\nNatural Causes<\/strong><\/td>\n\n\n- Heavy Rainfall:<\/strong>\u00a0The occurrence of heavy or continuous rainfall may lead to heavy landslides in the areas of steep slopes. Water works as a lubricating agent<\/span> and loosens up the material<\/span>. For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0The 2013 Uttarakhand Cloudburst brought immense landslides in the region<\/span>.<\/li>\n
- Earthquakes:<\/strong>\u00a0The sudden shaking of earth\u2019s crust creates stress on materials resulting in their flow downwards. <\/span>For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Tectonically active Himalayas<\/span> enhance the probability of earthquakes, resulting in an increased vulnerability.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Steep Slopes and Geomorphology:<\/b> Mountain slopes in regions like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and the Konkan coast often exceed angles of 30 degrees. Gravity acting on these sheer angles naturally accelerates mass wasting.<\/li>\n
- Nature of Rivers:<\/strong> The youthful and mighty rivers increase the downcutting of earth on the mountain slopes. <\/span>For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0The <\/span>increased flow in the Chaliyar river<\/span> resulted in heavy sediment erosion, resulting in the Wayanad landslide catastrophe.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Weathering:<\/b> The gradual, natural breaking down of rocks by wind, water, and temperature changes weakens slope stability over time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nAnthropogenic Causes<\/strong><\/td>\n\n\n- Heavy Infrastructure Development:<\/strong>\u00a0The creation of roads, railways, dams, linear infrastructure development in the mountainous region, has resulted in increased landslides. For ex: <\/strong>The development of Konkan Railways in western ghats<\/span> is considered a significant reason behind the frequent occurrences of the disaster in the region.<\/li>\n
- Mining activities:<\/strong>\u00a0It involves removal of the surface of the earth for mineral exploration, which loosens the grip of material. <\/span>For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Iron ore<\/span>, <\/span>bauxite<\/span>, <\/span>manganese<\/span>, <\/span>chromite<\/span>, and <\/span>limestone mining<\/span> in the western ghats has increased the risks of this disaster.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Increased Deforestation:<\/strong>\u00a0The cutting down of trees for agricultural and industrial activities, loosens the soil grip and makes the region more vulnerable to landslides. <\/span>For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Plantation agriculture in Western ghats<\/span> has resulted in loss of native trees and increased the disaster risk.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Poor Drainage:<\/b> Inadequate water drainage systems in hilly regions allow water to seep deep into the slopes, artificially triggering landslides during minor rains.<\/li>\n
- Unsustainable Tourism:<\/strong> The rising tourist influx in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats puts greater pressure on land, as more infrastructure and amenities are needed to accommodate them. This leads to more construction and greater landslide risks.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Climate change:<\/strong>\u00a0Anthropogenic activities has accelerated the climate change events, leading to increased glacial melts and rainfall. <\/span>For ex:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Warming of Arabian sea<\/span> has resulted in <\/span>increased rainfall in the Western Ghats region<\/span>, leading to enhanced landslides.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
What are the Impacts of Landslides in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n- Loss of Lives:<\/strong> The most traumatizing impact of a landslide is the loss of precious human and animal lives for e.g. in the Wayanad landslide,<\/span>\u00a0298 people died.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Economic Losses:<\/strong> Landslide leads to enhanced economic losses as, significant amount<\/span> is spent<\/span> on reconstructing the lost infrastructure<\/span>, rehabilitating the masses<\/span>, and providing relief support<\/span> to the impacted people.<\/li>\n
- Infrastructural Damage and restricted Movement:<\/strong>\u00a0The mud, rocks, and debris moving down the slope result in infrastructural damage to houses, buildings, roads and create a barrier on critical transportation routes<\/span>. This restricts the movement of goods and people.<\/li>\n
- Damage to Hydropower Projects:<\/b> The immense silt and debris washed down by landslides accumulate in reservoirs, drastically reducing the operational lifespan and power-generation capacity of critical multi-purpose river and hydroelectric projects.<\/li>\n
- Displacement and Migration:<\/strong> Landslides force communities to evacuate and migrate. This leads to social disruption<\/span> and psychological stress<\/span> among affected populations.<\/li>\n
- Devastation of the Tourism Sector:<\/b> In tourist-dependent states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, recurrent landslides result in huge losses of tourism-related revenue. Travel cancellations hit local businesses, hotels, and transport operators deeply.<\/li>\n
- Loss of Fertile Topsoil:<\/b> Hill communities rely heavily on terraced farming and orchards. Debris flows smother agricultural lands with rocks and sand, completely stripping the fertile topsoil and crippling long-term agricultural productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
<\/a>What initiatives have been taken by the Government to mitigate the risks due to landslides?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNational Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM)<\/strong><\/td>\nGeological Survey of India initiated the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM) program in 2014 to map the landslide areas on a Macro Scale<\/span> (1:50,000). The goal is to map the 0.42 million sq. km landslide-prone areas<\/span> across the country.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNational Landslide Risk Management Strategy (2019)<\/strong><\/td>\nFormulated by the NDMA, it addresses all the components of landslide disaster risk reduction<\/span> and management, which includes:
\na. Hazard mapping, monitoring, and early warning system, awareness programs.
\nb. Capacity building, training, regulations, and policies, stabilization and mitigation.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNational Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Guidelines on Landslide Hazard Management (2009)<\/strong><\/td>\nIt proposes measures that should be taken to avoid or mitigate the risk posed by landslide hazards. Some of the guidelines are as follows:
\na. Delineating areas<\/span> susceptible to landslide hazards.
\nb. Encouraging implementation of successful remediation<\/span> and mitigation technologies.
\nc. Developing institutional capacity<\/span> and training<\/span> for geoscientists, engineers, and planners is necessary for the effective management.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNational Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)<\/strong><\/td>\nIt is a premier institute that provides capacity building support<\/span> to various National and State level agencies in the field of Disaster Management & Disaster Risk Reduction.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNational Landslide Forecasting Centre (NLFC)<\/strong><\/td>\nEstablished by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in Kolkata, the NLFC coordinates data directly from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
\nIt integrates real-time rainfall data to generate and issue regional landslide forecast bulletins<\/b> across highly vulnerable districts.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNational Landslide Risk Mitigation Project (NLRMP)<\/strong><\/td>\n| The government has approved this mega-project with a substantial financial outlay of \u20b91,000 crore<\/b>. Funded by the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), it spans 15 landslide-prone states<\/b> (including Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Northeastern states) to scale up disaster preparedness and active slope stabilization.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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<\/p>\n![\"Landslide](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Landslide-Classification.png?resize=619%2C623&ssl=1\")
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