Attabad Lake

Attabad Lake (sometimes called Gojal Lake) is a lake in Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan. The lake was created by a landslide which happened in the village of Attabad on 4 January 2010.[3] The landslide killed twenty people. It blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months.

Attabad Lake
Attabad Lake - The lake was formed by a landslide in January 2010
The lake was formed by a landslide in January 2010
Location Attabad, Hunza, Pakistan
Coordinates Coordinates: 36°20′12.62″N 74°52′3.12″E / 36.3368389°N 74.8675333°E / 36.3368389; 74.8675333
Primary  inflows Hunza River, 2800 cu ft/sec (26 May 2010)[1]
Primary  outflows Hunza River overflowing landslide dam, 3700 cu ft/sec (4 June 2010)
Basin  countries Pakistan
Max. length 13 miles (21 km)
Max. depth 358 feet (109 m)[2]
Water volume 0.33 million acre feet (26 May 2010)[1]
Closeup of the landslide

The flooding caused by the blockage covered the Karakoram Highway. Six thousand people had to move from upstream villages. Another 25,000 people had to stay where they were because roads were blocked.[4] It inundated over 12 miles (19 km) of the Karakoram Highway.[1]

By the first week of June 2010, the new lake was 13 miles (21 km) long and over 330 feet (100 m) deep. At that time, it flowed over the landslide dam, completely submerging lower Shishkat and partly flooding Gulmit.[1] The subdivision of Gojal has the greatest number of flooded buildings, over 170 houses and 120 shops. The residents also had shortages of food and other items due to the blockage of the Karakoram Highway.[5] By June 4 water outflow from the lake had increased to 3700 cu ft/sec.[6]

Attabad Lake Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shabbir Ahmed Mir (26 May 2010). "Attabad lake swallows Shishkat". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  2. "Surging water destroys banks of Atta Abad Lake". The News International. May 17, 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.[dead link]
  3. Siddiqi, Tanvir (24 May 2010). Attabad Lake submerges more homes. http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=32339. Retrieved 24 May 2010. [dead link]
  4. "Attabad Lake victims end protest after talks". The Nation. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  5. "Water level rising in Attabad lake". Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  6. Hunza Blog by Professor Dave Petley, Durham University, England

Other websites

  Media related to Attabad Lake at Wikimedia Commons