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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMATICS AND GEOSCIENCES
Volume 6, No 2, 2015
© Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0
Research article ISSN 0976 – 4380
Submitted on September 2015 published on November 2015
1578
Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of
Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
Assistant Professor, Centre of Advanced Study in Geography, Department of Geography
Panjab University, Chandigarh
vishwa.geoinvader@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Snow avalanche is a common phenomenon in high mountain landscapes like Himalayas
where the sheer force of the down sliding snow uproot rocks, trees or other material and leave
behind a devastating picture of death and misery. Such phenomena occur in areas where rapid
accumulation of snow takes place and the most favourable location and situation is the high
slopes just after a snow storm or heavy snowfall. This paper examines the spatial and
temporal avalanche occurrence in Himachal Pradesh. The analysis shows that frequency and
magnitude of snow avalanches in Himachal Pradesh are considerably less disastrous and have
limited spatial extent; restricted to the Greater Himalayan region and the northern limits of
middle Himalayas. Such events are confined to northern and eastern parts of the state where
snowfall is perpetual. The locational distribution also shows that within the study area the
most vulnerable areas include Chandra river valley from Koksar to Udaipur in Lahaul & Spiti
district; Sangla valley, Karcham-Reckong Peo area and Tinku nullah in Poo area to Namgia
in Kinnaur district; Pangi area of Chamba district and the higher reaches around Deo-Tibba
of Kullu district. Likewise the impact of avalanches in terms of human casualty is confined to
Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts.
Key words: Avalanche, disaster, casualty, spatio-temporal distribution, Himalayas.
Introduction
An avalanche refers to the sudden downhill movement of a snow mass that may consist of
rocks, soil, ice and trees. In general, a snow avalanche means failure of snow-covered slopes.
The sheer power of the down sliding snow can uproot rocks, trees or other material that
comes in its way. Avalanche occurrence depends upon three basic requirements (a) large
volume of snow, (b) sloped surface and (c) a trigger mechanism. Such phenomena occur in
areas where rapid accumulation of snow takes place. The slopes, especially between 30-45
degrees, provide a mode for avalanche movement although gentler slopes can also induce
avalanche if snow is sufficiently wet (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2009). The trigger mechanism
by increasing the stress induces the downhill movement of snow at a very fast pace. The
increase in stress may be due to heavy snowfall in a short span of time, over-burden of snow,
wind drifting, removal of base layer, weather conditions, tectonically induced or even human
induced reasons. Thus the most favourable location and situation is the high slopes just after a
snow storm or heavy snowfall.
This paper examines the avalanche occurrence in terms of its spatial and temporal dimensions
in Himachal Pradesh. In addition, the incidents of snow storms are included in this study,
though they are a different phenomenon and operate as a different mechanism. In terms of
frequency and magnitude, snow avalanches in Himachal Pradesh are considerably less
disastrous and have limited spatial extent. In Himachal Pradesh avalanches are restricted to
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1579
the Greater Himalayan region and the northern limits of middle Himalayas. The higher
reaches of the state remain under a perpetual cover of snow for a large part of the year and it
is here that avalanches occur. In these areas avalanches occur very frequently but go untraced
as these areas are devoid of human settlement. This analysis of avalanche as a disaster is
therefore restricted to the inhabited parts of Himachal Himalayas. A very small section of
land is available and suitable for habitation therefore the occurrence of avalanche even in
lesser frequency and magnitude may cause widespread loss. Such events also lead to the
blockade of rivers and thus create temporary reservoirs, the outburst of which leads to
damaging flash floods.
Chronicles of Avalanches
Prior to 1971, the information regarding avalanche occurrence is very limited and therefore
the historical reconstruction often presents a patchy picture. The Greater Himalayan areas of
the state have historically been prone to avalanche hazard. There are two such recorded
incidents, one in 1836 (Government of Himachal Pradesh, 1975) and another in 1863
Harcourt (1871). Although it is difficult to decipher whether events of 1836 was an avalanche
or intrusion of advancing glacier that blocked the river resulting in glacial lake outburst flood
(GLOF). The other incident was a lethal snow storm that killed seventy two people in 1863.
The gazetteers of Kangra District refer to series of avalanches in Kullu district where Phojal
nullah near Manali was blocked and resultant flash flood devastated the downstream valley
(Punjab Government, 1917, p. 19). Chander (1989) mentioned 9 events of avalanches in
Kullu valley during 1935-1947.
