Disaster Profile of Himachal

A live topic: GS-III and the essay paper both draw on it, and HP's recent monsoons have made it unavoidable.

Earthquake

• The state lies in seismic zones IV and V; Kangra, Chamba, Kullu, Mandi and Lahaul-Spiti are in zone V, the highest.
• The Kangra earthquake of 4 April 1905, about magnitude 7.8, killed roughly 20,000 people and destroyed Kangra fort and much of Dharamshala. It remains the reference event.
• The Main Boundary Thrust and Main Central Thrust run through the state.

Landslides and cloudbursts

• Steep slopes, heavy monsoon rain, deforestation, road-cutting and unplanned construction combine to make HP among the most landslide-prone states.
• Cloudbursts are concentrated in Kullu, Mandi, Chamba, Kinnaur and Shimla.
• Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) — the Parechu event of 2005 on the Sutlej is the standard case; glacier retreat is increasing the number of moraine-dammed lakes.

Institutional response

• HP State Disaster Management Authority, chaired by the Chief Minister, under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• District Disaster Management Authorities under each Deputy Commissioner.
• Building byelaws, retrofitting of schools and hospitals, and slope-stabilisation norms for highway construction are the reform themes to cite.