ABSTRACT
The state of Uttarakhand in northern India has experienced innumerable events of cloud burst disaster, which being a violent downpour, can cause upto 100 mm of water fall in an area focussed upon in just a few square kilometres. Such large amounts of runoff from higher elevations causes large debris to flow leading to landslides and has the capacity to destroy large infrastructure, properties, agricultural lands and also kill people. Many regions of Uttarakhand such as Pithoragh, Chamoli, Almora, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Haridwar have witnessed adversities of cloud burst in the past causing enormous loss of life and property. The paper aims at exploring the measures to build disaster resilience to cloudbursts events in Uttarakhand state India, for which firstly the four elements of disaster resilience viz robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity are explored in the paper. Further cloudburst resilience is understood through a bifold process of tracking the city’s current situation and predicting forecast. With thorough understanding of the same, framework for addressing cloudbursts in Uttarakhand is evolved, involving creating awareness, examining the topography and possessing real time data management. Exploring such a framework raises hope for building effective disaster resilience to cloudbursts in Uttarakhand.
