Long Term Recovery Efforts in Cloudburst Affected Urban Area of Leh

It is known that the rivers like Brahmaputra and Yamuna cause floods in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh every year causing a severe loss to life and property. People would be surprised to hear about the flash floods due to cloudburst in Leh, a small city of Ladakh region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. India has been struck with severe floods during the past two decades, but a flood occurring in the mountainous and desert region of Leh of a portentous gravity is seldom heard of.

Ladakh, a part of Jammu and Kashmir State in north on India, consists of two districts – Leh and Kargil. Leh, with an area of 45110 sq kms, makes it largest district in the country in terms of area. It lies between 32 to 36 degree North latitude and 75 degree to 80 degree East longitude. The district is bounded by Pakistan occupied Kashmir in the West and China in the north and eastern part and Lahul Spiti of Himachal Pradesh in South East. It comprises of Leh town and 112 inhabited villages and one un-inhabited village. The total population of Leh district is 1.17 lacs.1 Leh town is the largest town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a plateau at around 3500 meters above sea level and usually receives very little rainfall.

This case study is about how a small city known largely as a tourist attraction coped with the devastating flash floods caused by a sudden cloudburst.