[Discussion] What is causing the natural disasters in Gilgit – Baltistan?
The year 2010 will end within three weeks but the people of Gilgit – Baltistan and Chitral may never forget it. Throughout the year we remained faced with natural disasters.
سال ٢٠١٠ اگلے تین ہفتوں میں ختم ہو جایگا لیکن گلگت بلتستان اور چترال کے باسی اس سال کو بھلا نہیں پاینگے. پورے سال ہمیں مختلف قدرتی آفت کا سامنا رہا. …..
Some of the major natural disasters were;
1. Attabad Landslide and damming of Hunza River
عطا آباد میں زمینی تودے کا گرنا اور دریاۓ ہنزہ کی بندش
2. Destruction of Thalis village in Ghanche due to flash floods
سیلاب کے باعث گھانچے کے گاؤں تھلس کی تباہی
3. Destruction of Khainer Village, Chilas, due to flash floods
سیلاب کے باعث چلاس کے نزدیک واقع کھیںر گاؤں کی تباہی
4. Constant rockfalls at Hussainabad, Hunza
ہنزہ کے گاؤں حسین آباد میں مسلسل زمینی تودوں کا گرنا
5. Land movement in Miachar, Nagar
نگر کے گاؤں میاچر میں زمین کی حرکت اور تباہی کا خد شہ
6. Land movement in Dayeen, Ishkoman
غذر کے گاؤں دائین میں زمین کی حرکت اور تباہی کا خدشہ
What do you think is causing all these disasters and hazards? What can be done to avoid this situation?
آپ کے خیا ل میں ان خطرات اور تباہیوں کی وجہ کیا ہے؟ ان سے بچنے کے لیے کونسے اقدامات اٹھاے جا سکتے ہیں؟
I believe that the causes of the natural disasters in GB is Global Warming
Disaster is a natural phenomenon, especially rapid on set disasters are not predictable in time, but the slow on set disaster some of which occurs due to rapid on set… it can be preventable when it is encountered at the beginning stage, the reason of Attabad lake failure was due to incompetent leadership who cannot speak in front of a forum, their bad Governance and mismanagement is causing a worse situation in Gojal Hunza, people are in deep trouble but no one is complaining, that’s the main reason that our leaders are in state of rabbit sleep, as well as the people of Gojal.
In future if our community wants to survive then we have to force the institutes of AKDN (FOCUS, AKPBS) to act properly and work for the community, because in the past they have just executed after disaster and provided relief which is not a need, they have to focus on pre disaster and prepare before the disaster. Now we should join together and force the higher government authorities and also involve the local dummy leaders to solve the spell way issue before February or March. Otherwise get ready for the next disaster.
All the disasters / events have different elements associated with them. Global warming is surely amongst them but we may not be able to definitively link taht unless considerable research is done on the matter.
What is certain is that this area is part of the young mountain range that continues to grow and erode, has geological fault lines present which cause regular tremors and earth shifts and the lack of forest and vegatation is also a factor. All development causes further damage and impact. Each settlement causes ground erosion, terraced farming and roads and bridges also add to the unstability of the exosting terrain and the natural elements like snow, rain and drought play their part.
The thing we need for our settlements in the north is indepth geological and land surveys linked with historical data. This information should be shared totally witht he locals of each potentially affected area and short and long term measures taken.
One cannot uproot a village and relocate it just because one feels a disaster might happen! BUT if one s certain, then such measures MUST be taken. As an example, if we all knew of the Attabad disaster, would all those living there not have moved? Humans are difficult in such ways .. sometimes even when we know we dont wish to leave our homes and our life memories behind …. but it is about time that the people of these areas (especially where disasters or telltale signs are visible) made a serious attempt to get organizations to assist them. One way to do this would be to get all the NGO’s working in the region to donate funds to a collective priority survey group that could then investigate all the priority areas and identify the issues and subsequent remedies.
HOW MANY LIVES WILL IT TAKE BEFORE WE DO WHAT WILL HAVE TO BE DONE ONE DAY?
The pattern has changed in some parts of Gilgit Baltistan.
There are reports about warmer winters and increasingly cold springs.
While it may difficult to say anything with authority, at his point in time, it is sane to start scientific analysis of the region’s climate.
For this purpose a state-of-the-art research centre should be established under the ambit of Karakuram International University. While the centre should be located at the Gilgit campus, there can be at least 4 field centres, one each in Pamir, Hindukush, Himalaya and Karakoram.
The long-term data gathered through these field research centres would enable the researchers in ascertaining whether there is any long-term change in the region’s weather or it is just a cyclical weather shift?
These centres can also be used as hubs for development of the communities’ capacity to prepare for and respond to the natural disasters, which would keep on occurring in the times ahead!