Flash Floods in Himachal Pradesh: Man-Made Disaster or a Natural Calamity

Abstract

Almost every year monsoon is the time when a lot of disasters take place in some form or another in various places across the Himalayan regions.Earthquakes varying in harshness, floods or flash floods, and glacial lake outbursts are common among other menace.Cloudbursts that are unexpected and violent rainfall, followed by flash floods,are generally reported in the monsoon season. The most disasters in American history have caused more than a billion dollars in damage. According to NOAA and India, by 2023, 23 disasters had cost more than $57 billion and killed at least 253 people. El Nino climate change increases natural disasters in vulnerable areas, exacerbating a devastating climate problem. 2023 India witnessed floods, landslides, Raigarh, and Thathri subsidence incidents in Himachal, Nagpur. The mixture of the monsoon gush and moisture from the Mediterranean Sea brought by the western disturbance led to widespread flooding and landslides. Climate change also played a vital role, as increasing temperatures in the atmosphere's moisture-holding volume led to more intense rainfall conditions. The incident of flash floods, especially in small river valleys, is one of the most dreaded reactions of major cloudbursts, landslides, or glacial lake outbursts.