Earthquakes    Floods     LandSlides    Snow & Fires    Other Risks

Kinnaur is a mountainous district having rugged topography and deep and narrow valleys and steep slopes which makes it very prone to different types of slope failure namely Landsliding, Slumping/Creeping, Rock fall, Shooting Stones, etc. This problem has been compounded by the increasing anthropogenic activities. The main cause of slope failure/landslide etc. is steep and fragile slopes, loose soil, fissured/fractured rock strata, some tectonic activity, heavy rainfall, toe erosion by running water and human intervention with the natural settings like various unplanned construction activity, deforestation, faulty land use planning, use of explosives in construction, practicing unscientific mining, quarrying, tunneling methods, unscientific dumping on the valleys etc. The shooting stone, which is very common in many parts of District Kinnaur is caused, among others, by the animal movements and winds. The landslides have caused loss of life and infrastructure in the past.  The slope failure is seen in one or other form in all the parts of the district in deep interiors, in the villages and on high mountain ranges/slopes. But, its disastrous effect is observed mainly near the villages and along National Highway-22 (Now NH 5), old Hidustan-Tibet Road and other link roads connecting the villages of the district.  The important landslides of the district are Malling landslide, Dubling landslide, Spillow landslide, Khadra Dhaank landslide, Lippa landslide, Pangi Nala landslide, Powari landslide, Sapni landslide, Brua landslide, Kuppa landslide, Urni landslides, Sholding landslide, Nathpa landslide etc. The main road leading to Kinnaur has many flashpoints which if triggered by natural events block the connectivity to the district. Such susceptibility is very for other internal roads of the districts.  The landslides would cut of connectivity to all the valleys and villages and people would be left to fend for themselves.