Citation

Hakhoo N, Bhat GM, Pandita S, Hussain G, Haq AU, Hafiz M, Ahmed W, Singh Y, Thusu B. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 2019; 35: e101094.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101094

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Shyok-Nubra Valley situated in the NW Himalaya of India represents a dynamic environment where continuous tectonics has influenced the landscape, geologic and geomorphic processes. With existence of communities in such an environment it becomes very essential to document and understand the natural hazards. This paper provides a preliminary documentation and understanding of the natural hazards and their drivers, mechanisms and impacts in this region. Here, seismicity is poorly understood, and the earthquake hazards are primarily associated with collapse of building (Type-I and II) structures. Intense deformation has made the mountainous terrain very fragile, weak and highly susceptible to mass movements. The region is susceptible to floods and GLOFs, based on OSL dating, we report two flooding events (bracketed between 8.5 ± 0.4 and 7.5 ± 0.4 ka) and the increase in sedimentation rate over a period of 4.3 ka. Here, major settlements are on active fans that are highly vulnerable to numerous hazards. Fan hazard risk assessment in the Diskit area enabled identification of four hazard prone zones that should be avoided for any developmental work. Although the frequency of cloudburst and rain-storms has increased, very little is understood about the climate and its variability in this region. The region is prone to snow avalanche risk, but most of the settlements are located in the low susceptibility zone. The aeolian geomorphic processes are dominant in the region and desertification is prominent in some areas. This work provides a suitable context for resolving problems related to natural hazards susceptibility and developmental works in this region.

Language: en

Keywords

Himalaya; India; Natural hazards; Shyok-Nubra valley