CNN —
For years, residents of the northern Indian city of Joshimath have complained to local officials that their homes are sinking. Now authorities are being forced to take action, evacuating nearly 100 families over the past week and hastening the arrival of experts to determine the cause.
Cracks running through the city are now so wide that hundreds of homes are uninhabitable, and some fear India could lose a key gateway for religious pilgrimage and tourist expeditions on nearby mountain trails.
Located in the northeastern state of Uttarakhand, Joshimath is bordered by two rivers and nestled on the slopes of the Himalayas, making it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides and erosion, according to environmental experts.
“Joshimath and many other cities in the Himalayas are geologically vulnerable to subsidence, also known as subsidence or subsidence,” said Sameer Kwatra, policy director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s India program.
Kwatra added that the natural factors that Joshimath Home to around 25,000 people, The risk of sinking is “exacerbated by large-scale construction projects as well as climate-related flash floods and extreme precipitation”.
In August 2022, a team of scientists, geologists and researchers organized by the Uttarakhand State Government conducted a geological survey of Joshimath and found that local residents reported accelerated land erosion that year, largely caused by heavy rains in October 2021 and devastating flash floods earlier in the year that raised concerns about the impact of climate change on the region.
The survey found extensive damage to homes in Joshimath, noting that some homes were “unsafe for human habitation” and posed a “serious risk” to their occupants.
The report pointed to visible cracks in walls, floors, and along various streets as evidence the city was sinking and recommended limiting construction in certain areas, with “further development activity in the area…limited as much as possible.” .
Despite the recommendation, construction continued in the region until last week. On January 5, the county government temporarily halted all construction work at Joshimath, including work on a bypass road and the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric project. The hydroelectric power plant will be constructed on the Dhauliganga River, which partially borders the east side of Joshimath. Construction of the project involves tunneling work that some local residents and environmental experts believe may have exacerbated land erosion.
According to local news outlets, on Jan. 5, the day construction was halted, NTPC issued a statement stating, “NTPC wishes to inform with full responsibility that the tunnel is unrelated to the landslide in the city of Joshimath has to do.”
CNN has reached out to NTPC for comment.
Suraj Kaparuwan, a 38-year-old businessman who runs a small hotel in Joshimath, told CNN that cracks appeared on his field and in the walls of his home a year ago, but the situation has worsened in recent months.
“About a year ago hairline cracks appeared in the field. They have widened over time, especially in the last two months. They’re about 3 feet wide now,” Kaparuwan told CNN.
Last Wednesday evening, Kaparuwan’s family wife and two sons left Joshimath for Srinagar Garhwal, another city further south in the same state.
Kaparuwan initially stayed behind to join the thousands of Joshimath residents and allies from nearby villages who protested outside local administration buildings, demanding an end to construction and demanding fair compensation for those forced to leave their homes.
On Monday, Kaparuwan was told by local officials that his home was in the “danger zone” and that he had to move out. With upcoming bookings for the hotel cancelled, Kaparuwan told CNN he plans to bring all of his household items to the hotel and see what the future holds for Joshimath.
“We are hoping for a fresh start, of all things, but it will depend on the government what steps it takes,” he said.
As of Thursday, 760 buildings had cracks and 589 people had been evacuated, according to a Notice issued by the district administration.
The Prime Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the affected areas last Saturday, Inspecting the homes of residents who fear the buildings may collapse.
“Our priority is to keep everyone safe,” Dhami told reporters after touring the area.
Joshimath’s land subsidence is “not a new problem,” Uttarakhand state disaster management minister Ranjit Sinha told CNN last week, explaining at a news conference a few days later, “The ground is very loose. The country cannot bear the burden.”
A two-year study by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing conducted between July 2020 and March 2022 found that Joshimath and its vicinity have been sinking at a rate of 6.5 centimeters (2.5 in) per year.
However, local officials say the current cracks are more frequent and wider than those they have seen in the past.
Himanshu Khurana, Chamoli District Magistrate, which includes Joshimath, says the cracks that appeared a year ago “widened very slowly and gradually,” but “what happened in the last month, particularly from December 15, was a different phenomenon in a different location.”
When asked, Khurana could not say what caused the cracks to suddenly spread in December, but said he hoped experts would find out and find a solution “very quickly”.
Experts from the National Disaster Management Authority, National Institute of Disaster Management, Geological Survey of India, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology and Central Building Research Institute have been engaged in studying the Situation commissions Joshimath.
According to Khurana, as of Friday, some of these teams had already arrived in the city to begin work.
Their findings could help not only Joshimath and nearby towns in the Himalayan region, but other towns with similar terrain that could put them at risk of sinking in the future.
Kwatra of the Natural Resources Defense Council said Joshimath’s problems are not unique and would likely become more common unless the world slowed the rise in global temperatures.
“What is happening in Joshimath is another reminder that climate change is already having serious impacts that will only get worse unless we act urgently, boldly and decisively to curb emissions.” he said.
Kaparuwan, whose family has lived in Joshimath for decades, said his dreams for the future are “shattered”.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” he said. “It’s a very dark situation for me right now.”