Large-scale rescue operation underway after flooding from India glacier burst

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Rescue teams worked through the night to find survivors trapped under the debris. Most of the missing are workers from two hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, which were hit by the avalanche.

Footage from Sunday’s disaster shows a fast-moving wall of water and rocks barreling down a narrow gorge and smashing through a dam at the smaller hydroelectric project before surging downstream, wiping out buildings trees and people.

Some 2,500 people in 13 villages were cut off by the ensuing flash floods, Ashok Kumar, senior official with the Uttarakhand police said Monday.

Rescue efforts Monday were focused on clearing sludge and debris from a tunnel at the larger state-owned hydroelectric project. About 30 to 35 workers are believed to be trapped inside.

According to Reuters, teams had managed to drill through 150 meters of the 2.5 km (1.5 miles) long tunnel, but the sheer volume of debris was slowing progress. On Sunday, rescuers pulled out alive 12 people who had been trapped in another, smaller tunnel at the same site, according to Kumar.

Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel take part in rescue efforts at the hydro power project at Reni village in ​​Chamoli district, Uttrakhund,  Feb uary, 8, 2021.
The ecologically sensitive Himalayan region is prone to flash floods and landslides. Himalayan glaciers are also vulnerable to rising global temperatures because of man-made climate change.
As the ice melts, glaciers become unstable and start to retreat. Large glacial lakes can form, and when parts of the glacier in front of it break away they unleash the water trapped behind it causing an outburst of floods. A 2019 study found that Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast as last century, losing almost half a meter of ice each year.
This photograph from the National Disaster Response Force shows NDRF personnel rescuing workers at one of the hydropower projects at Reni village in Chamoli district.

Others have pointed to a high level of construction along the state’s rivers, which in recent years have seen an increasing number of hydroelectric dams, projects and infrastructure connecting them, such as roads and new developments.

While environmentalists have long warned that rampant development in the Himalayan state is an ecological catastrophe waiting to happen, authorities described Sunday’s landslide as a freak event.

“This was a one-time incident. The glacier broke, and with … debris all came down and flooded the power project here,” said Kumar, the Uttarakhand police official.

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Sunday’s floods brought back memories of a similar devastating incident in 2013, when the state was hit by what was dubbed by the area’s chief minister as a “Himalayan tsunami.” Nearly 6,000 people lost their lives those floods, according to Reuters.

Rescue operations continued Monday near the Dhauliganga hydro power project after a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off, in Chamoli district, Uttrakhand, India.

Widespread damage

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said at a press conference Sunday that “Uttarakhand has witnessed a terrible disaster” and the state was expecting “significant loss to human lives and infrastructure.”

It was after 10 a.m. local time when a piece of the Nanda Devi glacier broke apart, sending torrents of water down the Dhauli Ganga river valley located more than 500 km (310 miles) north of New Delhi, according to authorities.

Most of the destruction was centered on two hydropower projects. The Rishiganga Power project — a small dam of 13.2 megawatts — was completely washed away in the deluge, India’s Ministry of Power said in a statement Monday.

The state’s chief minister said 35 people were working at the plant when the waters hit, and “roughly 29 to 30 people are missing.” Rising waters prompted authorities to issue urgent evacuation notices to people living further down the Alaknanda River.

A handout photo from the State Disaster Response Force shows rescue operation near the Dhauliganga hydro power project in Chamoli district, Uttrakhand.

As flash floods surged down the valley, they caused extensive damage to a second and much larger 520 megawatt hydro project under construction about 5 kilometers away from the other project. Some 176 laborers were working on the Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project site, which has two tunnels, and is state-owned by NTPC.

More than 30 workers could be stuck in the second tunnel, he warned. Rescuers are battling to reach them but the surrounding road is covered in debris.

View of the overflowed Mandakini river, a tributary of the Alaknanda River, near the Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand, India.

A witness told Reuters that the avalanche of dust, rock and water came without warning.

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“It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone,” Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the upper reaches of the river in Raini village in Uttarakhand, told Reuters by phone. “I felt that even we would be swept away.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message of support in the wake of the disaster. “Am constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation in Uttarakhand,” he tweeted.

“India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everyone’s safety there. Have been continuously speaking to senior authorities and getting updates on NDRF deployment, rescue work and relief operations.”

CNN’s Akanksha Sharma and Rishabh Pratap contributed reporting.

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