After Nepal floods, Centre reviews Himalayan states’ GLOF readiness

New Delhi: Following the Nepal floods and the devastation caused by it, Union home secretary Govind Mohan on Thursday chaired a meeting to review the preparedness of the Himalayan states and UTs against the risks of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and snow avalanches, MHA said in a statement.

The meeting was attended by the chief secretaries and state disaster management authorities of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, along with senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, Central Water Commission, India Meteorological Department and the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment.

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The meeting reviewed the evolving risk of GLOFs, with particular emphasis on early warning, monitoring of vulnerable glacial lakes and snow-covered areas, identification of high-risk locations, flow path, timely dissemination of alerts, evacuation readiness and strengthening of response mechanisms, MHA said.

States and UTs presented their preparedness and mitigation strategies - steps undertaken for monitoring vulnerable glacial lakes, strengthening early warning systems, improving last-mile dissemination of alerts, flow path planning, community preparedness and deployment of resources in vulnerable areas.