The Malpa landslide was one of the worst landslides in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. On 18 August 1998 at 3.00 a.m., massive landslide wiped away the entire village of Malpa in the Pithoragarh district of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, then in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in Kali Valley of Higher

Kumaon division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. The rockfall started on 16 August bringing down huge rocks which initially killed three mules. A total of 221 people died, including 60 Hindu pilgrims traveling to Tibet as part of "Kailash Manas Sarovar Yatra". One noted death was that of the Indian dancer Protima Bedi. The rockfall continued till 21 August. As the area lies in a seismic zone, the earthquakes of 1979 and 1980 may have been the underlying cause, as was attributed by a report of the

Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun is an autonomous Natural Resources research institute for the study of Geology of the Himalaya under the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of In ...

Causes of landslide

The landslide generated around one million cubic meters of rock fall and debris flow. This debris partially blocked the Sharda River. The landslide prevailed mostly due to steep, almost vertical, slopes of rock above the valley. In addition to the slopes, the proximity of the rock mass to major tectonic plates, major rainfall into the porous rock, and stress on the rock formations all contributed to the landslide. Natural disasters in the area have been attributed to ″unplanned construction and urbanization on the fluvial and un-consolidated materials produced by active faults/thrusts in various sectors.″ The slide demonstrated the distressed state of rock in the Himalayan region because of the drift of the Indian plate northward.

References

Landslides in India 1998 disasters in India History of Uttarakhand (1947–present) Disasters in Uttarakhand Landslides in 1998 {{disaster-stub