Since 1971, a number of damaging avalanche events has struck the state. There were six
devastating incidents of avalanche during 1971-1979. Two porters got killed near Deo-Tibba
at a height of 17,000 feet in an avalanche following heavy snowfall on 28 October 1972
while two climbers were killed in 1973 near Manali area and two more died at Arrang village
of Lippa valley in Kinnaur district in 1975. There were two incidents of avalanche, first
occurred in Pangi valley of Chamba district while other incident took place at Sagnam village
in Pin valley of Lahaul & Spiti district in the end of March 1978. The official records state
that these avalanches claimed 30 lives in Lahaul & Spiti district in 1978 (Government of
Himachal Pradesh, 2006).
The worst incident of avalanche occurred in the tribal district of Lahaul & Spiti during the
winter of 1979. On 8
th
March 1979, about 75 persons were killed in devastating avalanches
that occurred in different parts of Lahaul valley. The destruction continued for many days and
as many as 237 people lost their lives in Lahaul valley (Government of Himachal Pradesh,
2006). There were two incidents of snow-storm one at Shimla in 1971 and other near Manali
in 1977 where two people died.
The avalanche information extracted from newspaper archive of ‘The Tribune’ reveals that
there were six incidents of avalanches during 1980s; two were in 1982, one in 1983, two in
1984 and one in 1988. These events claimed 21 lives out of which eleven were in Kinnaur,
seven in Kullu and three in Chamba district. Besides these events, three incidents of
snowstorm in 1981, 1982 and 1987 were reported claiming 21 lives out of which 7 were in
Kullu, 9 in Shimla and 5 in Lahaul & Spiti districts, respectively. Seven incidents of
avalanches occurred in 1990s, out of which five were in Lahaul & Spiti, and one each in
Kullu and Kinnaur districts. All, except the one that hit the Kullu district near Rohtang pass
in August, occurred during the winter months. There was at least one avalanche every year
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1580
except 1990, 1993, 1994 and 1998. These events claimed 17 lives, 15 in Lahaul & Spiti and 2
in Kullu district. This next decade 2000-2009 recorded 15 events of avalanches in the state.
In March 2002, avalanches killed 3 people in Namgia, Skiba and Nippa villages of Kinnaur
district while in another incident at Tinku nullah blocked the river that created a huge lake. A
huge avalanche struck four villages of Bharmaur in March 2003. During January 2006
avalanches damaged apple orchards in Kalichho village of Pangi valley and Nichar and
Sangla valley of Kinnaur district. A series of avalanches struck the high altitude areas of
Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti and Kullu districts in January 2008. In Kinnaur district avalanches
struck on Sangla-Karcham road and Poari area causing damage to roads, houses and
orchards. Two persons were killed in the Allain and Duhangan power project site at Prini
near Manali. Another two persons were killed near the Surtang nullah near Sissu village and
seven persons buried near Bharatpur in Lahaul & Spiti district. Apart from these events, three
incidents of snow-storm occurred in the state. Shimla town was hit by a storm in January
2004 while Chitkul, Rakchham, Saring and Barseri areas of Sangla valley in Kinnaur were
badly hit in January 2008. In another incident, a snowstorm near Rohtang at Rani Nala area
of Kullu claimed 8 lives on 20 November 2009.
1. Spatio-temporal distribution and concentration patterns
Avalanche as a disaster in Himachal Pradesh is neither very frequent nor an annual feature;
however a small but negligible increased has been observed in the overall frequency of
avalanche incidence. The occurrence was however limited to just 20 years while no event
was reported in 19 years (figure 1). The number of years of avalanche occurrence per decade
was 5, 4, 6 and 5 during 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, respectively. The period 1971-2009
recorded 41 incidents of avalanche in the inhabited parts of the state. There were 13 events of
avalanche during 1970s which accounts for 31.71 per cent of total occurrences during 1971-
2009. The proportion is 14.63 and 17.07 per cent for 1980s and 1990s while in 2000s it
increased to 36.59 per cent (table 1).
