Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Rainfall peaks : 2009


Technically the SW monsoon completes it withdrawal from this part of the world on 12Oct and judging by the fine weather we have been experiencing for the past few days, I just hope it is so.
Placed above is an approximation of the rainfall pattern in 2009, the consequences of which are given in brief below :-

(A) 25-27May2009.
We experienced a direct hit by Cyclone AILA which dumped as much as 350mm of rain in 3 consecutive days. The western parts of Darjeeling district (Kurseong and Darjeeling) suffered the most damage - 27 persons died in landslides and roads, tea gardens and infrastructure sustained immense damage.
(B) 02July2009.
Kalimpong received 112mm of rain in a single day. Even though there was only one death, Nimbong and Pabrintar in Kalimpong subdivision were severely affected by landslides. It took more than a week to restore the Nimbong-Bagrakote road which is the life line for people living in the area.
(C) 15Aug2009.
A single day's rainfall amounted to 152mm. 6 persons died in Kurseong and there was significant damage to houses and infrastructure.
(D) 19Aug2009.
Coming within 4 days of the above rainfall, the 198mm of rain on 19Aug caused immense damage. Chibo/Pashyor remain isolated from Kalimpong as on date (14Oct) with roads and bridges having been washed away by the deluge.
(E) 07/08Oct2009.
36 hrs of rainfall brought in 280mm of rain. However, there was no report of any major damage or death, most probably due to the fact that Sep2009 was largely dry and the moisture content in the earth had decreased significantly.

Detailed reports (with images) on all the above incidents can be found in earlier blogs

Praful Rao

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