- By Sahelee Rakshit
- Fri, 28 Feb 2025 08:44 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Badrinath Avalanche: Rescue operations are underway in Badrinath, Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, after an avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp, burying 41 people beneath the snow. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that BRO and ITBP forces, as well as other agencies, are carrying out the rescue efforts.
Uttarakhand has had several natural calamities, including as landslides, floods, and avalanches.
Uttarakhand | At around 07:15 am on 28 February 2025, a BRO Labour Camp, located between Mana and Badrinath, was struck by an avalanche, burying 57 workers inside eight containers and one shed.
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2025
The Indian Army’s swift response teams, comprising more than 100 personnel from the… pic.twitter.com/wSeRfmrcra
Why Uttarakhand Highly Sensitive To Natural Disasters?
Uttarakhand is a state in the Himalayas that is particularly vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes, and floods. This is especially true during the monsoon season.
According to Dr Sushil Kumar, the former head of the Institute of Himalayan Geology's Geophysics Group, the Himalayas are a very young mountain range with just dirt covering the top 30 to 50 feet of its surface.
Landslides result from soil erosion, particularly during rainy seasons. Furthermore, Uttarakhand is now more vulnerable to natural disasters as a result of the hills being chopped down for development and more rains brought on by the Tehri Dam's expanded catchment area.
Past Natural Calamities In Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Avalanche 2022: The worst mountaineering tragedy in Indian history occurred in 2022 when an avalanche at the Draupadi Ka Danda peak in Uttarakhand killed 27 mountaineers enrolled in the Nehru Institute of climbing's Advanced Mountaineering Course.
Chamoli Flash Floods 2021: In 2021, floods occurred in Uttarakhand's Nanda Devi National Park, which is located in the outer Garhwal Himalayas. A massive rock and ice avalanche made of debris that had been released from Ronti Peak was the cause of the floods in the Chamoli area. More than 200 people were killed or reported missing in the tragedy; the majority were employees at the Tapovan dam site.
Kedarnath Flash Floods 2013: One of the worst natural catastrophe to hit Uttarakhand since the 2004 tsunami occurred in June 2013, when a cloudburst brought deadly floods and landslides.
Joshimath Land Subsidence: Joshimath in Uttarakhand has undergone a massive landslide-like incident, resulting in the formation of several fissures. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun discovered that Joshimath and the surrounding areas had been sinking at a pace of 6.5 centimetres per year from July 2020 to March 2022.