Cloudburst
Encyclopedia
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation, sometimes with hail
and thunder
, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.
Meteorologists say the rain from a cloudburst is usually of the shower type with a fall rate equal to or greater than 100mm (3.94 inches) per hour.
During a cloudburst, more than 2 cm of rain may fall in a few minutes. When there are instances of cloudbursts, the results can be disastrous.
Rapid precipitation from cumulonimbus clouds is possible due to so called Langmuir
precipitation process in which large droplets can grow rapidly by coagulating with smaller droplets which fall down slowly.
n subcontinent
, a cloudburst usually occurs when a pregnant monsoon
cloud drifts northwards, from the Bay of Bengal
or Arabian Sea
across the plains, then onto the Himalaya and bursts, bringing rainfall as high as 75 millimeters per hour.
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
and thunder
Thunder
Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...
, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.
Etymology
There are similar names for such events in other languages. For example, in Polish the equally vague term used is "Oberwanie Chmury".Properties
Cloudbursts descend from very high clouds, sometimes with tops above 15 kilometers.Meteorologists say the rain from a cloudburst is usually of the shower type with a fall rate equal to or greater than 100mm (3.94 inches) per hour.
During a cloudburst, more than 2 cm of rain may fall in a few minutes. When there are instances of cloudbursts, the results can be disastrous.
Rapid precipitation from cumulonimbus clouds is possible due to so called Langmuir
Langmuir
Langmuir may refer to:* Langmuir , an impact crater on the Moon's far side* Langmuir , an academic journal on colloids, surfaces and interfaces, published by the American Chemical Society...
precipitation process in which large droplets can grow rapidly by coagulating with smaller droplets which fall down slowly.
Record Cloudbursts
| Duration | Rainfall | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) | Barot Barot Barot is a picnic spot and tourist location in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated 40 km from Jogindernagar and 66 km from Mandi, the district headquarters. The road to Barot branches off at Jogindernagar-Mandi high ways and from Jogindernagar the... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
26 November 1970 |
| 5 minutes | 2.43 inches (61.72 mm) | Port Bells, Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... |
29 November 1911 |
| 15 minutes | 7.8 inches (198.12 mm) | Plumb Point, Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... |
12 May 1916 |
| 20 minutes | 8.1 inches (205.74 mm) | Curtea-de-Arges, Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
7 July 1947 |
| 40 minutes | 9.25 inches (234.95 mm) | Guinea, Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there... , USA |
24 August 1906 |
| 1 hour | 9.84 inches (249.9 mm) | Ladakh, India | August 5, 2010 |
| 12 hours | 45.03 inches (1,143.8 mm) | Foc-Foc, La Réunion La Reunion La Reunion may refer to:* La Reunion , a communal settlement near present-day Dallas, Texas*La Réunion, Lot-et-Garonne, a town in the Lot-et-Garonne department of France*Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar... |
January 8, 1966 |
| 24 hours | 71.85 inches (1,825 mm) | Foc-Foc, La Réunion La Reunion La Reunion may refer to:* La Reunion , a communal settlement near present-day Dallas, Texas*La Réunion, Lot-et-Garonne, a town in the Lot-et-Garonne department of France*Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar... |
January 8, 1966 |
Cloudbursts in the Indian subcontinent
In the IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n subcontinent
Subcontinent
A subcontinent is a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision...
, a cloudburst usually occurs when a pregnant monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
cloud drifts northwards, from the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
or Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
across the plains, then onto the Himalaya and bursts, bringing rainfall as high as 75 millimeters per hour.
India
- On September 28, 1908 - A Cloudburst resulted in a flood where the Musi River was swollen up to 38-45 m. About 15,000 people were killed and around 80,000 houses were destroyed along the banks of this river.
- In July, 1970 — Cloudburst in the upper catchment area led to a 15 metre rise in the Alaknanda river in UttarakhandUttarakhandUttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
. Entire river basin, from Hanumanchatti near the pilgrimage town of Badrinath to HaridwarHaridwarHaridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
was affected. An entire village was swept away. - On August 15, 1997, 115 people were killed when a cloud burst came bustling and trail of death are all that is left behind in Chirgaon in Shimla districtShimla districtShimla district of Himachal Pradesh, lies between the longitude 77.00" and 78.19" east and latitude 30.45" and 31.44" north, has its headquarters at Shimla city. It is surrounded by Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Uttarakhand in the south, Sirmaur in the west...
, Himachal PradeshHimachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. - On August 17, 1998 — A massive landslide following heavy rain and a cloudburst at Malpa village killed 250 people including 60 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims in Kali valley of the Kumaon divisionKumaon DivisionFor Kumaoni/Kumauni People see Kumauni PeopleKumaon or Kumaun is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. It includes the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar...
, UttarakhandUttarakhandUttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
. Among the dead was Odissi dancer Protima Bedi. - On July 16, 2003, About 40 persons were killed in flash floods caused by a cloudburst at Shilagarh in Gursa area of Kullu, Himachal PradeshHimachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. - On July 6, 2004, At least 17 people were killed and 28 injured when three vehicles were swept into the Alaknanda river by heavy landslides triggered by a cloudburst that left nearly 5,000 pilgrims stranded near Badrinath shrine area in Chamoli districtChamoli DistrictChamoli district is a district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest...
, UttarakhandUttarakhandUttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
. - On 26 July 2005, A cloudburst caused approximately 950 millimetres (37.4 in) of rainfall in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. over a span of eight to ten hours; the deluge completely paralysed India's largest city and financial centre. - On August 16, 2007, 52 people were confirmed dead when a severe cloud burst occurred in Bhavi village in Ghanvi, Himachal PradeshHimachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. - On August 7, 2009, 38 people were killed in a landslide resulting from a cloudburst in Nachni area near MunsiyariMunsiyariMunsyari is the name of a town and a tehsil in the Pithoragarh District in the hill-state of Uttarakhand, India.It lies at the base of the great Himalayan mountain range, at an elevation of about , and is a starting point of various treks into the interior of the range.- Overview :Its name refers...
in Pithoragarh districtPithoragarh DistrictPithoragarh district is the easternmost Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is naturally landscaped with high Himalayan mountains, snow capped peaks, passes, valleys, alpine meadows, forests, waterfalls, perennial rivers, glaciers and springs. The flora and fauna of this area...
of UttarakhandUttarakhandUttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
. - On August 6, 2010, in Leh, a series of cloudbursts left over 1000 persons dead (updated number) and over 400 injured in the frontier Leh town of Ladakh region in JammuJammuJammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
and KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. - On September 15, cloud burst in AlmoraAlmoraAlmora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...
in Uttrakhand has drowned away two villages one of them being Balta, leaving a few people alive and rest entire village dead and drowned. Almora has been declared as a town suffering from the brunt of cloudburst by authorities of Uttrakhand. Had there been a bit more swaying of clouds, town of RanikhetRanikhetRanikhet is a hill station and cantonment town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment & Naga Regiment and is maintained by the Indian Army....
must have drowned also. - On June 9, 2011, near JammuJammuJammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, a cloudbursts left 4 persons dead and over several injured in Doda-Batote highway, 135km from Jammu.Two restaurants and many shops were washed away - On 20 July 2011, a cloudburst in upper Manali, 18 km away from Manali town in Himachal Pradesh state left 2 dead and 22 missing.
- On September 15, 2011 a cloudburst was reported in the Palam area of the National Capital Territory of DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. The Indira Gandhi International AirportIndira Gandhi International AirportIndira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, situated in West Delhi, 16 km southwest of New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, it is the busiest airport in India in...
's Terminal-3 was flooded with water at the Arrival due to the immense downpour. Even though no lives were lost in the rain that lasted an hour was enough to enter the record books as the highest rainfall in the city recorded since 1959.
Pakistan
- On July 1, 1977, the city of Karachi was flooded when 207 millimetres (8.1 in) of rain was recorded in 24 hours.
- On July 23, 2001 620 millimetres (24.4 in) of rainfall was recorded in 10 hours in IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. It was the heaviest rainfall in 24 hours in Islamabad and at any locality in Pakistan during the past 100 years. - On July 23, 2001 335 millimetres (13.2 in) of rainfall was recorded in 10 hours in RawalpindiRawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. - On July 18, 2009, 245 millimetres (9.6 in) of rainfall occurred in just 4 hours in KarachiKarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, which caused massive flooding in the metropolis city. - On July 29, 2010 a record breaking 280 millimetres (11 in) of rain was recorded in RisalpurRisalpurRisalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 15 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and...
in 24 hours. - On July 29, 2010 a record breaking 274 millimetres (10.8 in) of rain was recorded in PeshawarPeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
in 24 hours. - On August 09, 2011 176 millimetres (6.9 in) of rainfall was recorded in 3 hours in Islamabad flooded main streets.
- On August 10, 2011 a record breaking 291 millimetres (11.5 in) of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours in MithiMithiMithi is the capital of Tharparkar District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The town is located at 24°20'0N 69°1'0E with an altitude of 2 metres , lying 300 kilometres from Karachi and is located in a beautiful desert area....
, SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Pakistan. - On August 11, 2011 a record breaking 350 millimetres (13.8 in) of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours in Tando Ghulam AliSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Pakistan. - On September 7, 2011 a record breaking 312 millimetres (12.3 in) of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours in DiploDiplo, PakistanDiplo is a town in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is located at 24°28'0N 69°35'0E with an altitude of 26 meters . It is located in Thar desert....
, SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Pakistan.
Bangladesh
- In September, 2004 341 millimetres (13.4 in) mm of rain was recorded in DhakaDhakaDhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
in 24 hours. - On June 11, 2007 425 millimetres (16.7 in) mm of rain fell in 24 hours in ChittagongChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
. - On July 29, 2009 a record breaking 333 millimetres (13.1 in) of rain was recorded in DhakaDhakaDhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, in 24 hours, previously 326 millimetres (12.8 in) of rain was recorded on July 13, 1956.