As security personnel and rescue teams continue research operations in the flood-stricken state of Uttarakhand, people across the country are distraught watching the tragedy unfold on their television screens. As per official estimates, 56 people have already been reported dead, while the search for over 150 missing continues. Undoubtedly for those watching the tragedy unfold, the flooding gave flashbacks of the 2013 floods that devastated the state, where 1000 died. Experts and scientists have already been deployed on the ground to try and answer the question: how did this happen? While many speculate the flooding was caused by the outburst of a glacier, many are attributing the disaster to the ecological impact of climate change and extensive construction and human activities in the geologically unstable region.
Photograph by Creative Commons