The Horrible Disaster in the History “KEDARNATH”

Kedarnath one of the most holy place in the World.  Kedarnath temple is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the four Dham and Panch Kedars, It is the largest Shiva temple in Uttarakhand, built by connecting huge rock cut stones. These rocks are brown in color. The temple is built on a platform about 6 feet high which is believed to be around the 80th century.

It is considered that the temple of Kedarnath was suppressed in snow for 400 years, but still it remained safe. From the 13th to the 17th century, for 400 years, a small ice age came in which a large area of Himalayas was submerged under snow. According to scientists, there are still traces on the temple wall and stones. These scars are made from a glacier friction. Glaciers move all the time. They not only slide, but they also carry weight and many rocks along with them, due to which everything in their path is rubbed.

Kedarnath Dham and temple are surrounded by mountains on three sides. On one side there is about 22 thousand feet high Kedarnath, on the other side there is 21 thousand 600 feet high Khetkund and on the third side is 22 thousand 700 feet high Bharatkund. The Kedarnath temple is not only a junction of three mountains but also five rivers - Mandakini, Madhuganga, Kshirganga, Saraswati and Swarnagouri. Some of these rivers no longer exist, but Mandakini, a tributary of Alaknanda, is still exist today.

A Horrible Disaster in Kedar Valley

Kedar valley which is known for Kedarnath Temple. It is the symbol of the Hindu faith, millions of people visit in Kedar to meet the God every years. But in June 2013, no one was aware of what was going to happen. A heavy rains started in the Kedarnath Valley from 15 June 2013. People had never seen such rain before. Clouds were bursting in the mountains around Kedarnath.  During this time the lakes on the surrounding mountains of Kedarnath were flooded with heavy water and the glaciers also started melting. The Mandakini's roar was frightening.

There were a large number of pilgrims, priests and others and they were waiting for the rain to stop but no one was aware of what was going to happen in the evening of 16 June. They were resting in the hotels and temporary camp. It was the doom night for the people.

Landslides started due to heavy rain and cloudburst on the mountains for two days. Landslide occurred in Kedarnath at around 8.30 pm on the night of 16 June 2013 and a huge amount of water deposited in the mountains with debris moved towards the Kedarnath Valley at a high speed. It was the horrible moment for the people and they started running here and there to save their lives. People ran towards hotels and Dharamshalas to save their lives. The town around the Kedarnath temple was surrounded by rivers roaring from all sides. Thousand of peoples had flown in the water and hundreds of them suppressed under the debris. Those who remained safe, were waiting for the morning. Suddenly, a massive flood came with stone, debris and big rock toward the surrounding area of temple and destroyed all things whatever came in the way of the flooded river. There were huge rocks in the waves of 100 meters high water at a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour. The hotels, houses, rest houses, shops were destroyed in the mud. Within a few minutes, there were stone debris in place of houses in Kedarnath colony. The bodies of humans were scattered everywhere. 

The Rambada and Gaurikund “a place comes on the way of Kedarnath Temple” had been completely destroyed. By miracle the Temple survived due to a big rock came to a halt. After the devastation, relief and rescue operations went on for a long time. NDRF, Indian Army and Air Force rescued thousands of people. How many people died in this disaster has not been accurately assessed. It is said that more than 12 thousand people died in it.