ANALYSIS OF JURE LANDSLIDE DAM, SINDHUPALCHOWK USING GIS AND REMOTE SENSING

Abstract

On 2nd August 2014, a rainfall-induced massive landslide hit Jure village, Sindhupalchowk killing 156 people at a distance of 70 km North-East of Kathmandu, Nepal. The landslide was a typical slope failure with massive rock fragments, sand and soil. A total of estimated 6 million cubic meters debris raised more than 100 m from the water level and affected opposite side of the bank. The landslide blocked the Sunkoshi River completely forming an estimated 8 million cubic meter lake of 3km length and 300-350m width upstream. It took nearly 12 hour to fill the lake and overflow the debris dam. The lake affected five Village Development Committees (VDC) including highway, school, health post, postal service, police station, VDC office and temple upstream. The bottom of the dam was composed of highly cemented material and the derbies affected Sunkoshi hydropower downstream. Moreover, it caused the potential threat of Lake Outburst Flood. The lake was released by blasting off part of the landslide blockade and facilitated release of water from the lake. With the help of Remote Sensing (RS), series satellite images were used to identified, compared with previous state and quick estimation of potential treat was analysed. Using geographic information System (GIS) technology, estimation of volume, affected households, service centres, parcels etc. in the area was possible. In such hilly regions where disaster are very frequent, using GIS and RS technology comes very handy for immediate planning and response.