A disaster happening that
you’ve never heard of….
• Six months ago, on January 4th, 2010 in the remote Hunza
River Valley of northern Pakistan, a massive landslide buried the
village of Attabad, destroying 26 homes, killing 20 people, and
damming up the Hunza River.
• As the newly-formed lake grew, authorities rushed to evacuate
and supply those affected in the landslide area and upstream.
The lake is now over 300 feet deep and 16km (10 mi) long,
submerging miles of highway, farms and homes.
• Earlier this week, the lake reached the top of the natural dam,
and began to spill out - rapid erosion of the landslide debris has
authorities worried about a potential breach, and locals have
been evacuated as officials monitor the developing situation.
This
photograph
was taken
while a
secondary
landslide was
taking place
near Attabad
village in
northern
Pakistan on
January 22,
2010, after
the original
massive
landslide of
January 4th
blocked most
of the Hunza
Valley and
dammed the
Hunza River
This
photograph
was taken
while a
secondary
landslide was
taking place
near Attabad
village in
northern
Pakistan on
January 22,
2010, after
the original
massive
landslide of
January 4th
blocked most
of the Hunza
Valley and
dammed the
Hunza River
Huge clouds
of dust arise
as land slides
continued on
January 6,
2010, the
second day
of the Attabad
disaster.
The people of
Gojal carrying
daily
essentials on
their backs
across the
landslide site
on January
12, 2010..
A view of the newly-forming lake formed due to blockage of the Hunza River,
seen three days after the landslide, on January 7, 2010.
Land cracks visible in the land near what remains of the village of Attabad on
February 1, 2010.
Another
view of
the
growing
lake
formed
behind the
landslide,
seen from
the ruins
of Attabad
village on
February
1, 2010.
Local
volunteers
conducting
search for
bodies in
rubble
near the
village of
Attabad on
January 6,
2010
A funeral service is held for some of the victims of the Hunza Valley landslide
on January 6, 2010.
Men climb across landslide debris in the Hunza River Valley on January 7,
2010. The growing lake is visible in the background.
With the only highway wiped out by the landslide, Gojal Valley locals turn to
airlifts to help them evacuate and get access to goods and services.
In this image taken on Thursday March 11, 2010, Pakistani loaders carrying
goods imported from neighboring China which are ferried through a lake due
to blockade of the Karakoram Highway, in Attabad, northern Pakistan. A
massive landslide early this year formed a natural dam in the Hunza River
created a lake that is consuming upstream as it expands. If dam breaks, a
flash flood could threaten downstream villages.
As water rises, locals use a makeshift pedestrian bridge to help them supply
and evacuate in the Hunza River Valley in northern Pakistan. The pillars are
from an under-construction "friendship bridge" for the now-partly-submerged
Karakoram Highway.
This image, acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's
Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite on March 16th, 2010 shows the blocked
Hunza River and the growing lake, then 11 km (7 mi) long, inundating several
villages and 5 km (3 mi) of the Karakoram Highway. Landslide blockage is at
lower right
Pillars of the under-construction "friendship bridge" for the Karakoram
Highway, now flooded - seen on May 2nd, 2010, only two weeks after the
same scene was photographed from a different angle two slides back!
Heavy
machinery is
employed to
lift and carry
a wooden
boat up the
side of the
landslide
debris to be
deposited in
the lake to
aid
evacuation
and supply
missions on
April 6, 2010
In this image
taken on April
30, 2010,
local people
use a boat to
ferry their
vehicles in a
lake caused
by landslide
which cuts off
part of the
Karakoram
highway to
China, in the
Hunza district
of northern
Pakistan.
An aerial
view shows a
lake
overtaking a
village in the
Hunza district
of northern
Pakistan on
Saturday,
May 29,
2010.
Women, who lived near a lake created after a landslide in Hunza district, cut
barley in a field in Seeshghat village in Hunza district of northern Pakistan May
24, 2010
Villagers, who lived near a lake created after a landslide in Hunza district,
collect belongings from their home at Sheeshghat village in Hunza district of
northern Pakistan May 24, 2010.
Pakistani soldiers help villagers as they board an army helicopter in the village
of Altitin in the Hunza district of northern Pakistan on May 21, 2010. Flooding
from a lake in northern Pakistan risks affecting 40,000 residents of some 34
villages already evacuated to safety, a top disaster management official said.
Children walk near tents set up for displaced people who were affected by a
natural dam caused by a landslide in Attabad village in Hunza district of
northern Pakistan May 19, 2010
A girl cries while sitting with others to protest against the government's failure to
announce compensation for those displaced by a lake created after a landslide
during a demonstration in Attaabad village in Hunza district of northern Pakistan
A view from a military helicopter of the lake growing behind a natural dam
caused by a landslide which passes through Sheeshgat village in Hunza district
of northern Pakistan May 24, 2010.
Workers use
machines to dig a
spillway to
release water
pressure built up
by the natural
dam caused by a
landslide in
Attabad village in
Hunza district of
northern Pakistan
May 12, 2010.
Fears are
growing a lake
created by a
landslide will
burst and cause
a massive flood
that could affect
more than 50,000
people in
northern Pakistan
and disrupt a key
trade link with
A gate near
an orchard
lies
submerged
in the upper
Hunza
Valley on
April 14th,
2010.
Around 40
houses in
Ayeenabad
and
Shishkat
Payeen
have been
dismantled
to save
valuables
from sinking
in the lake
water
A partially submerged pedestrian bridge in the Upper Hunza Valley, seen on
May 7th, 2010
•After the lake began to flow through the spillway that was cut into the landslide debris
on May 29th, the flow of the water has increased, but still does not match the inflow
upstream
from
the
Hunza
River.
•And - as is evidenced by these two images (May 30th on the left, June 4th on the right),
the outflow is eroding the debris, working back toward the lake - potentially signaling an
upcoming breach where nearly five months worth of river flow might wash away the dam
and
cause
serious
flooding
downstream.
•Scientists and authorities are monitoring the situation and evacuations have been
undertaken for all threatened areas.
What will happen next?
• How would you deal with this disaster?
• There is no bridge left…
• There is enormous pressure on the ‘natural’
dam caused by the landslide and water is
beginning to wash over the top.
• In your group, discuss what you think should
be done and write on the sugar paper and
select someone to report back
• Plenary - Watch this
video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsKxCsCjtVw
What will happen next?
• Did they have any better ideas?
• What do you think will happen to the
displaced people of the valley?
• What would you do with these people to
ensure their safety in the short-term and their
livelihood in the long term?
QUESTION TO TAKE AWAY:
Why have you not heard of this before now?
CREDITS:
• Photographs and information from the Zulfir Ali Khan/Pamir
Times, Reuters, David Petley, FOCUS, NASA, JISC, AP Photos.
• PowerPoint by Edu4DRR with thanks to Garry de la Pomerai.
• You can watch the initial landslide occur at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zevBVop-sCk
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on
the Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of the landslide lake on June 1, 2010 now 16km (10 mi) long. Compare to satellite image earlier in slideshow, taken 10 weeks
earlier, and see that the lake has grown by 5km in length. Water appears in varying
shades of blue. Vegetation is red. Bare rock appears in shades of brown and gray.