2014 Sunkoshi blockage

Last updated

Sunkoshi blockage
Lake formed by Sunkoshi blockage.jpg
Details
Country Nepal
Incident type Flood
CauseBlockage
Statistics
Deaths156
Lake formed by Sunkoshi blockage Lake formed by Sunkoshi blockage.jpg
Lake formed by Sunkoshi blockage
Jure area after landslide Jure area after landslide.jpg
Jure area after landslide

On 2 August 2014, due to heavy rainfall, a landslide occurred at the Sunkoshi river, killing 156 people and blocking the river to form an artificial lake in Sindhupalchok District, Nepal. [1] [2] Araniko Highway, the main (and only) artery of goods and people flow to China, was blocked by the landslide ripping out 5 km of highway, and causing huge traffic jam. 2 dozens houses have been swept by the landslide. [3] The landslide had a volume of 5.5 million cubic metres. [4]

This landslide had massive effects far beyond, not evident from the pictures. The dammed river was threatening to unleash a torrent of water to hundreds of downstream villages that would ravage as far as Northern India. [5] Despite the use of dynamite, it took the Nepali Army 45 days to dig a canal through the blockage to allow water in the lake to drain. [6] The lake created was 47 meters deep and over 400 meters long. [7] The hasty emergency draining through the lake canal itself caused damage to houses downstream and threatens to take out Lamusanghu Hydropower Dam. [8]

2015 earthquakes

Following earthquakes in April and May 2015, concern was expressed that the dam might have become unstable leading to a risk of further flooding downstream of the blockage. [9]

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Landslides are triggered in Nepal due to a combination of steep mountains and unstable soils. The risk of the landslide is high in the monsoon season due to lubrication of soil in slope by moisture. Another important factor triggering the landslide is earthquakes. When landslide occurs near the river, it can block the river causing a damming effect. Damming could also occur due to rock-slides. Such dams are unstable and can cause flooding if not breached in controlled manner. Below is a list of dams formed due to landslides and their impacts in Nepal Annually, 593 natural disaster occurs in average and quite a few of them are related to the damming by landslides and about 13% of fatality is directly related to the landslide and Landslides Dammed Outburst Flood (LDOF).

Weather of 2014

The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2014. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones. In September, floods in India and Pakistan killed 557 people. The costliest single event was Typhoon Rammasun, which killed 225 people and left over US$8 billion in damage when it moved through the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

References

  1. "Downstream areas to be announced flood crisis zone". myrepublica.com. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  2. "The Himalayan Times : Landslides block Sunkoshi River' locals being evacuated – Detail News : Nepal News Portal". thehimalayantimes.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  3. "Massive landslide blocks Sunkoshi River, 8 killed | Top Stories". ekantipur.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. "Before and After the Sunkosi Landslide". Earth Observatory. NASA. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Nepal Army unblocks river dammed by landslide - The Hindu". The Hindu .
  7. http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=82612 [ dead link ]
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Ravilious, Kate (May 13, 2015). "Quake heightens Nepal landslide concern". BBC News Online . Retrieved May 16, 2015.