Prevention and Mitigation of Avalanche Disasters in Western Himalayan Region

Abstract

An avalanche occurrence is a result of the structural collapse of the snow cover in the upper reaches of mountain slopes in the snowbound belt. They take a heavy toll, year after year and property worth millions is destroyed. Besides loss of lives, the avalanches also destroy forest and disrupt road communication, thereby hindering the hill area development and affecting the Defense of the nation. The paper brings out the cause of avalanche formation, magnitude of their destruction power and the techniques being followed in India by Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a DRDO Laboratory, for mitigating the avalanche disasters in Western Himalayan Region for the Defense forces. The authors suggest that for mitigating the avalanche disasters, an integrated plan at national level involving Defense forces and state governments should be drawn.