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Glacial Floods in Booni and FOCUS Aerial
Survey Report
After the dreadful days of July 28th and 29th, life had almost come
to normal until the night of 9th August when the retreating glacier
attacked Booni again. This attack was as enormous as the previous
ones. It also put a stop to our general perception that the water
from glacial lakes had completely drained into Booni Gole and posed
no further threat. These flushes could easily have engulfed the
whole area had it been any other part of Chitral. The resistance of
Booni Gole against these gigantic water currents can only be
described as a miracle and a blessing of Almighty Allah.
By July 29th, FOCUS had provided many tents in safe areas to deal
with any untoward situation. FOCUS, an agency of Aga Khan
Development Network, through the channel of Disaster Prevention,
Mitigation and Preparedness (PMP) works to decrease a community’s
vulnerability to natural disasters such as landslides, floods,
mudslides, epidemics, earthquakes, catastrophic rain or snow, and
prepares them to respond rapidly and effectively to natural
disasters. Through Disaster Response, FOCUS provides a full
spectrum of emergency response activities from first -response to
extended relief and recovery support. Aid provision, Search and
Rescue, Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and similar
services are the expertise of FOCUS. FOCUS has rendered
unprecedented services across the globe be it the Indian Ocean
Tsunami, severe flooding in India, Hurricane Rita or the disastrous
earthquake of October 2005. There are numerous examples where FOCUS
has won the hearts of the people with its quality and timely
services. FOCUS has an impressive track of its services in Chitral
as well.
By carrying out an aerial survey of Booni glacier just two days
after the glacial outburst, FOCUS again demonstrated its alertness.
Such swift response to threats and disasters is very rare in most
countries of the world and almost non-existent in Pakistan. FOCUS
released this Aerial Survey report on August 11th. The report
titled, “Rapid Visual Assessment and Aerial Observation of Booni
Gole” details the physiography (physical features of the earth's
surface), Geological (scientific study of the origin, history, and
structure of the earth) setting of Booni and Catchments (A catching
or collecting of water, especially rainwater) area in detail.
According to this report Booni glacier is located at a considerable
height and distance from the residential area. On both the sides of
the stream, the steep slopes made of non cohesive material are
liable to collapse and some dry creeks are also there. The source
area is barren and there are huge quantities of debris material
from weathering and glacial moraine deposits (An accumulation of
boulders, stones, or other debris carried and deposited by a
glacier). Satellite images show cracks in the glacier, which result
in an increase in moraine mass. Small glacial pounds have also been
observed in the glacier. Various factors especially global warming
lead to the melting of ice which in turn further melts down the
glacier. This slow process gets pace with rain, forming small lakes
which then merge to form a larger lake. This can lead to Glacial
Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), a situation where a lake contained by a
glacier or terminal moraine dam bursts/fails. Prolonged rainfall or
cloudburst (extreme rainfall sometimes mixed with hail and thunder,
which lasts for a short period of time) also lead to flash floods
in the dry creeks pointing into the stream. These flash floods add
to the already dangerous GLOF. Collapsing weak banks along the
stream increase the intensity and the overall momentum of this
flood making it deadly as it approaches the residential areas of
Booni. The report describes Booni as vulnerable to similar threats
may be of even higher intensities in future too. The report
recommends forestation, vegetation, rotational cattle grazing,
construction of strong reinforcements, and location of flash flood
hotspots and discourages construction of houses in areas prone to
flooding and suggests further in-depth analysis of the glacier and
the small glacial ponds.
FOCUS didn’t share its initial findings with the public
immediately. Such a step could have addressed the anxiety amongst
the people and put an end to the rumors in the area. The report was
released soon after the miraculous resistance of Booni to another
massive attack on 9th August. Most of the reasons for the recent
floods mentioned in this report are beyond our control. We have no
control over global warming, steepness and length of the stream and
its banks or rainfalls nor can we do anything to prevent the
melting of the glacier. Flash floods have never bothered us before
and yes with vegetation and forestation flash floods can be
controlled to a certain extent. What makes the situation alarming
is the glacial lake outburst flood, which single-handedly, can
cause complete devastation. Our focus here should have been the
GLOF. Do we have remedies for this? Can we drain these small lakes
before they merge to make the massive pounds of water? Are these
massive pounds drainable before they flush into the stream giving
rise to GLOF? Can a reliable monitoring system be installed right
at the glacier? Can a steadfast warning mechanism be put to place?
Address to these and many other similar queries regarding GLOF
should have been incorporated in the report.
FOCUS has intensive training programs and trained personnel to deal
with such calamities but slow paced work has been observed during
these two weeks. While an analysis of the aerial survey data was in
progress the seriousness of the situation necessitated a field
visit of the glacier site by FOCUS team in order to have better
knowledge of the factors that lead to this situation. Such a visit
could have given clearer picture of the situation and accordingly
warnings could have been issued. We do understand that these visits
neither stop the GLOF nor halt the rains and flash floods but they
do help in getting a better understanding of the situation and at
times do circumvent loss of human lives if timely warnings are
made. FOCUS did a commendable job by carrying-out a timely aerial
survey, by providing tents to the public and by installing lighting
system along Booni Gole but we have become accustomed to better
standard of disaster preventions and mitigation and preparedness
from this great humanitarian assistance agency which takes our
expectations to a very high level.
We are eagerly looking forward to FOCUS and other Governmental and
non-Governmental organizations to carry-out a detailed study of
Booni glacier at the earliest. The locals must raise unanimous
voice and the local council and administration should push for a
swift and detailed survey of the glacier by GLOF experts. We need
to know every fact about the GLOF, and also about installation of a
monitoring and control mechanism which can drain the water into
Booni Gole regularly thereby preventing formation of huge glacial
lakes. This is certainly not an easy task but one that is not
impossible as well, as a number of glaciers around the world are
controlled this way. The existing situation in Booni is still
alarming and if it goes out of control then these reports, rescue
and rehabilitation services would mean nothing to us. We, the
people of Booni, are ready for voluntary services in any capacity
at individual as well as at collective level to any organizations
that come forward but we also need concerned authorities to realize
the gravity of the situation and take the lead.
Engineer Tanveer Ali Khan,
Booni Chitral |
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