Tuesday, August 17, 2010

New pictures of Attabad

Many thanks to David Butz, who is a Professor of Human Geography at Brock University in Canada, for sending to me a set of photographs of the situation at Attabad.  David was there about eleven days ago, when the boat service was still running (it has now ceased due to a lack of fuel).  David has kindly allowed me to post some pictures here - note however that he retains ownership and copyright of them.

The dam from from downstream (click on "read more" to get the remainder of the post):





A close up of the downstream part of the spillway.  Note the very large boulder:




The upper part of the spillway, the point at which the flow rate increases:




The landslide mass from the upstream side:



The towering landscape and the heavily overloaded boats that ply the lake:




Many of the displaced people are still located in very hazardous locations:




And to finish, the best image that I have seen to date that is able to show the size of the landslide.  Remember that the lake is 120 metres deep:


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15 comments:

  1. IvanAugust 17, 2010 at 1:28 PM

    Finally some pictures... it seems the dam will not fail after all.. at least for another while at least

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  2. AnonymousAugust 17, 2010 at 11:17 PM

    Thanks David Butz for images; specially the last one.

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  3. owenjohnAugust 18, 2010 at 6:02 AM

    I follow your blog with interest.
    Excellent coverage so far and some great new pictures. Thankyou.

    (Small note on picture # 3, the flow rate does not increase but rather the velocity)

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  4. Simon and IsabelleAugust 18, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    The new pictures are fantastic and I follow this blog with great interest. My wife and I cycled through here from China in late 2008, staying in Passu, walking in Hussaini and moving on after a week or so down to Karimabad. We have very fond memories of the place and our hearts go out to the wonderful people of this area. Our thoughts are with you.

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  5. JesseAugust 18, 2010 at 2:19 PM

    This story is getting very little coverage around the world. I was lucky enough to stumble upon some Youtube videos while researching the Pakistan monsoon floods. Some very powerful forces of nature are at work in Pakistan this year.

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  6. Brigadier (retired) Samson Simon SharafAugust 18, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    Atabad was created due to neglect and now the wrath of God has struck the entire country.

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  7. tropicalAugust 19, 2010 at 11:56 AM

    "...the point at which the flow rate increases:" (Photo)

    Dave- Isn't the flow rate constant the entire length of the spillway? Where is the extra water entering?

    Since the depth decreases, the velocity increases, but I don't see where there is any added flow.

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  8. tropicalAugust 19, 2010 at 11:58 AM

    Oh, and I guess I should add that by "depth decreasing" I really make the assumption that the width is fairly constant. It's the cross sectional area that's important.

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  9. IsmailKAugust 19, 2010 at 12:29 PM

    Feroze's comments are very typical of the Punjabi mindset. The Panjabis have always used the rest of the provinces for the benefit of Punjab and their geopolitical games. If Gilgit/Baltistanis suffer, so what?

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  10. AnonymousAugust 20, 2010 at 12:28 AM

    Is there any official reaction happening from the Chinese side, who once built the KKH? They must be interested keeping that trade line safely running, but maybe they wait until all the recent Indus floods pass bye.

    Hope that the heavy rains in the region will not harm the structure of the dam in the Hunza valley, which seems to be stable at this point. If it will brake there will be a deluge...

    Andus

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  11. Pam & DaveAugust 20, 2010 at 5:15 AM

    Thank you for the website and pictures. We follow the situation with great interest. Our family is a regular visitor to Hunza, our favourite destination in the world: 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008. Each time, we renew many friendships with people from Gilgit to Pasu and beyond, many of whom have been affected by the landslide and lake, as well as more recent flooding in Gilgit and surrounds. Thank you for providing the means for us to monitor the situation.

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  12. AnonymousAugust 20, 2010 at 11:35 PM

    Can anyone give a width for the spillway as there are no people or vehicles to compare?

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  13. Rubab AktherAugust 24, 2010 at 10:22 AM

    I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

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  14. ulscAugust 26, 2010 at 10:36 AM

    Just found also this, which shows that the gouvernment believes in the stability of the dam now:
    http://pamirtimes.net/2010/08/22/repatriation-of-hunza-lake-idps-will-complete-soon/

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  15. AnonymousAugust 26, 2010 at 4:05 PM

    These photos are beautiful and informative. The last one, once viewed at maximum size, shows the size of the landslide with cars on the road for comparison.
    I read that before the monsoon flooding President Zardari went to China and signed a Memo of Understanding with his Chinese counterpart whereas a pipeline carrying petroleum from Karachi to China will be built, as well as a railroad, and the KKH of course will be widened and modernized.
    I tremble at the thought of an oil spill due to a variety of possible causes in the Hunza valley.
    Well, it will take a few years and a MOU is not set in stone.
    Brigitte

    ReplyDelete

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