Flashflood

A flashflood is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a short period of time, generally less than 6 hours. Flash floods are usually characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains that rip through river beds, urban streets, or mountain canyons sweeping everything before them. In June 2013, a mid-day cloudburst centred on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. The rainfall received that month was far greater than the rainfall the state usually received. The 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project (HPP), which proven to be a tragedy waiting to happen during the Chamoli flood on February 7, 2021, continues to endanger the local ecosystem and torment local residents’ lives and means of subsistence. Before being pinned down by the disastrous incident that resulted in the deaths of over 200 innocent people there, National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) project was near to the periglacial zone without any Early Warning System (EWS). Despite being started in November 2006 with a scheduled commissioning year of 2012–2013, the project is still far from finished after 15 years. The project has seen many flash floods and landslides that have caused damage. Its cost and completion date have since undergone many, apparently endless extensions. The project was supposed to be completed by 2023 before the Chamoli accident. Developers allegedly suffered significant financial losses as a result of the Chamoli flash floods, and the project is still being damaged as a result of subsequent landslides and flash floods.