Days after a massive snowslide avalanche killed eight Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, a 24-hour avalanche warning has been reportedly issued on Friday for areas over 3,000 meters from sea level in Uttarakhand.
What Is An Avalanche? | A Recap Of Chamoli And Other Similar Incidents
Avalanches are often triggered by the weak bonds between the snow layers on mountainsides during winter. In view of the recent avalanche in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, we are looking back at a few similar incidents that took place in the past few years.
The warning issued by the Chandigarh-based Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment, or DGRE included an 'orange' alert for Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Pithogarh districts and a 'yellow' alert for Uttarkashi district.
What Happened In Chamoli?
On February 28, the avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath on Friday, burying 54 workers inside eight containers and a shed. Earlier, it was believed that the total number of trapped labourers was 55 but one of them was on unauthorised leave and had reached home safely.
Over 200 personnel collectively from the disaster management authority, ITBP, BRO, NDRF, SDRF, IAF, district administration, health department, and fire brigade were engaged in the extensive rescue operations. Helicopters, sniffer dogs, and thermal imaging technology were being used to expedite the rescue operation as well.
The rescue mission to bring back the trapped BRO workers in avalanche-hit Chamoli came to an end when 46 workers out of the total 54 came out alive while eight others couldn't survive the natural disaster amid extreme weather conditions.
What Is An Avalanche?
An avalanche, which is considered a large-scale natural disaster, happens when a huge mass of snow, rock, ice, soil, and other material starts sliding swiftly down a mountainside. While avalanches of rocks or soil are often termed landslides, snowslides involve the rapid downward movement of snow in mountain ranges.
According to the website of National Geographic, avalanches are triggered when layers of a snowpack start sliding off. Snowpacks, in simple words, are layers of snow that build up on the side of a mountain. During harsh weather conditions in winter, frequent snowfalls often lead to the formation of thicker snowpack.
Now, what causes the snow layers to slide off is the weak bonds between the layers. The melted snow that refreezes due to low temperatures forms a thin layer of ice to which a new layer of heavy snow often fails to adhere causing the slide-off. As it moves downhill, the snow gains momentum producing a river of snow and icy particles that reaches the air in the form of sliding cloud.
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List Of Avalanche Incidents In India
Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir (February 2023)
On February 1, 2023, the popular Gulmarg ski resort in Jammu and Kashmir was hit by a massive avalanche.
The incident killed killing two Polish skiers. 21 others were rescued while four people including two foreign skiers and two guides were reported missing in the incident.
Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh (February 2022)
At least seven Indian soldiers died in a severe avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh's Kameng on February 06, 2022. The spot was close to the China border.
The bodies of the deceased soldiers were discovered after days of extensive rescue operations in the area.
Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand (October 2022)
On October 04, 2022, another massive avalanche killed at least 16 people, including trainee mountaineers, in Uttarkashi라이브 바카라 Matli in Uttarakhand.
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It was reported that a group of 41 mountaineers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) participating in a training course were trapped under the snow.
Later the bodies were retrieved from Draupadi's Danda II mountain peak.
Chamoli Uttarakhand ( 2021)
Uttarakhand's Chamoli was devastated twice by two separate avalanches in 2021- one in February and the other in April.
In one of the worst tragedies in the state, at least 80 people were killed while over 200 were reported missing as an avalanche swept away the Rishiganga hydroelectric project while also causing damage to a bigger project on the Dhauliganga river.
Within months since the devastating avalanche battered the mountain state, at least eight people had died in another avalanche which was triggered as a glacier broke close to the India-China border on April 23, 2021. More than 380 people were rescued.
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