SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

(An Autonomous Institution |Affiliated to Anna University Chennai|

DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN FLASH FLOODS IN LEH (LADAKH)

Submitted by
NANTHAKUMAR G
19TUME125
IV MECH B
ABSTRCT

• 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.
OBJECTIVES

• 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.
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.
 Materials and Methods

• The present case study is based on the authors’ own experience of managing a natural disaster caused by the
flash floods. The paper presents a firsthand description of a disaster and its prompt management. The data was
collected from the records of the district civil administration, the civil hospital, and the Army Hospital, Leh.
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 and army officials who
organized rescue operations, restoration of communication, and transport, mass casualty management, and
informal discussions with local residents.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Three core disaster management strategies were adopted to manage the crisis. These strategies included:
i) Response, rescue, and relief operations
ii) Mass casualty management
iii) Rehabilitation

The initial response was carried out immediately by the Government of India. The rescue and relief work was
led by the Indian Army, along with the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)There were just two hospitals in the area: the government civil
hospital (SNM Hospital) and Army Hospital. During the flash floods, the government civil hospital was flooded
and rendered dysfunctional. Although the National Disaster Management Act(1) was in place, with the
government civil hospital being under strain, the applicability of the act was hampered. The Army Hospital
quickly responded through rescue and relief operations and mass casualty management. By dawn, massive
search operations were started with the help of civil authorities and local people. The patients admitted in the
civil hospital were evacuated to the Army Hospital, Leh in army helicopters.
Mass casualty management

• All casualties were taken to the Army Hospital, Leh. Severely injured people were evacuated from distant
locations by helicopters, directly landing on the helipad of the Army Hospital. In order to reinforce the
medical staff, nurses were flown in from the Super Specialty Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New
Delhi, to handle the flow of casualties by the third day following the disaster. National Disaster Cell kept
medical teams ready in Chandigarh in case they were required. The mortuary of the government civil hospital
was still functional where all the dead bodies were taken, while the injured were handled by Army Hospital,
Leh.

• Army Hospital, Leh converted its auditorium into a crisis expansion ward. The injured started coming in
around 0200 hrs on August 6, 2010. They were given first aid and were provided with dry clothes. A majority
of the patients had multiple injuries. Those who sustained fractures were evacuated to Army Command
Hospital, Chandigarh, by the Army's helicopters, after first aid. Healthcare staff from the government civil
hospital joined the Army Hospital, Leh to assist them. In the meanwhile, medical equipment and drugs were
transferred from the flooded and damaged government civil hospital
ECONOMIC IMPACT

• Although it would be too early to estimate the impact on economy, the economy of the region would be
severely affected due to the disaster. The scanty local vegetable and grain cultivation was destroyed by the
heavy rains. Many houses were destroyed where people had invested all their savings. Tourism was the main
source of income for the local people in the region. The summer season is the peak tourist season in Ladakh
and that is when the natural disaster took place. A large number of people came from within India and other
countries for trekking in the region. Because of the disaster, tourism was adversely affected. The disaster
would have a long-term economic impact as it would take a long time to rebuild the infrastructure and also to
build the confidence of the tourists.
POLITICAL IMPACT

• The disaster became a security threat. The area has a high strategic importance, being at the line of control
with China and Pakistan. The Indian Army is present in the region to defend the country's borders. The civil
administration is with the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) under the state government
of Jammu and Kashmir.
CONCLUSION

• It is impossible to anticipate natural disasters such as flash floods. However, disaster preparedness plans and
protocols in the civil administration and public health systems could be very helpful in rescue and relief and
in reducing casualties and adverse impact on the human life and socio economic conditions.(2) However, the
health systems in India lack such disaster preparedness plans and training.(3) In the present case, presence of
the Indian Army that has standard disaster management plans and protocols for planning, training, and regular
drills of the army personnel, logistics and supply, transport, and communication made it possible to
immediately mount search, rescue, and relief operations and mass casualty management. Not only the disaster
management plans were in readiness, but continuous and regular training and drills of the army personnel in
rescue and relief operations, and logistics and communication, could effectively facilitate the disaster
management operations.