A massive avalanche hit Jammu and Kashmir’s Sonamarg on Wednesday. There are no reports of loss of life or injuries. A video of the incident that took place in the Sarbal area has gone viral.
The viral video shows tonnes of snow crashing into the ground.
What are avalanches?
Snow avalanches are most likely to occur after a fresh snowfall adds a new layer to a snowpack.
Avalanches can be triggered by natural forces, such as the pull of gravity on a steep slope, earthquakes, warming temperatures (weakening the bonds between the layers), wind, terrain, vegetation and general snowpack conditions.
They can also be caused by human activity, such as the load of a skier, construction/development activities or by use of explosives (to set off hazardous slopes) as part of avalanche control.
The Himalayas are well known for the occurrence of snow avalanches, particularly the Western Himalayas – the snowy regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Western Uttar Pradesh.
The incident comes days after eight people were killed in an avalanche in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
The incident took place near the Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. 54 BRO workers were stuck under snow; all barring eight were rescued.
Of the eight deceased, four were from Uttar Pradesh, two from Himachal Pradesh, and two from Uttarakhand.
Forty-six workers were rescued successfully by a team of over 200 personnel from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration, and other state agencies. Of these, 44 are undergoing treatment at the army hospital in Jyotirmath while two were airlifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh.