Life Science Journal 2014;11(9) http://www.lifesciencesite.com 610 Effect of drawdown of Karli Lake: A Case Study of Karli landslide hazard in District Hattian, Northeast Himalayas of Pakistan Muhammad Basharat 1 , Joachim Rohn 2 , Muhammad Rustam Khan 1 1 Institute of Geology, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan 2 GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany *Corresponding Author, email: basharatgeo@yahoo.com Abstract: In the northern part of Pakistan, thousands of landslides were triggered during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. On 24 March 2014, the Karli landslide, located in district Hattian, about 65 km southeast of capital city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan was reactivated due to heavy rain fall. Simultaneously, another slide adjacent to the main slide was triggered that transformed rapidly into earth flow. In order to investigate the Karli landslides, field investigations were carried out two weeks after the reactivation of Karli landslide. In addition, SPOT and Google imageries were used to delineate the affected area. DEM was used to study the topographic characteristics of the area. The landslide affected area measuring about 1000 m long and 800 m wide damaged about 156 houses and displaced 900 inhabitants. In addition, on 24 March 2014 earth flow destroyed 3 houses completely and many others are under potential threats. On the basis of field observation and satellite data it is inferred that the Karli landslide was outcome of breach out of Karli lake in February 2010. The landslide movement initiated after falling down of water level of the Karli lake. The landslide hazard assessment indicates that the affected area is under continuous threat of landslide due to the effects of drawdown of Karli lake. Therefore, the inhabitants of the Karali area are under potential risk and need to be relocated to the safer places. [Muhammad Basharat, Joachim Rohn, Muhammad Rustam Khan. Effect of drawdown of Karli Lake: A Case Study of Karli landslide hazard in District Hattian, Northeast Himalayas of Pakistan. Life Sci J 2014;11(9):610-616]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 98 Key words: Karli landslide; Muzaffarabad; Himalaya; Hazard assessment 1 Introduction The Karli village, covering an area of about 6 km 2 is located in Hattian District (near Chikar town), about 65 km southeast of capital city of Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan (Figure 1). Total population of Karli village is about 2,400 (Land Use Planning, 2012). The Karli area has experienced several landslides during and after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake (Dunning et al, 2007; Owen et al, 2008; Basharat et al, 2012). These landslides resulted, combination of various factors including natural and human related activities. Moreover, the geological, geomorphological, and hydrogeological environment of the area are major contributing factors causing landslide activity in this area (Harp and Crone, 2006; Scheinder, 2008; Basharat et al, 2014). The 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered thousand of landslides in northern part of Pakistan and Kashmir (Sato et al, 2007; Owen et al, 2008; Kamp et al, 2008; Basharat et al, 2014). Among these landslides, the Hattian Bala rock avalanche was the biggest one having volume more than 100 million m 3 (Basharat et al, 2012). This huge landslide blocked the flow of Karli river and Tung tributaries creating two landslide dams. The Karli dam covering the surface area of 1.2 km 2 had the water storage capacity of about 62 million m 3 (Sattar et al, 2011; Kiyota et al, 2011; Figure 1). In February 2010, 5-days continuous rain resulted in a breech out of the Karli lake. The outcome of the flood waves caused heavy destruction along the way down stream to Hattian leaving one person dead, and many houses completely or partially damaged (Basharat et al, 2012). Furthermore a number of landslides were activated up- and down-stream in the Karli valley (Sattar et al, 2012). Among these activated landslides, the Karli landslide was outcome of breach out of Karli lake on 9 February 2010, covering an area of about 1 km 2 . This devastating landslide affected the local inhabitants and the environment of the area. On 24 March 2014, in Karli area, due to heavy rain fall the material of Karli landslide was remobilized at the upper slope and transported through surface channel. Simultaneously, another slide adjacent to the main slide, known as earth flow, was triggered by heavy rain fall. This earth flow destroyed 3 houses and rendered many others under potential risk. The aim of this investigation was to understand the cause and effect of Karli landslide. For this purpose field investigations were conducted in April 2014. In addition, SPOT and Google imageries were used to map the affected area of Karli landslide.