Heavy and prolonged rainfall in the catchment of Alaknanda river and Khirao Ganga  brought down huge debris material. Khirao Ganga had blocked the course of  the Alaknanda river and created an artificial lake for some time. This was breached later on by
An Interim Report on Preliminary  Geological  Slope Stability Assessment of the Recent Disaster Affected Areas in Parts of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand by Bhupendra Singh, Bhupender Singh, Ajay Kumar and Arindam Roy, Senior Geologists, M-IV, NR GSI Dehr
UK_CHA_NH_ 057
About 500m before confluence of Alaknanda and Khirao Ganga.
Concrete retaining wall, slope modification by benches, breast wall with weep holes and toe drain.
Heavy rainfall in catchment of Alaknanda River caused flash flood and toe erosion triggering movement of debris. Sudden release of dammed water also caused devastation in downstream area.