Lessons after the great deluge

GS-III: Lessons after the great deluge

Context

Almost 60 people are feared dead, buried alive under layers of mud and rocks in the Kavalappara landslide.
It is the worst tragedy in Kerala’s devastating monsoon so far this year.

Causes of Landslides

Natural causes-

Landslides are generally associated with natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, cloudbursts, etc.
A long spell of rainfall.
Loose soil cover and sloping terrain.

Anthropogenic causes-

Rapid urbanization and changes in land use patterns
Rampant deforestation and mining activities like blasting and quarrying, etc.
Increased industrialisation leading to climate change and weather disturbances
Change in river flow due to construction of dams, barriers, etc.

Various measures needed to mitigate them are:

Hazard mapping by demarcating areas prone to landslides and avoiding stress on those areas for settlement.
Construction of retention walls to avoid land from slipping.
Increasing afforestation and vegetation cover.
Practise measures to check soil erosion like terrace farming, contour ploughing, etc.
Implementing surface drainage control works to control the movement of landslides along with rain water and spring flows.
Proper planning of developmental processes following sustainable methods.

Source: The Hindu

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