Recently Ladakh was hit by devastating flash floods. What can be done to
reduce the loss of life and property in such calamities?
Answers
Answer:
Disaster Management in Flash Floods in Leh (Ladakh): A Case Study
Preeti Gupta, Anurag Khanna, and S Majumdar
Additional article information
Abstract
Background:
On August 6, 2010, in the dark of the midnight, there were flash floods due to cloud burst in Leh in Ladakh region of North India. It rained 14 inches in 2 hours, causing loss of human life and destruction. The civil hospital of Leh was badly damaged and rendered dysfunctional. Search and rescue operations were launched by the Indian Army immediately after the disaster. The injured and the dead were shifted to Army Hospital, Leh, and mass casualty management was started by the army doctors while relief work was mounted by the army and civil administration.
Objective:
The present study was done to document disaster management strategies and approaches and to assesses the impact of flash floods on human lives, health hazards, and future implications of a natural disaster.
Materials and Methods:
The approach used was both quantitative as well as qualitative. It included data collection from the primary sources of the district collectorate, interviews with the district civil administration, health officials, and army officials who organized rescue operations, restoration of communication and transport, mass casualty management, and informal discussions with local residents.
Results:
234 persons died and over 800 were reported missing. Almost half of the people who died were local residents (49.6%) and foreigners (10.2%). Age-wise analysis of the deaths shows that the majority of deaths were reported in the age group of 25–50 years, accounting for 44.4% of deaths, followed by the 11–25-year age group with 22.2% deaths. The gender analysis showed that 61.5% were males and 38.5% were females. A further analysis showed that more females died in the age groups <10 years and ≥50 years.
Conclusions:
Disaster preparedness is critical, particularly in natural disasters. The Army's immediate search, rescue, and relief operations and mass casualty management effectively and efficiently mitigated the impact of flash floods, and restored normal life.
Keywords: Disaster management, humanitarian assistance, mass casualty management
Introduction
In the midnight of August 6, 2010, Leh in Ladakh region of North India received a heavy downpour. The cloud burst occurred all of a sudden that caught everyone unawares. Within a short span of about 2 h, it recorded a rainfall of 14 inches. There were flash floods, and the Indus River and its tributaries and waterways were overflowing. As many as 234 people were killed, 800 were injured, and many went missing, perhaps washed away with the gorging rivers and waterways. There was vast destruction all around. Over 1000 houses collapsed. Men, women, and children were buried under the debris. The local communication networks and transport services were severely affected. The main telephone exchange and mobile network system (BSNL), which was the lifeline in the far-flung parts of the region, was completely destroyed. Leh airport was flooded and the runway was covered with debris, making it non-functional. Road transport was badly disrupted as roads were washed away and blocked with debris at many places. The civil medical and health facilities were also severely affected, as the lone district civil hospital was flooded and filled with debris.
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