Scientists have found the origins of a mysterious, deadly flood in India
On February 7, a massive flood, set off by a massive avalanche of rock and ice, devastated the Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric power plant (shown) in India’s Himalayan Uttarakhand state.
On February 7, a massive flood rushed through a valley in India’s Himalayan Uttarakhand state, washing out two hydroelectric power plants and leaving at least 200 people dead or missing. What triggered the deadly flood has been a mystery — but after amassing evidence from satellite images, seismic records and eyewitness accounts, a team of over 50 scientists now say they have solved the case.
The ultimate culprit was a massive avalanche of rock and glacier ice that tumbled 1,800 meters down a steep slope of Ronti Peak, setting off a cascade of events that led to the disaster, the researchers report online June 10 in Science.
This was no ordinary landslide, says Daniel Shugar, a geomorphologist at the University of Calgary in Canada. “This was a multi-hazard scenario where it was much more fluid and mobile than a landslide would be expected to be. It was a worst-case scenario of rock and ice and [the] height of the fall.”
