Landslides in Kerala
The landslide in Idukki district of Kerala has so far claimed 22 lives and rendered several homeless.
What is a landslide?
Reason behind the occurrence of landslides
Zone Map A general landslide hazard map of India shown here marks the areas of different hazard zones in various states of India; one may note that Himalayas of Northwest and Northeast India and the Western Ghats are two regions of high vulnerability and are landslide prone.
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Landslide in Kerala
The occurrence of landslide is Kerala is due to
- Heavy monsoonal rainfall -Most districts have received three or four times more rain than what is normal.
- Hilly topography of the state
- Quarrying and the unscientific cutting of slopes into hills aggravating the risk of soil erosion.
- Data from the Geological Survey of India showed that Kerala had experienced 67 major landslide events and several minor ones from 1961-2013.
- As part of a National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM) programme, the agency mapped several States in the Western Ghats, North-eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand to assess how vulnerable their districts were.
- Nearly 13,000 square kilometres were mapped until 2018 and 6,000 were to be covered in 2019-20 in Kerala, according to the programme website.
- Nearly 13 of the State’s 14 districts were prone to landslides.
- Kerala became particularly vulnerable due to the high population density over 800 per square kilometre compared to other States that also faced high landslide risk.
About National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM)
Aims and Objectives
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How should Kerala be prepared?
- Operationalising the State’s disaster management apparatus and allocating funds for preparedness are key policy responses.
- Kerala also must double down on enforcing regulations and observing zoning laws as well as ensuring that slopes carved into hilly terrain have adequate provisions for draining water.
- It should be clear that development goals are pursued without breaching environment regulations.
Related information
- The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) organized the 1st International Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience” on 28th November, 2019 in New Delhi.
- The aim was to bring together all stakeholders including relevant ministries, universities, as well as experts to discuss/debate/disseminate practically useful knowledge, experiences, information and innovations for landslides risk reduction and resilience at national and international levels.
About National Institute of Disaster Management
- NIDM comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is located in New Delhi.
- Under the Disaster Management Act 2005, NIDM has been assigned nodal responsibilities for human resource development, capacity building, training, research, documentation and policy advocacy in the field of disaster management.
References:
- https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1594071https://ndma.gov.in/kids/landslides.html#:~:text=Landslide%20and%20avalanche%20occurred%20due,Earthquake
- https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/balancing-priorities/article32312504.ece
- https://www.gsi.gov.in/webcenter/portal/OCBIS/pageQuickLinks/pageNLSM?_afrLoop=33257919568800708&_adf.ctrl-state=11jw3h2dqa_1#!%40%40%3F_afrLoop%3D33257919568800708%26_adf.ctrl-state%3D11jw3h2dqa_5
- https://ndma.gov.in/en/landslides-zone-map.html
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