{"id":41701,"date":"2025-04-21T19:39:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T14:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=41701"},"modified":"2025-04-21T19:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T14:09:38","slug":"cloudburst-landslide-jammu-kashmir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-04-2025\/cloudburst-landslide-jammu-kashmir","title":{"rendered":"Cloudburst-Triggered Landslide in Jammu and Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, a cloudburst event in the Ramban tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir led to torrential rains, hailstorms, and winds, causing widespread destruction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A cloudburst is a localized event<\/strong> with intense rainfall activity. The phenomenon is most common in hilly regions, however it can occur in plains also.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour over a roughly <strong>10 km x 10 km<\/strong> area is classified as a cloudburst event.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Also <strong>5 cm of rainfall<\/strong> in a<strong> half-hour period<\/strong> over the same area would also be categorized as a cloudburst.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mechanism of Cloudbursts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cloudbursts are more common in hilly areas because of a phenomenon called <strong>\u2018orographic lift\u2019.<\/strong> When moist, warm air masses approach a mountain range, they are forced to ascend along the slope.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As the air rises, it encounters lower atmospheric pressure, causing it to expand and cool.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The cooling leads to condensation of water vapor, forming dense clouds and typically causing rainfall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"b4c1af\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/orgaphic-rain-and-its-mechanism.png\" alt=\"orgaphic rain and its mechanism\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-41702\" style=\"--dominant-color: #b4c1af; width:388px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/orgaphic-rain-and-its-mechanism.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/orgaphic-rain-and-its-mechanism-300x250.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/orgaphic-rain-and-its-mechanism-768x640.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact of Cloudbursts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flash Flood: <\/strong>A flash flood happens quickly, when a lot of rain suddenly enters into the drainage systems (waterbodies, drains), and water overflows.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Flash floods are more common in hills, because rocky terrain does not absorb water very well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> The <strong>2013 Kedarnath Disaster <\/strong>involved a cloudburst followed by massive flash floods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Landslide: <\/strong>Landslides are a geological phenomenon that involves the sudden and rapid movement of a mass of rock, soil, or debris down a slope under the influence of gravity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Loss of Life and Livelihood: <\/strong>Sudden nature of cloudbursts leaves little time for evacuation. Destruction of homes, agricultural fields, and livestock affects livelihoods, especially in rural and tribal communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Damage to Infrastructure:<\/strong> Roads, bridges, power lines, and communication networks are often washed away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Impact: <\/strong>Frequent disasters create trauma, displacement, and migration pressures. Affects education, healthcare, and access to essential services in remote regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Measures taken in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Disaster Management Act, of 2005 <\/strong>provides a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the management of various disasters in India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)<\/strong> has been providing capacity building and other support to various national and state-level disaster management authorities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Early Warning system:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India Meteorological Department (IMD), implements the <strong>Ensemble Prediction System (EPS),<\/strong> which uses multiple models to improve the accuracy of rainfall predictions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs):<\/strong> Installed in hilly and vulnerable regions to detect intense rainfall events in real-time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS): <\/strong>Developed with WMO support to provide early warning for flash floods across South Asia, including India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mobile-based Alert Systems:<\/strong> IMD and NDMA use SMS and app-based alerts to inform people in real-time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To effectively mitigate the impact of cloudbursts, India must adopt a comprehensive and proactive approach that combines scientific forecasting, infrastructural resilience, and community-based preparedness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land use planning and zoning regulations<\/strong> must be strictly enforced to prevent construction in high-risk zones.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Urban and rural infrastructure should be designed to handle sudden surges in water flow, with emphasis on <strong>stormwater drainage systems<\/strong>,<strong> slope stabilization, and rainwater harvesting.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also there is a need to integrate climate change adaptation into disaster management planning as intensity of such extreme weather events has increased.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/jammu-kashmir-cloudburst-deaths-evacuated-9954625\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, a cloudburst event in the Ramban tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir led to torrential rains, hailstorms, and winds, causing widespread destruction.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A cloudburst is a localized event with intense rainfall activity. The phenomenon is most common in hilly regions, however it can occur in plains also.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour over a roughly 10 km x 10 km area is classified as a cloudburst event.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-04-2025\/cloudburst-landslide-jammu-kashmir\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41701"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41721,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41701\/revisions\/41721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}