CNN
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For years, residents in 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 in the last week and expediting the arrival of experts to determine the cause.
Cracks running through the city are now so wide that hundreds of homes are no longer habitable, and some fear that India could lose a key gateway to religious pilgrimages 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, which environmental experts say makes it particularly susceptible to earthquakes, landslides and erosion.
“Joshimath, and many other towns in the Himalayas, are geologically prone to subsidence,” otherwise known as the sinking or settling of the Earth’s surface, said Sameer Kwatra, policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s India program.
Kwatra added that the natural factors which put Joshimath, home to around 25,000 people, at risk of sinking are “being exacerbated by large scale construction projects as well as climate induced flash floods and extreme rainfall.”
In August 2022, a team of scientists, geologists and researchers organized by the state government of Uttarakhand conducted a geological survey of Joshimath and noted that local residents reported an accelerated pace of land erosion that year, caused in large part by heavy rainfall in October 2021 and devastating flash flooding earlier that year, sparking concerns about the impact of climate change on the region.
The survey found extensive damage to houses in Joshimath, stating that some houses were “unsafe for human habitation” and posed a “grave risk” to their inhabitants.
The report pointed to visible cracks in walls, floors and along various roads as evidence that the city was sinking and recommended construction in certain areas be curtailed, with “further developmental activities in the area … restricted to the extent possible.”
Despite the recommendation, construction in the region continued until just last week. On January 5, the district administration temporarily shut down all construction work in Joshimath, including work on…
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