to understand which portion of these hanging glaciers is vulnerable to detachment. Hanging glaciers are very sensitive to warming. For these the surface melt starts very early compared to other glaciers and these have been mapped,' added Kulkarni. The Himalayi Nagarik Drishti Manch has written to the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone Monitoring Committee; secretary, ministry of environment, forests and climate change; and the Jal Shakti ministry on Monday seeking accountability for the Dharali disaster. They have referred to a letter by the same civil society organisations sent to the BESZ monitoring committee on April 30, 2024 warning about impending disasters stating that indiscriminate construction on river and hill zones should stop immediately. The Indian Army has airlifted ground penetrating radar devices from Siachen glacier, even as rescuers in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district are racing against time and digging holes in the muck debris to find missing people. People aware of the matter said the GPRs airlifted from Sichen are in addition to the existing ones that are being used by army personnel and other agencies. The ones brought from Siachen are usually used in cases of avalanches by the defence forces. Also Read | Uttarkashi: NGRI experts launch search operation to trace 66 missing in disaster-hit Dharal Separately, nearly 200 NDRF personnel too are using their own radars and life detection devices to find the people reported missing. Sites where the missing people could be trapped along the 4 km stretch between Dharali and Harshil have been divided by the state disaster management authority(SDMA) and allocated to different teams/agencies. Over the weekend, NDRF Delhi headquarters also sent two more ground penetrating radar devices to the team on the ground. 'There are mountains of muck debris at the site. Some buildings as tall as 2-3 storeys are totally buried in the mud debris. The rescue and search work there involves manually digging at places identified as locals and eyewitnesses. We hope to make progress,' a senior NDRF officer said.
NDTV
13 hours ago
- Climate
- NDTV
GPR Scanning Helps Identify 20 Spots In Dharali Where People Could Be Trapped
Uttarkashi: Rescuers on Tuesday said they have identified 20 spots at a depth of 2.5-3 metres using Ground Penetrating Radars in the lower areas of the flood-ravaged Dharali where there is the possibility of people being trapped, officials said as search and rescue operations entered the seventh day. Heavy equipment is being used with great caution as the soil is marshy and sinking, while machines are strictly not being used at places where there could be life, they said. A team of experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) is lending a helping hand in the search operation to trace the 66 people, including 24 Nepali labourers, reported missing since the tragedy. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there is moderate to high flash flood risk in a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of 11 of Uttarakhand's 13 districts, including Uttarkashi, over the next 24 hours. The devastating flash flood on August 5 virtually left almost half of Dharali village buried under mud and badly damaged an army camp in nearby Harsil. "Through GPR scanning in the lower areas, 20 such spots have been found at a depth of two and a half to three metres, where buildings or other similar structures have been detected. "Light debris and then solid ground have been found below three metres which suggest there might be people trapped at that level," said an official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), who is on ground zero. Ground Penetrating Radars (GPRs) use radio waves to detect objects and structures up to a depth of 50 metres below the surface. However, the search operation with heavy equipment is being carried out very carefully as the soil here is marshy and sinking, he said. Machines are strictly not being used at places where there could be life. These points are marked, and digging there is being done with hand tools, the official said. Rescue radar, which works on radio frequency, is being used in the debris-filled areas of Dharali to speed up search operations, a technical officer of Erica Engineering, which uses the equipment, said. According to NDRF officials at the site, equipment like GPR and rescue radar will continue to be used until the entire debris-filled area is marked. The NGRI had used its GPRs to locate people trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse in Telangana in February this year. These radars of NGRI can detect human life even in the presence of mud and water, the officials said, adding that the GPR surveys will also detect anomalies within the debris. According to officials, 42 people are missing, including nine army personnel, eight residents of Dharali village, five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from these, 29 Nepali labourers were also reported missing initially, out of which five have been contacted after the restoration of mobile network in the area, he said. More details about the remaining 24 labourers, like their mobile numbers and places where they hailed from, have been sought from their contractors in the hope that they might also have escaped to safety like five others of their team, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said. Meanwhile, air rescue of stranded people was delayed by bad weather on Tuesday, even as transportation of relief material to the affected people in Dharali and Harsil continued for the seventh day. Supply of relief materials, including food items by helicopters, could be resumed only in the afternoon after the weather cleared, with consignments of foodgrains, edibles and fuel flown from Matli and Chinyalisaur helipads for the affected people. Materials needed by the BRO to repair the damaged stretches of the Gangotri National Highway at Songad and Dabrani were also carried by the helicopters. Two pregnant women of Dharali village were airlifted to Matli helipad to be taken to the District Hospital, Uttarkashi. However, weather continues to be a major challenge with the IMD saying there is moderate to high flash flood risk likely over a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of 11 of Uttarakhand's 13 districts, including Uttarkashi, over the next 24 hours. The districts at risk include Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Nainital, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Uttarkashi, it said. Surface runoff or inundation may occur at some fully saturated soils and low-lying areas during the period, it said. The yatra to Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district and Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli have been suspended from August 12-14 in view of the MeT department's alert of heavy rains during the period in almost all the districts of Uttarakhand.
