Key Landslide Triggers: A Case Study of Upper Alaknanda Valley, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India
Keywords:
Landslide, Landuse, Slope instability, Alaknanda Valley, Uttarakhand Himalaya
Abstract
Heavy rainfall in June 2013 triggered landslides together with river erosion across the state of Uttarakhand in India that culminated in a major disaster. Detailed investigation was carried out in the upper Alaknanda V alley of Uttarakhand Himalaya that was adversely affected by landslides, with an aim to identify key factors triggering slope instability. Correlation of the spatial distribution of landslides with land use, road and streams suggests that proximity to road and drainage network have the strongest influence on landslides occurrence in the area. Ill maintained farm terraces on the slopes and alignment of the road network in proximity of the drainage channels are observed to further influence landslide occurrences. Aligning the road network at a safe distance from drainage network, with provision of rainwater disposal and slope stabilisation measures is therefore recommended. Geological surveys should at the same time precede road construction to avoid unstable and weak zones and proper care should be taken to ensure maintenance of farm terraces on the slopes.References
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Atkinson, E.T., 1882. The Himalayan districts of the North West Province of India (forming volume XII of the Gazetteer NWP, Allahabad), Reprint 1996, The Himalayan Gazetteer, Natraj Publishers, Dehradun, India.
Auden, J.B., 1949. In Director’s General report for 1939. Record of Geological Survey of India 78, 74-78.
Cruden, D.M., 1991. A simple definition of a landslide. Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering Geology 43 (1), 27-29.
Dobhal, D.P., Gupta, A.K., Mehta, M., Khandelwal, D.D., 2013. Kedarnath disaster: facts and plausible causes. Current Science 105 (2), 171-174.
Ercanoglu, M., Gokceoglu, C., 2002. Assessment of landslide susceptibility for a landslide-prone area, North of Yenice, NW Turkye, By fuzzy approach. Environmental Geology 41, 720-730.
Froude, M.J., Petley, D.N., 2018. Global fatal landslide occurrence from 2004 to 2016. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 18, 2161-2181.
Heim, A., Gansser, A., 1939. Central Himalaya: Societe Helvetique des Sciences Naturelles 73, 1-245.
IMD, 2013. A preliminary report on heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand during 16-18 June 2013. Government of India, Ministry of Earth Science, Indian Meteorological Department, Lodi Road, New Delhi, July 2013.
IS 1983, 2002. Indian Standard (IS): 1893, Part 1, Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Khanduri, S., 2017. Landslide Hazard around Mussoorie: The Lesser Himalayan Tourist Destination of Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Geography and Natural Disasters 7 (2), 1-10.
Khanduri, S., 2018. Landslide Distribution and Damages during 2013 Deluge: A Case Study of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand. Journal of Geography and Natural Disasters 8 (2), 1-10.
Khanduri, S., 2021. Flash Flood struck Dhauliganga valley on February 7, 2021: A Case study of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand Himalaya in India. Academic Platform Journal of Natural Hazards and Disaster Management 2 (1), 1-15.
Khanduri, S., Sajwan, K.S., Rawat, A., Dhyani, C., Kapoor, S., 2018. Disaster in Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand Himalaya: A Special Emphasis on Geomorphic Changes and Slope Instability. Journal of Geography and Natural Disasters 8 (1), 1-9.
Middlemiss, C.S., 1898. Report on Kailakhan landslip near Nainital of 17 August, 1898, Government Press, Calcutta.
NIDM, 2014. Uttarakhand disaster-2013: Lessons Learnt and Way Ahead. National Institute of Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India) 5B, I.P. Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi, India.
Naithani, A.K., Kumar, D., Prasad, C., 2002. The catastrophic landslide of 16 July 2001 in Phata Byung area, Rudraprayag District, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Current Science 82 (25), 921-923.
Pradhan, B., Chaudhari, A., Adinarayana, J., Buchroithner, M.F., 2012. Soil erosion assessment and its correlation with landslide events using remote sensing data and GIS, A case study at Penang Island. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 184, 715-727.
Rautela, P., 2018. Lessons learnt from June 16/17, 2013 disaster of Uttarakhand, India. Rajib Shaw, Koichi Shiwaku and Takako Izumi (eds.), Science and Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction in India. Potentials and Challenges, 273-300.
Rautela P., 2013. Lessons learnt from the deluge of Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, India. Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management 5 (2), 1-9.
Rautela, P., Thakur, V.C., 1999. Landslide Hazard Zonation around Okhimath in Kaliganga and Madhyamaheshwar Valleys of Garhwal Himalaya: A GIS Based Approach. Himalayan Geology 20 (2), 31-44.
Sarkar, S., Kanungo, D.P., Sharma S., 2015. Landslide hazard assessment in the upper Alakanda valley of Indian Himalayas. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk 6 (2), 308-325.
Sarkar, S., Kanungo, D. P., 2010. Landslide disaster on Berinag– Munsiyari Road, Pithoragarh District, Uttarakhand. Current Science 98 (7), 900-902.
Saha, A.K., Gupta, R.P., Sarkar, I., Arora, K.M.C., Saplovics, E., 2005. An approach for GIS-based statistical landslide susceptibility zonation with a case study in the Himalayas. Landslides 2 (1), 61-69.
Valdiya, K. S., 1989. Trans-Himadri intracrustal fault and basement upwarps south of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone. Geological Society of America Special Paper, 153-168.
Valdiya, K.S., Goel, O.P., 1983. Lithological subdivision and petrology of the great Himalayan Vaikrita Group in Kumaun Himalaya, India. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences - Earth and Planetary Sciences 92, 141-163.
Valdiya, K.S., 1980. Geology of the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, India.
Varnes, D.J., 1978. Slope movement types and processes, Special report 176, Landslides: Analysis and Control. TRB National Research Council, Washington, DC.
Zhang, S., Li, C., Peng, J., Peng, D., Xu, Q., Zhang, Q., Bate, B., 2021. GIS-based soil planar slide susceptibility mapping using logistic regression and neural networks: a typical red mudstone area in southwest China. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk 12 (1), 852-879.
Zhou, C.H., Lee, C F., Li, J., Xu, Z.W., 2002. On the spatial relationship between landslides and causative factors on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Geomorphology 43, 197-207.
Published
2021-07-15
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