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Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, Uttarakhand: event reconstruction and geomorphic implications.

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Title: Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, Uttarakhand: event reconstruction and geomorphic implications.
Authors: Kumar, Vipin1 v.chauhan777@gmail.com, Chauhan, Neha1, Srivastav, Abhisek Kumar1, Sundriyal, Yaspal1, Sinha, Rajiv2, Negi, Ravi3, Gupta, Vikram4, Verma, Akshaya5, Puniya, Mohit6, Devrani, Rahul7
Source: Current Science (00113891). 2/10/2026, Vol. 130 Issue 3, p229-238. 10p.
Subjects: Debris avalanches, Landscape changes, Natural disasters, Risk exposure, Watersheds
Geographic Terms: Uttarakhand (India), India
Abstract: The Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, in Uttarakhand, India, was a catastrophic disaster that occurred in Kheer Gad, a tributary of the Bhagirathi river. It claimed approximately 60 lives and covered an estimated 3 hectares of apple orchards under debris. The damage also included at least 25-30 animals and a market comprising 65 hotels, over 30 resorts, and homestays. The present study involved the geomorphic characterisation of Kheer Gad to assess the debris flow potential of the catchment and debris flow simulation to ascertain the source, potential flow dynamics, and reconstruction. Findings reveal that the 17km2 Kheer Gad catchment is inherently unstable, as suggested by Melton's ruggedness number of 0.8, significantly above the 0.6 debris-flow threshold. The trigger was not a single event, but an antecedent rainfall of ~195 mm/30 days, which saturated glacial and landslide-derived source materials. Debris flow simulation revealed 60 kPa flow pressure, velocities of 5-10 m/s, flow height of 5-10 m, spread area of ~18 hectare, and volume estimate of 995,580 ± 200,000m3-1,285,260 ± 126,000m3. These values are validated against field observations. Notably, the disaster was exacerbated by human vulnerability, given the doubling of built-up structures between 2011 and 2025, despite prior warnings in 2013. The present study provides a transferable methodology for assessing similar high-risk, glaciated basins to prevent such avoidable disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Current Science (00113891) is the property of Indian Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, Uttarakhand: event reconstruction and geomorphic implications.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kumar%2C+Vipin%22">Kumar, Vipin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> v.chauhan777@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chauhan%2C+Neha%22">Chauhan, Neha</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Srivastav%2C+Abhisek+Kumar%22">Srivastav, Abhisek Kumar</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sundriyal%2C+Yaspal%22">Sundriyal, Yaspal</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sinha%2C+Rajiv%22">Sinha, Rajiv</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Negi%2C+Ravi%22">Negi, Ravi</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gupta%2C+Vikram%22">Gupta, Vikram</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Verma%2C+Akshaya%22">Verma, Akshaya</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Puniya%2C+Mohit%22">Puniya, Mohit</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Devrani%2C+Rahul%22">Devrani, Rahul</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Uttarakhand+%28India%29%22">Uttarakhand (India)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink>
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  Data: The Dharali debris flow on 5 August 2025, in Uttarakhand, India, was a catastrophic disaster that occurred in Kheer Gad, a tributary of the Bhagirathi river. It claimed approximately 60 lives and covered an estimated 3 hectares of apple orchards under debris. The damage also included at least 25-30 animals and a market comprising 65 hotels, over 30 resorts, and homestays. The present study involved the geomorphic characterisation of Kheer Gad to assess the debris flow potential of the catchment and debris flow simulation to ascertain the source, potential flow dynamics, and reconstruction. Findings reveal that the 17km2 Kheer Gad catchment is inherently unstable, as suggested by Melton's ruggedness number of 0.8, significantly above the 0.6 debris-flow threshold. The trigger was not a single event, but an antecedent rainfall of ~195 mm/30 days, which saturated glacial and landslide-derived source materials. Debris flow simulation revealed 60 kPa flow pressure, velocities of 5-10 m/s, flow height of 5-10 m, spread area of ~18 hectare, and volume estimate of 995,580 ± 200,000m3-1,285,260 ± 126,000m3. These values are validated against field observations. Notably, the disaster was exacerbated by human vulnerability, given the doubling of built-up structures between 2011 and 2025, despite prior warnings in 2013. The present study provides a transferable methodology for assessing similar high-risk, glaciated basins to prevent such avoidable disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Current Science (00113891) is the property of Indian Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.18520/cs/v130/i3/229-238
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Debris avalanches
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Landscape changes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Natural disasters
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      – SubjectFull: Risk exposure
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      – SubjectFull: Watersheds
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      – SubjectFull: Uttarakhand (India)
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      – SubjectFull: India
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              Text: 2/10/2026
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