Joshimath: The trauma of residing in a Himalayan town that is collapsing.

Authorities in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, declared it a landslide and subsidence-hit zone on Sunday, almost a week after cracks started to appear in numerous roads and hundreds of homes there.

The announcement followed a high-level meeting between senior Central government officials, representatives from the state of Uttarakhand, and senior officers from organizations such as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI), and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH).

According to officials, 68 families had already been evacuated to temporary relief centers as of Sunday, and another 90 families will be evacuated shortly. The Indian Express examines what land subsidence is and how it might have contributed to the Joshimath incident.

As defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), subsidence is the term used to describe the ground sinking due to underground material movement. Subsidence has many well-known causes, including earthquakes, soil erosion, and soil compaction. Numerous natural and artificial factors, including mining operations and the removal of water, oil, or other natural resources, can cause it.

Additionally, according to the website of the US-based organization, this phenomenon “can happen over extensive areas like whole states or provinces, or tiny areas like the corner of your yard.”

Although the exact cause of the Joshimath land subsidence is still unknown, experts speculate that unplanned construction, excessive population, obstruction of the natural flow of water, and hydropower activities may be to blame. In addition, the region is in a seismic zone, making earthquakes commonplace there.