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
GPR scanning helps identify 20 spots in Dharali where people could be trapped: Rescuers
Uttarkashi , Rescuers on Tuesday said they have identified 20 spots at a depth of 2.5-3 metres using Ground Penetrating Radars in the lower areas of the flood-ravaged Dharali where there is the possibility of people being trapped, officials said as search and rescue operations entered the seventh day. GPR scanning helps identify 20 spots in Dharali where people could be trapped: Rescuers Heavy equipment is being used with great caution as the soil is marshy and sinking, while machines are strictly not being used at places where there could be life, they said. A team of experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute is lending a helping hand in the search operation to trace the 66 people, including 24 Nepali labourers, reported missing since the tragedy. According to the India Meteorological Department , there is moderate to high flash flood risk in a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of 11 of Uttarakhand's 13 districts, including Uttarkashi, over the next 24 hours. The devastating flash flood on August 5 virtually left almost half of Dharali village buried under mud and badly damaged an army camp in nearby Harsil. "Through GPR scanning in the lower areas, 20 such spots have been found at a depth of two and a half to three metres, where buildings or other similar structures have been detected. "Light debris and then solid ground have been found below three metres which suggest there might be people trapped at that level," said an official of the National Disaster Response Force , who is on ground zero. Ground Penetrating Radars use radio waves to detect objects and structures up to a depth of 50 metres below the surface. However, the search operation with heavy equipment is being carried out very carefully as the soil here is marshy and sinking, he said. Machines are strictly not being used at places where there could be life. These points are marked, and digging there is being done with hand tools, the official said. Rescue radar, which works on radio frequency, is being used in the debris-filled areas of Dharali to speed up search operations, a technical officer of Erica Engineering, which uses the equipment, said. According to NDRF officials at the site, equipment like GPR and rescue radar will continue to be used until the entire debris-filled area is marked. The NGRI had used its GPRs to locate people trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse in Telangana in February this year. These radars of NGRI can detect human life even in the presence of mud and water, the officials said, adding that the GPR surveys will also detect anomalies within the debris. According to officials, 42 people are missing, including nine army personnel, eight residents of Dharali village, five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from these, 29 Nepali labourers were also reported missing initially, out of which five have been contacted after the restoration of mobile network in the area, he said. More details about the remaining 24 labourers, like their mobile numbers and places where they hailed from, have been sought from their contractors in the hope that they might also have escaped to safety like five others of their team, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said. Meanwhile, air rescue of stranded people was delayed by bad weather on Tuesday, even as transportation of relief material to the affected people in Dharali and Harsil continued for the seventh day. Supply of relief materials, including food items by helicopters, could be resumed only in the afternoon after the weather cleared, with consignments of foodgrains, edibles and fuel flown from Matli and Chinyalisaur helipads for the affected people. Materials needed by the BRO to repair the damaged stretches of the Gangotri National Highway at Songad and Dabrani were also carried by the helicopters. Two pregnant women of Dharali village were airlifted to Matli helipad to be taken to the District Hospital, Uttarkashi. However, weather continues to be a major challenge with the IMD saying there is moderate to high flash flood risk likely over a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of 11 of Uttarakhand's 13 districts, including Uttarkashi, over the next 24 hours. The districts at risk include Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Nainital, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Uttarkashi, it said. Surface runoff or inundation may occur at some fully saturated soils and low-lying areas during the period, it said. The yatra to Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district and Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli have been suspended from August 12-14 in view of the MeT department's alert of heavy rains during the period in almost all the districts of Uttarakhand. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Climate
- The Hindu
