2 September 2016

Uttarkhand and Siliguri: two new landslide videos from India

Posted by Dave Petley

Uttarkhand and Siliguri: two new landslide videos from India

Two interesting landslide videos have been posted on Youtube, one from Uttarakhand and one from Siliguri.

The most interesting is this video from the Gangotri Highway in Uttarakhand between Rishikesh and Badrinath.  the road was reportedly closed for 15 hours:

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The dynamics of the failure are quite complex as the major boulder in effect goes through a toppling motion, with a great deal of rotation:

Siliguri

Landslide in Uttarakhand via Youtube

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And secondly, this event reportedly occurred on the Gangtok National Highway in Siliguri.  The video was posted on 26th August:

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If you look carefully you will see that at the time that the bulldozer was struck by the landslide the driver was still in the machine.  He emerges from the cab (or from the downslope side of the bulldozer at about the 40 second mark, and then feels the wisely scene).  That was a very lucky escape.