Flash flood of July 1979 in the Luni basin—a rare event in the Indian desert

ABSTRACT

A well marked low pressure monsoon depression caused unprecedented heavy rainfall of five days duration (15–19 July 1979) in the Luni basin in the India arid zone. It caused the worst flash flood in living memory. Saturated antecedent soil moisture conditions, thin soil cover underlain by bed rock or hardpan, a larger area of exposed rocks in the basin and failure of the earthen reservoirs further worsened the flood effect. During flooding, suspended sediment concentrations rose from 0.86 to 40.2 g 1^?1 downstream due to bank scouring, erosion and high transmission losses of the runoff volume in the alluvial channels. The dilution effect of flooding caused lower concentrations of the total dissolved solids which increased with downstream travel. Social effects of this flood and consequences on future planning in the Luni basin have also been discussed.