{"id":20009784,"date":"2015-02-02T17:40:38","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T12:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=9784"},"modified":"2020-11-16T17:10:23","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:40:23","slug":"huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in the Himalayan\u00a0state of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India have warned that a disaster is looming in the eastern part of the state due to the formation of a huge lake \u2013 which continues to increase in size \u2013 following the blockade of a river by a massive landslide.<\/p>\n

No effective measure has been initiated so far to mitigate the disaster and prevent the lake from bursting and causing destruction downstream. Local officials said on Monday that the information about the landslide\u00a0is sketchy as no ground survey has been carried out yet to assess the situation. They said that the causes of the landslide are not known yet though some estimates about the extent of the artificial lake and the height and length of the blockade were made on the basis of an aerial survey and satellite imagery.<\/p>\n

The landslide blocked the river Phutkal in Ladakh\u2019s Zanskar region on January\u00a015, leading to the formation of the lake, in which the water is\u00a0accumulating all the time, as shown by the images of the National Remote Sensing Centre<\/a> of the Indian Space Research Organisation.<\/p>\n

District administration officials as well as member of parliament from Ladakh, Thupstan Chewang, alerted both the state and the central government about the impending disaster right away. \u201cThough I was satisfied by the initial response of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO) as an expert team was constituted to take stock of the situation, unfortunately no follow up action has been taken so far,\u201d Chewang told\u00a0thethirdpole.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"zanskar\"<\/a>
Location of the landslide<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait for the disaster to strike. Given the loose soil of the area, it can\u2019t hold water for long; so it is a matter of time. The disaster can strike any time,\u201d the MP added, expressing his apprehension that Zanskar was not the only area at risk \u2013 some parts of district headquarters Leh including the Numbo-Buzgo power plant could also be affected.<\/p>\n

Experts agree, saying the lake could cause a huge disaster if necessary measures are not taken to drain it immediately. \u201cThe water needs to be driven out slowly by the use of available resources like skillful and careful dynamite blasting. This is something which should be considered for avoiding the disaster,\u201d Sandip Pandita, who teaches Geology in Jammu University, told\u00a0thethirdpole.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said that Ladakh is known for its loose soil and the occurrence of such landslides should not be surprising. \u201cThe area, being a cold desert, is devoid of any vegetation and thus prone to landslides especially in near rivers,\u201d Pandita explained. \u201cIn Ladakh, as we have seen during the August 2010\u00a0floods, the water collects the debris and becomes saturated making it more dangerous.\u201d The 2010\u00a0floods killed over 250 people in Ladakh and caused damage to property worth millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

Landslide and the lake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Estimates about the size of the lake have been made through an aerial survey and satellite imagery as the area is isolated.\u00a0Additional Deputy Commissioner Moses Konzum, who has been\u00a0appointed\u00a0as the nodal officer in charge of tackling the potential disaster, said that the blockade is\u00a0around 500 metres in length\u00a0and 50 metre high \u2013 the resultant lake is already 10 kilometres across in some places and expanding all the time.<\/p>\n

Konzum said 192\u00a0residents of 30 households in\u00a0seven villages in Kargil district (in the Zanskar belt) will be affected if the lake bursts its banks \u2013 so will some parts of\u00a0Leh district.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0also said the state government has started making\u00a0arrangements to shift the people who\u00a0are likely to be affected. “We\u00a0are thinking of shifting these people to some government buildings in Leh.”<\/p>\n

“We\u00a0are expecting\u00a0a team of experts from the NDMA\u00a0(National Disaster Management Authority) any time this week. Only this team of experts can brief us properly since they will collect the details on ground by using their expertise,” Moses said. He thought the experts would also be able to calculate the volume of water being discharged into the lake.<\/p>\n

But the MP from Ladakh feels the matter is not being taken seriously by the government. \u201cIt is our sheer good luck that the people in the immediate vicinity of the river had shifted from their houses by way of normal practice as they move to the Himachal-Manali road during winters. Aerial reports suggest that some houses have been submerged,\u201d Chewang told\u00a0thethirdpole.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The decision of the district administration to ban the famous Chadar trek<\/a> over the frozen Zanskar river has also helped avoid potential human casualties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000038,"featured_media":20014700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50039903],"tags":[20000022,587,50040707],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000111],"class_list":["post-20009784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water","tag-himalayas","tag-rivers","tag-the-third-pole","country-india"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHuge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"359\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Athar Parvaiz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Athar Parvaiz\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/50c38a980b4c416584ca937be035ab93\"},\"headline\":\"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\"},\"wordCount\":764,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Himalayas\",\"Rivers\",\"The Third Pole\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\",\"name\":\"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":359,\"caption\":\"The Phutkal river was largely frozen when it was blocked by a landslide in January, but breached the blockade in a flood on May 7 as the ice melted\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/50c38a980b4c416584ca937be035ab93\",\"name\":\"Athar Parvaiz\",\"description\":\"Athar Parvaiz is an independent journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, and he tweets @AtharParvaiz\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/athar-parvaiz\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/athar-parvaiz\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh | Dialogue Earth","description":"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh","og_description":"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":359,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Athar Parvaiz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/"},"author":{"name":"Athar Parvaiz","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/50c38a980b4c416584ca937be035ab93"},"headline":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh","datePublished":"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/"},"wordCount":764,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg","keywords":["Himalayas","Rivers","The Third Pole"],"articleSection":["Water"],"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/","name":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg","datePublished":"2015-02-02T12:10:38+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-16T11:40:23+00:00","description":"A landslide has blocked the Phutkal river in Ladakh, forming a huge lake that threatens to burst its banks and wash away villages and a power station downstream","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/6816044983_fee265afb4_z.jpg","width":640,"height":359,"caption":"The Phutkal river was largely frozen when it was blocked by a landslide in January, but breached the blockade in a flood on May 7 as the ice melted"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/huge-landslide-blocks-river-threatens-ladakh\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Huge landslide blocks river, threatens Ladakh"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/50c38a980b4c416584ca937be035ab93","name":"Athar Parvaiz","description":"Athar Parvaiz is an independent journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, and he tweets @AtharParvaiz","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/athar-parvaiz\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/athar-parvaiz\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20009784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20000038"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20009784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20009784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20014700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20009784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20009784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20009784"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=20009784"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=20009784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}