Kinnaur situated in Trans Himalayan zone of Himalayas is a mountainous district having high mountain ranges considered to be a sedimentary wedge between colliding plate margins enclosing deep narrow valleys/gorges of River Satluj and its numerous tributaries.

The district has unique climatic conditions. Winters are severe with heavy snowfall causing Glaciers and Avalanches. Summers are mild with rainy season in most of the Kapla and Nichar Sub-Divisions of the district. Pooh Sub-Division of this district forms part of ‘Indian Cold Desert’ and receives scanty rainfall as it falls in rain-shadow zone of Himalayas.    

The unique Geo-tectonic, Geological, Geomorphologic and Climatic conditions of the District makes it vulnerable/susceptible to various kinds of natural hazards/disasters which have been compounded by increasing human interventions with the nature. There is need to identify and delineate the Hazard Risk zones of the District (areas vulnerable to various hazards) which will provide the necessary information to work on micro-level and to map the active and dormant processes of the hazards.

The disasters, which generally occur in this district and its various areas prone/vulnerable to various kinds of disasters, are as under:           

Fires are quite frequent during the summers due to usage of inflammable material for house construction and wood for fuel. Due to the dryness and absence of moisture forests easily catch fire too. Floods are common during the rains. Cloud bursts are short and devastating while heavy continuous rains flood low lying habitations and saturate the strata leading to land slide and subsidence. Flooded natural drainage channels cause heavy erosion. During the dry season drought situations arise. Due to the mountainous terrain natural sources dry up as groundwater level falls. District Kinnaur located on the folds of the Himalayas lies in the earthquake Zone IV and is highly prone to earthquakes.