Rock Falls, Landslides and Cloudbursts in the Monsoons in the Mountains

Just like every Monsoon this year again we have got multiple Reports of Rockfalls, Landslides and Cloudbursts from various locations in the Himalayas especially from Himachal Pradesh. 

Landslides and Rockfalls are accelerated during the Monsoon simply because the Water tends to loosen the Soil and the Land simply slides. And due to the same phenomenon the Rocks loosen and roll down under the influence of Gravity. We know the Himalayas are a Mountain Range which is still rising and Landslides and Rockfalls are partly caused by this. Of course nowadays these have also been caused due to Man Made factors like the destruction of Forests and Building of Roads and other Construction activities in the Mountains. The Building of Dams has also been blamed for increased Seismic activity which also causes these though this remains a Controversial subject.

As more and more people are nowadays armed with Phones with Cameras many of these Calamities are now being caught on Tape and a much wider audience can now witness the destruction that Rock Falls and Landslides and Flooding caused by Cloudbursts. This Year we also had the very sad incident in which 9 Tourists lost their lives in the Kinnaur Region as a Rockfall hit their Vehicle and it rolled down the Mountain and any chances of anyone surviving such a horrible incident were very low. 

Also we are witnessing many Cloudbursts. In fact there was a devastating one in the Dachan area of Kishtwar which killed 8 people, there was another along the Bhot Nallah in Padar in Kishtwar, another one in Lahaul which claimed lives and still another one at the Amarnath Cave Shrine. I am sure there must have been many more which have gone unrecorded.

So what exactly is a Cloud burst ? Contrary to the popular belief there is no actual “Bursting” of a Cloud during a Cloudburst. Its actually a very heavy Amount of Rainfall falling in a short period of time at a rate of 100 mm an Hour or more though there are divergent views on the same. The main problem caused by Cloudbursts are Flash Floods and these Floods when aided by Gravity have the ability to even carry big Boulders and these Flash Floods devastate any and everything which comes on their way.

In the Indian Himalayas Cloudbursts are a phenomenon which takes place usually during the Monsoons when the Monsoon Clouds ride over the Plains and hit the Wall of the Himalayas and then let go of their load. These happen every year of course but the intensity varies from year to year. 

However over the recent years they have become more devastating due to the loss of the Green cover. Trees and Vegetation are the only elements that can reduce the ferocity of these Torrents as they flow down the Mountains. Without Trees and Vegetation which holds the banks togethers these Flows just take whatever path they can and if they hit a Village then its usually disastrous. Also these Torrents swell up the Rivers and Nallahs downstream and they also become agents of destruction.

And we have allowed rampant unplanned Construction to come up right on the Banks of the Rivers and the Flood Plains which earlier tempered the fury of these Rivers are now gone. With the Flood Plains gone the Rivers become angrier and their wrath is served downstream. But at the end of the Day the River does claim its FloodPlain back. We have seen the effect of this during the Uttarakhand tragedy a few years back. 

We can't stop Cloudbursts but we sure can stop Deforestation and Illegal Constructions in the Mountains. If we dont we will be in constant Conflict with Nature. And in the end Nature always wins.  

This all being said People need to be aware of these before travelling to the Mountains especially in the Monsoons. Pay heed to Weather Forecasts and do not Travel if Heavy Rains are predicted. Try and Postpone your Travel to after the Monsoon if the Route you are planning to take is prone to Landslides and Rockfalls. Rely on local knowledge about what would be a good time to Travel or not. 

We at Work From Mountains would be more than Happy to help you Plan your Workation in the best possible way keeping in view the Weather and other Local factors at each of our Locations. You know where to get us.