In June 2013, high-intensity rain and cloudbursts in the
Indian State of Uttarakhand in the Himalayas triggered a series of hydrologic
and geologic disasters, including glacial lake outbursts, landslides and flash
floods, affecting more than 2,036,000 people and leading to one of the worst
catastrophes of the decade.
One year on, as the country still grapples with the
calamitous event and its aftermath, in DMS-Himalaya, Banerji, Ipe and Basu
through first-hand observations, vividly recapture the cascading combination
disaster that occurred and the event trajectory. The book also examines the
response process to the disaster, what worked and what did not. The learnings,
from pre-event stages to post-event response, are drawn out with consideration
of the complex interlinked issues related to disaster response in remote
locations with fragile ecologies, and have been woven into a fortified disaster
management system for the Himalayas.