The occurrence is confined predominantly to winter months from January- March which
accounts for over 92 per cent of total avalanche events (table 1). The distribution of
avalanches in the state reveals that this hazard is expectedly restricted to four districts situated
in the northern part of middle Himalayas and the Greater Himalayas. These include the
districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti, Chamba, and Kullu which are vulnerable to such hazard
(map1). Lahaul & Spiti district is the most vulnerable district where a total of 17 (41.46%)
events have occurred during 1971-2009 while Kinnaur (36.59%) is the second leading district.
Kullu and Chamba account for about 12 and 10 per cent, respectively, of total avalanche
events that occurred during the period (table 2).
Avalanches were most prevalent in Lahaul & Spiti district during 1970s and the district
accounted for nearly 77 per cent of total occurrences in the state. The avalanches were evenly
distributed in Kinnaur, Kullu and Chamba district in 1980s while no such event recorded in
Lahaul & Spiti. The phenomenon was again concentrated in Lahaul & Spiti during 1990s and
in Kinnaur in 2000s and they accounted for over 70 percent of total decadal events of
avalanches (table 2). The intra-district analysis shows that avalanche incidents were largely
concentrated for particular time period in different districts, e.g. in Lahaul majority occurred
in 1970s; Chamba in 1980s; Kinnaur in 2000s while in Kullu district these were almost
evenly distributed for every decade (table 3 & map 1).
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1581
Figure 1: Avalanche occurrence & trend (1971-2009)
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for the
period 1971-2009.
Table 1: Himachal Pradesh: distribution of avalanche (1971-2009)
Decade
Winter
Jan-Mar
Pre-
Monsoon
Apr-Jun
Monsoon
Jul-Sept
Post-
Monsoon
Oct-Dec Decadal Total (per
cent)
Events Events Events Events
1
1971
-
1979
11
0
1
1
13 (31.71)
2
1980
-
1989
6
0
0
0
6 (14.63)
3
1990
-
1999
6
0
1
0
7 (17.07)
4
2000
-
2009
15
0
0
0
15 (36.59)
Total (per
38 (92.68)
0
2 (4.88)
1 (2.44)
41 (100.00)
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for
the period 1971-2009.
Table 2: Himachal Pradesh: decadal distribution of avalanche (1971-2009)
District
1971
-
1980
-
1990
-
2000
-
Total
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
1
Lahaul &
10
0
5 (71.42)
2 (13.33)
17 (41.46)
2
Kinnaur
1
(7.69)
2 (33.33)
1 (14.29)
11
15 (36.59)
3
Kullu
1 (7.69)
2 (33.33)
1 (14.29)
1 (6.67)
5 (12.19)
4
Chamba
1 (7.69)
2 (33.33))
0
1 (6.67)
4 (09.76)
Total (per cent)
13 (100)
6 (100)
7 (100)
15 (100)
41 (100.00)
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for the
period 1971-2009.
Table 3: Himachal Pradesh: intra-district decadal distribution of avalanche (1971-2009)
District
1971- 1980- 1990- 2000-
Total
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
Events
(per cent)
1
Lahaul &
10
0
5 (29.41)
2 (11.77)
17 (100)
2
Kinnaur
1 (6.67)
2 (13.33)
1 (6.67)
11
15 (100)
3
Kullu
1 (20)
2 (40)
1 (20)
1 (20)
5 (100)
4
Chamba
1 (25)
2 (50)
0
1 (25)
4 (100
)
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1582
Total (per cent)
13
6 (14.63)
7 (17.07)
15
41
(100)
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for the
period 1971-2009.
Figure 2: Avalanche Location and frequency
4. Human casualty and destruction
In terms of human casualty avalanches claimed 301 lives during last four decades. There are
few events which were very disastrous and claimed several human lives (table 4). Out of the
301 deaths caused by avalanches 269 (89.37%) were in Lahaul & Spiti district. In other three
districts less than six per cent people lost their lives to avalanches (table 5). District wise
decadal breakup shows that 1970s was the worst hit decade that accounts for 249 (82.72%)
out of 301 deaths due to avalanches and 245 deaths were in Lahaul & Spiti district alone. For
rest of the decades, the number of casualties remained comparatively low but consistent. For
Kinnaur, Kullu and Chamba, 1980s was the most devastating decade. Lahaul & Spiti
remained the most vulnerable district except 1980s when over half of the deaths due to
avalanches were in Kinnaur district while one-third deaths occurred in Kullu district.
