{"id":41835,"date":"2024-08-04T05:33:41","date_gmt":"2024-08-04T00:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=41835"},"modified":"2025-05-01T01:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T19:31:08","slug":"how-to-reduce-landslide-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/how-to-reduce-landslide-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Reduce Landslide Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Possible Causes of Landslide in Wayanad<\/li>\n<li>Landslides Prevention Techniques\/ Measures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Massive landslides hit the district of Wayanad in northern Kerala, triggering large-scale death (toll stands at 215) and destruction and the number of missing people indicate that the real toll will be higher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Possible Causes of Landslide in Wayanad:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Natural:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the Geological Survey of India (GSI), almost half of Kerala\u2019s land area is prone to landslides.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The heavy rainfall in the region and the slope of the Western Ghats<\/strong> means that 31.54% of the Wayanad district is highly susceptible to landslides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anthropogenic:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Increasing construction activities:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Wayanad region has become a <strong>tourist hotspot<\/strong>, with homestays and monsoon tourism being the latest trends.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The construction of resorts, artificial lakes and quarrying activities <\/strong>in the eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) have exacerbated the danger of a landslide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Changes in crop patterns:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Land use changes have occurred starting with the <strong>British-era tea plantations<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In Wayanad, there has been a 62% reduction in forest cover between 1950 and 2018, coupled with a 1,800% increase in the area under plantation.<\/li>\n<li>Such <strong>monocropping <\/strong>leads to a<strong> loosening of the topsoil <\/strong>that was once held in place by the roots of a forest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Climate change:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Climate change has played an indirect role, <strong>leading to changes in rainfall patterns in the State<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The warming of the Arabian Sea<\/strong> is allowing the formation of deep cloud systems, leading to extremely heavy rainfall over a shorter period. Heavy rainfalls cause run-offs that can lead to landslides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Issues with landslide warnings:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The IMD <\/strong>issues warnings for heavy rainfall (in a colour-coded system) and the week before the landslides, the alert was largely yellow, which does not call for action.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The GSI<\/strong> has been designated the nodal agency for landslide studies, and has been given the responsibility of evolving an early warning system and protocols for landslide risk reduction.<\/li>\n<li>However, <strong>this is still in the experimental stage<\/strong> and will take four or five more years to be ready for public use, a senior GSI official said.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Landslides Prevention Techniques\/ Measures:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Banning\/ regulating construction activities in ESZ: <\/strong><i>For example, <\/i>the Gadgil panel report of 2011 recommended that the entire region of the Western Ghats, spanning 1,29,000 square km across six States, be declared an ESZ.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upgrading institutional capacities and coordination: <\/strong>For example, IMD must use new technologies for accurate weather predictions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Engineering solutions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Slope stabilisation:<\/strong> It involves adding structural elements to the slope to increase its stability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grading and terracing:<\/strong> It involves modifying the slope\u2019s shape and gradient to reduce the risk of landslides.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Soil reinforcement:<\/strong> It involves adding materials to the slope to increase its strength and stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Natural solutions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Vegetation control: <\/strong>Planting trees, shrubs, or grasses can help stabilise the soil, absorb excess water, and reduce erosion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mulching:<\/strong> Mulch is a layer of organic or inorganic material applied to the soil surface. It helps retain moisture, prevent erosion, and stabilise the slope.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bioengineering techniques: <\/strong>They combine the use of plants and engineering principles to stabilise slopes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Water management: <\/strong>It slows down the flow of water, allowing it to infiltrate the soil gradually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Early warning systems and monitoring for landslides:<\/strong> They provide timely information and alerts, allowing individuals and communities to take necessary actions to mitigate the impacts of landslides.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Emergency preparedness for landslides: <\/strong>Despite preventive measures, landslides can still occur. Being prepared and knowing how to respond during a landslide event is crucial for minimising the risks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"media\">\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jjx0wPRGTQw\">\n<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Jjx0wPRGTQw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1 What is the Geological Survey of India (GSI)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The GSI is a scientific agency of India founded in 1851 as a Government of India organisation under the Ministry of Mines. It is one of the oldest organisations conducting geological surveys and studies of India.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. How are eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) declared in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In order to manage and conserve biodiversity across the Protected Areas (PAs), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notifies Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around the PAs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/opinion\/questions-beyond-wayanad-spilled-across-the-country-3135540\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Questions beyond Wayanad, spilled across the country<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/how-can-wayanad-reduce-landslide-risks\/article68482504.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>TH<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Gadgil panel report of 2011 recommended that the entire region of the Western Ghats, spanning 1,29,000 square km across six States, be declared an ESZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}