Database of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs)–IPL project No. 179

Vilímek, Vít; Emmer, Adam; Huggel, Christian; Schaub, Yvonne; Würmli, Sara

doi:10.1007/s10346-013-0448-7

Cited by 43 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Glacial lakes of different sizes have produced Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) (Carey 2005;Iturrizaga 2014;Vilímek et al 2014), and methods for their hazard assessment and mitigation have been developed (Carey et al 2012;Emmer and Vilìmek 2014;Somos-Valenzuela et al 2014;Emmer et al accepted). Landslide dams, or the remnants of extinct lakes (both failed and infilled), are also rather common.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological analysis and features of the landslide dams in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

et al. 2017

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological analysis and features of the landslide dams in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

et al. 2017

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“…Despite glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) predominating during the peak monsoon months, there have been no unequivocal documented incidents of hydrometerologically triggered outbursts over the past century (ICIMOD 2011;Richardson and Reynolds 2000). Even globally, such incidents are rarely evidenced (Clague and Evans 2000;O'Connor et al 2001;Worni et al 2012), with many studies documenting that primarily avalanche and landslide impact triggered outburst floods (Vilimek et al 2013). Hence, the Kedarnath disaster has potential regional and global significance in this regard.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lake outburst and debris flow disaster at Kedarnath, June 2013: hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition

et al. 2015

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Lake outburst and debris flow disaster at Kedarnath, June 2013: hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition Abstract Heavy rainfall in June 2013 triggered flash flooding and landslides throughout the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing more than 6000 people. The vast majority of fatalities and destruction resulted directly from a lake outburst and debris flow disaster originating from above the village of Kedarnath on June 16 and 17. Here, we provide a systematic analysis of the contributing factors leading to the Kedarnath disaster, both in terms of hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition. Topographic characteristics of the lake watershed above Kedarnath are compared with other glacial lakes across the north-western Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and implications for glacier lake outburst hazard assessment in a changing climate are discussed. Our analysis suggests that the early onset of heavy monsoon rainfall (390 mm, June 10-17) immediately following a 4-week period of unusually rapid snow cover depletion and elevated streamflow was the crucial hydrometeorological factor, resulting in slope saturation and significant run-off into the small seasonal glacial lake. Between mid-May and mid-June 2013, snowcovered area above Kedarnath decreased by around 50 %. The unusual situation of the lake being dammed in a steep, unstable paraglacial environment but fed entirely from snowmelt and rainfall within a fluvial dominated watershed is important in the context of this disaster. A simple scheme enabling large-scale recognition of such an unfavourable topographic setting is introduced. In view of projected 21st century changes in monsoon timing and heavy precipitation in South Asia, more emphasis should be given to potential hydrometeorological triggering of lake outburst and debris flow disasters in the Himalaya.

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“…Consequently, there has been growing concern about the impacts of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) on downstream communities and infrastructure in many deglaciating regions worldwide (e.g. Vilímek et al 2013;Carrivick and Tweed 2016;Emmer et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling glacial lake outburst flood impacts in the Bolivian Andes

et al. 2018

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The Bolivian Andes have experienced sustained and widespread glacier mass loss in recent decades. Glacier recession has been accompanied by the development of proglacial lakes, which pose a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) risk to downstream communities and infrastructure. Previous research has identified three potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Bolivian Andes, but no attempt has yet been made to model GLOF inundation downstream from these lakes. We generated 2-m resolution DEMs from stereo and tri-stereo SPOT 6/7 satellite images to drive a hydrodynamic model of GLOF flow (HEC-RAS 5.0.3). The model was tested against field observations of a 2009 GLOF from Keara, in the Cordillera Apolobamba, and was shown to reproduce realistic flood depths and inundation. The model was then used to model GLOFs from Pelechuco lake (Cordillera Apolobamba) and Laguna Arkhata and Laguna Glaciar (Cordillera Real). In total, six villages could be affected by GLOFs if all three lakes burst. For sensitivity analysis, we ran the model for three scenarios (pessimistic, intermediate, optimistic), which give a range of ~ 1100 to ~ 2200 people affected by flooding; between ~ 800 and ~ 2100 people could be exposed to floods with a flow depth ≥ 2 m, which could be life threatening and cause a significant damage to infrastructure. We suggest that Laguna Arkhata and Pelechuco lake represent the greatest risk due to the higher numbers of people who live in the potential flow paths, and hence, these two glacial lakes should be a priority for risk managers.

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Database of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs)–IPL project No. 179

Cited by 43 publications

References 14 publications

Morphological analysis and features of the landslide dams in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Morphological analysis and features of the landslide dams in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Lake outburst and debris flow disaster at Kedarnath, June 2013: hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition

Modelling glacial lake outburst flood impacts in the Bolivian Andes

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