Need for evacuation plan
1 May, 2009 – Moments after the glacial lake flood struck Punakha in the early hours of October 7, 1994, the banks of Punatsangchu was lined with people, including student, their pants rolled up to their knees, and running after helpless fishes that had been displayed by the flood.
Only minutes before they had witnessed a huge wall of water, loaded with boulders and trees, which crashed down the valley, uprooting and washing everything along the way. Several people lost their lives, including a woman who was crossing a small wooden bridge near the dzong when the flood smashed her down the enraged water.
The scene in Punakha on Wednesday was eerily reminiscent of 1994. Hundreds had lined up along the banks of the Punatsangchu, curious as cats, to watch the impending flood they were forewarned was coming from Lunana.
Thankfully, it never came. All they saw was a river gone muddy and its level risen by a bit. The Prime Minister, who was in the area, was not amused. “Hundreds or even thousands of lives would have been lost if this was a real flood,” he later told the people.
But what the government needs to plan, and act on it right away, is the evacuation strategies for the people in the Punatsangchhu region in case of an actual flood. It must focus on providing evacuation drills to the people so that they know what to do when a flood warning is issued. People running towards the riverbanks should not be a hard one to discourage when there is a system.
For this, the local governments along the Punatsangchhu must be pulled together and their information about floods and warning system enhanced. Together, and given the right knowledge and communication equipment, and minimum of red tape, which is critical, the group could form an efficient alert system in case of a glacial lake flood. They could save many lives.
The incident yesterday at the Tshojo glacier was first reported at around 3:30 a.m. but by the time it reached Punakha residents it was 9:30 a.m. A flash flood from Lunana will not take that long to reach Punakha. The government must act fast.
Forewarned is forearmed
Source: Kuenselonline