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1583
Table 4: Himachal Pradesh: major avalanche events (1971-2009)
Date
(DMY)
Location/ Site
of Occurrence
Description of
Avalanche Damage
1
30.03.1978
Sangnam, Pin
valley, Lahaul &
Spiti
6 persons including 2 women and 4 children were
killed and 2 houses destroyed.
2
08.03.1979
Lahaul Valley,
Lahaul & Spiti
75 persons killed in devastating avalanches in
Lahaul valley. 40 persons died in the villages
Udaipur, Hansa, Bardang, Shakoli. 12 people
received injuries. Three villages, Warring,
Gardung, Ley Gardung, 9 K.M. from Keylong were
completely razed. The death toll in the district
reached to 200. A dispensary and a Sarai attached
to famous Trilokinath temple in Udaipur area were
also destroyed.
3
21.02.1984
Kilba, Kinnaur 8 killed in an avalanche at Kilba village
4
29.03.1992
Udaipur, Lahaul
valley, Lahaul &
Spiti
9 persons including 5 children killed in an
avalanche that occurred at mid-night in Purti village
on Sansari-Killar-Thirot road.
5
19.03.1996
Piaso Village,
Keylong, Lahaul &
Spiti
6 family members died in avalanche in Piaso
village, 7 km from Keylong.
6
22.09.2008
Bharatpur, Lahaul
& Spiti
7 persons killed in an avalanche at Bharatpur
nullah, while 12 trekkers went missing in the
Chandertal area.
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for the
period 1971-2009.
Table 5: Himachal Pradesh: Decadal Casualty by Avalanche (1971-2009)
District
1971
-
1980
-
1990
-
2000
-
Total
(Per cent)
Casualty
Casualty
Casualty
Casualty
1
Lahaul &
245
0
15
9
269 (89.37)
2
Kinnaur
2
11
0
3
16 (5.32)
3
Kullu
2
7
2
2
13 (4.32)
4
Chamba
0
3
0
0
3 (0.99)
T
otal (per cent)
249
21 (6.98)
17 (5.65)
14 (4.65)
301 (100)
Source: compiled by the author from daily newspaper ‘The Tribune’ and other sources for the
period 1971-2009.
5. Conclusions
Avalanches in Himachal Pradesh have restricted spatial, seasonal and temporal extent. Such
events remain confined to northern and eastern parts of the state where snowfall is perpetual.
These include Lahaul & Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Chamba districts, the first two being the
most vulnerable. The locational distribution also shows that within these four districts the
most vulnerable areas include Chandra river valley from Koksar to Udaipur in Lahaul; Sangla
valley, Karcham-Reckong Peo area and Tinku nullah in Poo area to Namgia in Kinnaur
district; Pangi (Tissa) area of Chamba district and the higher reaches around Deo-Tibba of
+Snow Avalanche as Disaster in Mountain Environment: A Case of Himachal Pradesh
Vishwa B.S.Chandel
International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
Volume 6 Issue 2, 2015
1584
Kullu district (map1). The occurrence is restricted to a limited part of year i.e. winter months
of January to March. The temporal expression is highly erratic as well, as evidenced from the
fact that avalanche occurrence is highly concentrated to very few years. Likewise the impact
of avalanches in terms of human casualty is confined to Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts.
Although the occurrence and human impact of avalanches are lopsided and limited over time
and space, the disastrous manifestation possibly will be colossal in light of the fact that the
areas most vulnerable to avalanches are also the locations where large scale developmental
activities in terms of infrastructure and tourism are taking place.
6. References
1. Chander A., (1989), Landslide: An Expression of Man-Nature Interaction in the
Western Himalayas, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis submitted at the Department of
Geography, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
2. Government of Himachal Pradesh, (1975), Himachal Pradesh District Gazetteers,
Lahul & Spiti, Chandigarh: Greater Punjab Press.
3. Government of Himachal Pradesh, (2006), State of Environment Report, Himachal
Pradesh, Shimla: State Council for Science Technology and Environment.
4. Harcourt A.F.P., (1871), On the Himalayan Valleys: Kooloo, Lahoul, and Spiti.
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 41 pp 245-257.
5. Hyndman D. and D. Hyndman, (2009), Natural Hazards and Disasters, 2
nd
edition.
USA, Belmont: Brooks/Cole.
6. Punjab Government, (1917), Punjab District Gazetteers, Vol. 30 A, Kangra District,
Lahore: Government Printing, Punjab.
