Development drowns Uttarakhand

The state's geology compounds is risky. Steep slopes, young and fragile formations prone to erosion and tectonic faults such as the main central thrust make the terrain unstable. CSE’s Atlas shows 13 Himalayan states and Union territories reported extreme weather events on 822 days, claiming 2,863 lives

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The death and destruction left behind by the flash floods in the Kheer Ganga river in Dharali resurrected painful memories for Geeta, a survivor of the 2013 Kedarnath disaster, who lost four family members in that tragedy, India's worst since 2004 tsunami.

"The same thing happened in Kedarnath," she exclaimed as visuals played out on television at some house in New Delhi where she works as a domestic help.

The 2013 disaster was triggered by more than 300 mm of rain in 24 hours as an early intense monsoon surge interacted with a western disturbance. The extreme rainfall, combined with rapid snowmelt, breached the moraine dam of Chorabari Lake, unleashing massive floods that killed around 5,700 people.

Scarred by the tragedy, Geeta (now 45 years old) and her family migrated to Delhi to rebuild their lives. But each time it hits the Himalayan state, it revives those haunting memories for her.

Over the past 12 years, a series of disasters have underscored the fragility of the Himalayan terrain.

August 18, 2019, a cloudburst in Tikochi and Makudi villages in Uttarkashi’s Arakot region triggered flash floods and landslides, killing at least 19 people and affecting 38 villages.