Chorabari Glacier: Its Role in the Devastating 2013 Kedarnath Flash Flood

About

Also named as Chorabari Bamak glacier this place lies in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand and pans over a vast area of 15 sq. km. with 7 kms in length. The glacier is located in close proximity to the main dham shrine of Kedarnath which is famous for being one of the oldest Jyotirlingas in India. This glacier is known for being the source of the lost lake of Gandhi sarovar along with being the source of Mandakini River as well as Chorabari Tal. This place is frequented by avid trekkers and adventure enthusiasts who visit here to savor some of the most magnificent views of the surroundings.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to make your trip to Kedarnath dham is either during the summer months of April or May to October or November. It is advisable for you to

How to Reach

This place is generally accessed by avid trekkers and nature lovers who are looking to have a thrilling time there. Trekking to Chorabari Tal is an easy job and requires the least amount of effort to make this journey. Sonprayag functions as the commencement point for this trek. The best way to reach this glacier point is via trekking and one can experience the sheer bliss of the bountiful nature here.

You also have the option of availing a helicopter trip to kedarnath from where you can easily approach the glacier site. Upon reaching the glacier summit you will be treated with some of the most magnificent sights of the surroundings. This trekking journey will definitely be an experience of a lifetime where you will see the snow bound glacier in close proximity.

Chorabari Tal

What Role did it have in the 2013 Flash Flood?

The entire state of Uttarakhand and beyond was completely shook when Kedarnath Dham was hit with an unpredictable, sudden and devastating flash flood in 2013, that washed away everything that came in its way. This phenomenon is known for being the worst devastation ever since the 2004 tsunami. The paramilitary troops and army officials were immediately deployed here who helped in evacuating more than 110,000 pilgrims who were trapped there. A lot of people lost their lives and hotels and buildings were all washed away. What this caused this destructive natural act of god? One such plausible explanation is the heavy rainfall that caused the Chorabari glacier to break away.

This phenomenon occurred after a series of unfortunate changes that was observed a few days prior to the wreckage. On the morning of June 17^th 2013, the bank of the lake of Chorabari was breached and its water levels increased without any warnings. This level kept on rising and gradually it had generated a massive flash flood accompanied with debris and boulders which came rushing down towards the temple of Kedarnath and eventually spread all over the valley. This flash flood caused almost the entire valley to almost wipe away and roared down to the river of Mandakini which is known for being one of the tributaries of river Ganga.

The lake of Chorabari or Gandhi Sarovar had been originally formed by the melt water that was formed due to the melting of the snout of Chorabari Glacier. However, due to the negative effects of climate change this glacier had retreated to almost 200 metres and left behind a path of broken debris and through this small water made its way from the glacier and into the lake. The water source for this lake had always been melted snow and rainfall.

Researchers found out that the accumulating water was gradually adding 2 to 4 metres of depth into the lake each year. The highest recorded increase in depth was during the year of 2010 which was of 5 metres, which was measured on October that year.

This unstable moraine that had worked as a dam for the lake was already facing a lot of pressure. Suddenly due to constant rain and increasingly rapid melting of the snow combined together on June 2013 and this resulted in a sudden increase in the water level depth to 7 metres. This unusual and sudden change in the weather has been attributed to the climate change. The disaster was so massive that not only did it reach and destroy Kedarnath but it also went all the way down to Rambara, Gaurikund, Sonprayag and Augustmuni.

But Why Did Chorabari Lake Bursts its Banks?

The lake experienced a huge avalanche that came down on it on the morning of June 17^th and this created an immense pressure on its embankments. The lake was already over its water capacity limits due to constant rainfalls that took place the entire weekend. The sudden and unpredictable increase in the pressure broke the embankments of this moraine and the lake was emptied within just a few minutes and all of this got transferred to the valley below which was accompanied with a lot of debris and massive boulders. As per the experts and researchers the sudden bursting of this lake caused the lake to completely drain within a matter of just 5 to 10 minutes. Keeping in mind the size of this lake this meant that more than 262 million litres of water came roaring down the Mandakini in just a few minutes.