Uttarkashi flash floods: NGRI experts launch search operation to trace 66 missing in disaster-hit Dharali
Equipped with Ground Penetrating Radars, experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) launched a search operation to trace the 66 people, including 24 Nepali labourers, reported missing since raging waters and mudslides buried virtually half of Dharali village in Uttarkashi a week ago. The team of experts, which reached the flood-ravaged site on Monday (August 11) evening, will identify and focus on places where there may be human presence under the debris, they said. Uttarkashi Flash Floods: Rescue Ops Intensify in Dharali Ground Penetrating Radars (GPRs) is a geophysical method that uses radio waves to detect objects and structures below the surface. The NGRI had used its GPRs to locate people trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse in Telangana in February this year. These radars of NGRI can detect human life even in the presence of mud and water, the officials said, adding that the GPR surveys will also detect anomalies within the debris. Four choppers deployed to evacuate those still stuck in disaster-hit Uttarkashi On Monday (August 11), incessant rain in various parts of Uttarakhand, including Uttarkashi, had hampered the search and rescue operations in Dharali village as well as efforts to restore road connectivity to the flood-hit areas of the district. According to officials, 24 Nepali labourers and 42 others are reported missing since the tragedy struck the village on August 5. The JCB operator engaged in restoring road connectivity to the affected area went missing after it fell into the surging waters of the Bhagirathi river. A search is underway to locate him, the officials said. Dehradun was also lashed by heavy rain on Monday (August 11), resulting in waterlogging at various areas. More than 1,300 people have been evacuated since the start of air rescue operations after the disaster. Foodgrains, edible items and essentials like clothes, gumboots and sleeping bags etc. have been provided to the affected people in adequate quantity, they said. Forty-three people were reported missing in the disaster, out of which the body of Akash Panwar, a youth from Dharali village, was recovered a few days back, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey had said on Monday (August 11). Uttarkashi flash floods: Can we prevent the next tragedy? | In Focus podcast The ex-gratia announced by the State Government as immediate relief has also been provided to the family of the deceased youth, he said. The 42 who still remain missing include nine army personnel, eight residents of Dharali village, five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from these, 29 Nepali labourers were also reported missing initially, out of which five have been contacted after the restoration of mobile network in the area, he said. More details about the remaining 24 labourers like their mobile numbers and places where they hailed from have been sought from their contractors, he said. Distribution of an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each as immediate relief among the affected people is going on, he said, adding that a larger package of relief and rehabilitation is being prepared for them. The State Government, quoting the Meteorological Department, said that the weather will remain bad for the next few days with heavy rain predicted in the state on August 13, 14 and 15. Uttarakhand HC deploys dedicated team Uttarakhand Civil Judge, Sachin Kumar, speaking on the recent devastating Uttarkashi floods, said that the High Court will deploy a dedicated team of doctors and others to visit the site and prepare a report. 'The Supreme Court has a department called NALSA for helping victims of such disasters. On the directions of the Nainital High Court, our District Legal Services Authority has been instructed to deploy our dedicated team, which includes doctors, NDRF, SDRF personnel, advocates, and physicians,' said Justice Kumar. 'They will visit the site and prepare a report on the facilities the victims are currently receiving, including whether they are getting enough food and addressing their other basic needs. We will compile this report and send it to the High Court. This will undoubtedly benefit the victims. We will also try to implement schemes that will assist them in their compensation and rehabilitation,' Justice Kumar added further. Air rescue operations continue Authorities continued air operations for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) to rescue the stranded people in the areas of Dharali and Harsil in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. People trapped in the Dharali-Harsil disaster are being rescued through helicopters and brought to Matli helipad, from where arrangements have also been made to ensure their safe arrival at their destination, said officials. Meanwhile, efforts are being made continuously by the teams of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam and Irrigation Department to open the lake formed on the Bhagirathi river near the Harshil helipad in Uttarkashi district in a controlled manner, said an official release. District Magistrate Prashant Arya has been in Dharali Harshil since August 5, continuously directing all arrangements to provide all possible help to the disaster victims. The official release has stated that the District Magistrate is conducting continuous inspections of the area where the lake on the Bhagirathi river at the Harshil helipad is being manually opened. About 1,278 people have been rescued in operations in Dharali, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said on Monday (August 11). Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey told ANI, 'Following a disaster in Dharali, about 1,278 people, including those from other states, stranded at Gangotri Dham, were evacuated. The operation is now complete. Electricity and mobile networks have been restored.' 'Valley Bridge, road connectivity restored' He added that the Valley Bridge and road connectivity have been restored, and the district officials are monitoring the distribution of ₹5 lakh assistance announced by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. 'The Valley Bridge has been restored, and road connectivity should be fully restored by evening. Essential supplies like food, warm clothing, and daily items have arrived for distribution. District officials monitor the situation as the distribution of Rs 5 lakh assistance, announced by the CM, begins,' he said. The Commissioner added, 'A three-member committee appointed by the CM has arrived to assess relief and rehabilitation packages. They will submit an initial report in a week and a final report within a month.'
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Climate
- Business Standard
NGRI experts launch search ops to trace 66 missing in disaster-hit Dharal
Equipped with Ground Penetrating Radars, experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) on Tuesday launched a search operation to trace the 66 people, including 24 Nepali labourers, reported missing since raging waters and mudslides buried virtually half of Dharali village in Uttarkashi a week ago. The team of experts, which reached the flood-ravaged site on Monday evening, will identify and focus on places where there may be human presence under the debris, they said. Ground Penetrating Radars (GPRs) is a geophysical method that uses radio waves to detect objects and structures below the surface. The NGRI had used its GPRs to locate people trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse in Telangana in February this year. These radars of NGRI can detect human life even in the presence of mud and water, the officials said, adding that the GPR surveys will also detect anomalies within the debris. On Monday, incessant rain in various parts of Uttarakhand, including Uttarkashi, had hampered the search and rescue operations in Dharali village as well as efforts to restore road connectivity to the flood-hit areas of the district. According to officials, 24 Nepali labourers and 42 others are reported missing since the tragedy struck the village on August 5. The JCB operator engaged in restoring road connectivity to the affected area went missing after it fell into the surging waters of the Bhagirathi river. A search is underway to locate him, the officials said. Dehradun was also lashed by heavy rain on Monday, resulting in waterlogging at various areas. More than 1,300 people have been evacuated since the start of air rescue operations after the disaster. Foodgrains, edible items and essentials like clothes, gumboots and sleeping bags etc have been provided to the affected people in adequate quantity, they said. Forty-three people were reported missing in the disaster, out of which the body of Akash Panwar, a youth from Dharali village, was recovered a few days back, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey had said on Monday. The ex-gratia announced by the state government as immediate relief has also been provided to the family of the deceased youth, he said. The 42 who still remain missing include nine army personnel, eight residents of Dharali village, five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from these, 29 Nepali labourers were also reported missing initially, out of which five have been contacted after the restoration of mobile network in the area, he said. More details about the remaining 24 labourers like their mobile numbers and places where they hailed from have been sought from their contractors, he said. Distribution of an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each as immediate relief among the affected people is going on, he said, adding that a larger package of relief and rehabilitation is being prepared for them. The state government, quoting the Meteorological Department, said that the weather will remain bad for the next few days with heavy rain predicted in the state on August 13, 14 and 15. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
