A multi-tier hazard-part I: description of the event

A rare weather system, last seen about 80 years ago, converged over north-west India in June 2013, leaving devastating impacts on communities in the region. The event involved three components to it: first, cloud burst with precipitation higher than during a normal period occurred; second, the rivers could not handle the excessive precipitation causing heavy flooding; and third, landslides were triggered by the flooding in this sensitive Himalayan region. The combined effects of these three hazards were extremely damaging. The weather data in the area suggested that the monsoon advancing towards the west of South Asia as well as westerly winds resulted in several days of torrential rains. Reports of more than 5,700 people losing their lives and over US$500 million damage appeared in the media. This event has brought attention to a need to develop early warning systems for multi-faceted hazards. This is challenging because a cloud burst is a meteorological hazard, river flood is a hydrological hazard, and landslide is a geological hazard, which are handled by different government departments in most countries. This study is aimed at developing risk and vulnerability from such hazards through a critical analysis of the observed data. In Part II of this paper, analysis has been performed of various meteorological parameters that clearly show the synoptic situation for developing a cloud burst. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015