Satellite images reveal another disaster waiting to happen at Kedarnath
Due to the natural calamity in Kedarnath in the year 2013, the entire Kedarnath valley was completely devastated. About 5000 people were killed. Thousands of people were displaced. There was a loss of property of crores. Experts then told the reason for this disaster was early monsoon and melting of glaciers creating a temporary lake above Kedarnath.
After six years of this catastrophe, water is being collected again in Kedarnath lake in Chorabari. This is the same lake that became the main reason for the disaster of 2013. Now it is starting to collect water again. Through satellite photos, it is revealed that the danger of the devastation of 2013 is approaching again.
Some new pictures of frozen Chorabari lake show that water is being collected two kilometers from Kedarnath Dham and its volume is increasing.
India Today’s Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) identified four important water groups in these satellite photos of Chorabari lake.
These photos were taken from Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2B satellite on June 26, 2019. These photos show that the number of water groups has increased from two to four in the last one month. Official sources say that the Uttarakhand government has started taking precautionary measures.
Experts are taking serious note of these marks. Kedarnath valley is ecologically sensitive and fragile. Experts say that if the water bodies are being created in areas like Chorabari, then the administration should not be careless about it.
There are 14 lakes in the Mandakini river basin, Chorabari is one of them. It is at an altitude of 3,960 meters above sea level. Chorabari lake is about two kilometers above Kedarnath.
In 2013, similar water bodies were built in Chorabari lake, due to which the shores of Lake Chorabari collapsed and a terrible catastrophe occurred in Kedarnath Dham. Experts say that the water bodies that are formed do not indicate any significant danger, but if there is torrential rains in this area then the results can be destructive.
What happened in 2013?
Himalayan glaciers are melting 8 billion tons of water annually. A recent study has said that with the entry of the new century, the speed of snow melting has doubled.
On June 16, 2013 there was heavy torrential rains all over Uttarakhand including Kedarnath. On the 15th and the 16th of June, around 325 mm rain was recorded around the Chorabari glacier.
On 17th June, on the banks of Chorabari Lake, water destroyed the natural embankments which were made of snow. The rain water and the water of the lake have become transformed into a raging torrent. The water approached fast towards low-lying areas and the entire Kedarnath valley, including Gori Kund, Sonprayag, Phata etc., was devastated.
