Context:
At least 144 persons were killed and 197 injured after multiple landslides flattened some three villages in Vythiri taluk of the hilly Wayanad district of Kerala early on July 30.
Relevance:
GS III- Disaster Management
Dimensions of the Article:
- Landslide in Wayanad: Key Details and Causes
- What are Landslides?
- Two Primary varieties of Landslides in India
- Why are Landslides more frequent in the Himalayas than in the Western Ghats?
Landslide in Wayanad: Key Details and Causes
Incident Overview
- Event: A severe landslide occurred in the hilly region of Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district.
- Casualties: The disaster claimed the lives of at least 144 people.
- Timing: The first landslide struck around 1 AM, followed by a second at 4:30 AM.
Causes of the Wayanad Landslide
- Heavy Rainfall: The region experienced extremely heavy rainfall, with over 140 mm recorded in just 24 hours, about five times the normal amount for this period.
- Fragile Ecology: The area’s fragile ecological balance, coupled with increased population pressures, contributed to the landslides.
- Geographical Vulnerability: The western part of Kerala, characterized by hilly terrain with steep slopes, is inherently susceptible to landslides.
- Terrain Composition: Wayanad’s landscape has a distinctive structure with a layer of soil over hard rocks. Intense rainfall saturates the soil, allowing water to penetrate and flow between the soil and rock layers, destabilizing the soil and triggering landslides.
- Deforestation: Loss of forest cover, particularly in plantation areas, increases the land’s vulnerability to landslides. According to a 2021 study, 59% of landslides in Kerala occur in plantation regions.
Environmental and Climatic Factors
- Arabian Sea Warming: Climate scientists have highlighted the warming of the Arabian Sea as a factor behind unpredictable and heavy rain patterns. This warming causes atmospheric instability, leading to the formation of deep cloud systems that result in heavy rainfall over short periods, thereby increasing landslide risks.
- Ecological Sensitivity: The “Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel,” led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, recommended in 2011 that the Wayanad hill ranges and 75% of the Western Ghats’ 129,037 sq km area be declared ecologically sensitive due to dense forests, endemic species, and unique geology.
- Panel Recommendations: The panel advised creating zones based on ecological sensitivity, with strict monitoring and protection measures, including bans on mining, quarrying, new thermal power plants, hydropower projects, and large-scale wind energy projects in the most sensitive areas.
- Implementation: Despite these recommendations, implementation has been delayed for over 14 years due to opposition from state governments, industries, and local communities.
What are Landslides?
Landslides are physical mass movement of soil, rocks and debris down the mountain slope because of heavy rainfall, earthquake, gravity and other factors.
Why do Landslides Occur?
- Base of the huge mountains eroded by rivers or due to mining activities or erosion agents resulting in steep slopes.
- Increased industrialisation leading to climate change and weather disturbances.
- Change in river flow due to construction of dams, barriers, etc.
- Loose soil cover and sloping terrain.
Two Primary varieties of Landslides in India
I- Himalayas
- India has the highest mountain chain on earth, the Himalayas, which are formed due to collision of Indian and Eurasian plate, the northward movement of the Indian plate towards China causes continuous stress on the rocks rendering them friable, weak and prone to landslides and earthquakes.
- The Northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems causing recurring economic losses worth billions of rupees.
II- Western Ghats
- A different variety of landslides, characterized by a lateritic cap (Laterite is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium , and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas), pose constant threat to the Western Ghats in the South, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast besides Nilgiris, which is highly landslide prone.
- The problem needs to be tackled for mitigation and management for which hazard zones have to be identified and specific slides to be stabilized and managed in addition to monitoring and early warning systems to be placed at selected sites.
Zone Map
Himalayas of Northwest and Northeast India and the Western Ghats are two regions of high vulnerability and are landslide prone.
Why are Landslides more frequent in the Himalayas than in the Western Ghats?
In the Himalayas, Landslides are very frequent because:
- Heavy snowfall in winter and melting in summer induces debris flow, which is carried in large quantity by numerous streams and rivers – which results in increases chances of Landslides.
- Himalayas are made of sedimentary rocks which can easily be eroded – hence, erosions contribute to more landslides.
- Drifting of Indian plate causes frequent earthquakes and resultant instability in the region.
- Man-made activities like grazing, construction and cultivation abet soil erosion and risks of landslides.
- Himalayas not yet reached its isostatic equilibrium which destabilizes the slopes causing landslides.
- Diurnal changes of temperature are much more in northern India than in southern slopes – weakening the rocks and increasing mass wasting and erosion.
In the Wester Ghats, Landslides are comparatively less frequent because:
- Western Ghats are eroded, denuded, aged, mature, worn out by exogenic forces and have a much lower height – hence, occurrence of Landslides is lesser.
- The Western Ghats are on more stable part of Indian plate, hence, there is a lesser occurrence of earthquakes and landslides.
- While steep slope on western side with high rainfall creates idea condition for landslide but gentle eastern slope with low rainfall and rivers in senile stage, counters the condition.
- Moving of Indian plates doesn’t affect the Western Ghats much (as they are old block mountains), hence the reduced number of landslides.
- Small & swift flowing streams of western side and big matured rivers on eastern side (like Krishna, Godavari, etc) cannot carry large amount of debris.
-Source: The Hindu
