{"id":20005971,"date":"2013-06-20T17:05:39","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T11:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=5971"},"modified":"2021-08-06T11:19:49","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T05:49:49","slug":"himalayan-tsunami-devastates-uttarakhand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/himalayan-tsunami-devastates-uttarakhand\/","title":{"rendered":"Uttarakhand floods a “man-made disaster”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts argue rampant development and poor disaster planning has exacerbated flood damage, as a massive rescue operation is under way to reach survivors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over 60,000 people are stranded and about 1,500 missing \u00a0after a cloudburst and\u00a0floods swept away buildings and triggered\u00a0landslides\u00a0in the northern\u00a0Indian state of Uttarakhand.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of paramilitary have been dispatched to rescue survivors. But road networks and river banks have collapsed, leaving many stranded without food or shelter. A large number of\u00a0pilgrims\u00a0are reported to be trapped around the holy town of Kedarnath.<\/p>\n

Chief minister Vijay Bahuguna has described the floods as a “Himalayan tsunami”\u00a0. Bahuguna\u00a0told the BBC<\/a> the death and destruction in the floods was “unprecedented”, and that causalities could run into the thousands. Flood-related deaths have also been reported in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states and neighbouring Nepal.<\/p>\n

Rajendra K Pachauri, <\/b>director of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI),<\/b> warned that this type of flood event is likely to increase in frequency and intensity over the next years in\u00a0a television interview<\/a>\u00a0yesterday.<\/p>\n

Experts and environmental activists argue indiscriminate development in hill towns and along rivers has blocked the natural flow of water and exacerbated flood<\/a> damage. The place the blame on successive governments who have prioritised large scale infrastructure\u00a0construction and neglected disaster prevention.<\/p>\n

Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment\u00a0said the\u00a0Uttarakhand tragedy is\u00a0a \u201cman-made disaster,\u201d according to The Hindu<\/a>.\u00a0She called\u00a0for the states\u00a0along the Himalayan ranges to reconsider their development models. While\u00a0there could not be a blanket ban on development activities\u00a0in\u00a0these\u00a0fragile areas\u00a0given the needs of\u00a0local people, \u201cwe need to look at ways of development without destroying natural resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

NDTV has broadcast an interesting debate on\u00a0impact of\u00a0rampant\u00a0development and poor planning\u00a0in Uttarakhand and India\u2019s other Himalayan states.<\/p>\n