case study of landslides in india

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Published: 13 July 2022

The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt

R. S. Ajin 1 ,
D. Nandakumar 2 ,
A. Rajaneesh 3 ,
T. Oommen 4 ,
Yunus P. Ali 5 &
K. S. Sajinkumar 3

Geoenvironmental Disasters volume 9 , Article number: 16 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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In recent years, landslides have become a typical monsoon calamity in the Western Ghats region of Kerala, India. In addition to property damage, heavy rainfall (36% above normal) and multiple landslides (4728) killed 48 people in 2018. This tendency continued throughout the monsoon seasons of 2019, 2020, and 2021, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people. Anomalous precipitation is ascribed to the frequent development of low-pressure in the surrounding oceans. Using ground real data and satellite imagery, we evaluated the features of three large landslides in the state of Kerala, which occurred during the monsoon season of 2021. Our investigation found that the Kokkayar landslide was triggered by anthropogenic-related agricultural activities, the Plappally landslide by geomorphic and tectonic processes as well as human involvement, and the Kavali landslide by forest fragmentation with dense vegetation on thin soil. The triggering mechanism for all three of these landslides, however, is the intense rainfall of 266 mm in less than 24 h. Thus, an accurate and precise forecast of rainfall can be used to define a threshold for an early warning, which will be vital for saving lives.

Introduction

Catastrophic landslides have become a common monsoonal phenomenon in India’s southwest state of Kerala, which is located in the foothills of the prominent mountain chain, the Western Ghats. The anomalous rainfall of 2018, which was about 36% more than the normal rainfall (Vishnu et al. 2019 ), triggered 4728 landslides (Hao et al. 2020 ) and killed 48 people. These landslides occurred in a single storm-event i.e., 16th August 2018. The following years saw further landslides, with the monsoon season of 2019 witnessing disastrous landslides such as the one at Puthumala, which killed 17 people, and the Kavalappara, which killed another 59 people (Sajinkumar and Oommen 2020 ; Wadhawan et al. 2020 ). Both these landslides occurred on 8th August 2019. The Pettimudi landslide of 6th August 2020 was the most tragic one that killed 70 people and devastated several hutments in a tea plantation region (Achu et al. 2021 ; Sajinkumar and Oommen 2021 ). Year 2021 also experienced cataclysmic landslides on 16th October with the most disastrous ones being at Kokkayar in Idukki district and Plappally and Kavali, near Koottickal in Kottayam district. All these devastating landslides that occurred since 2018 showed an uneven geographic distribution (Fig. 1 a, b), pointing to the possibility that many parts of the Western Ghats are susceptible to landslides, though these landslides are located along the same valley (Fig. 1 c). In this study, we narrate the ground real data and interpretation of high-resolution remotely sensed images of the three landslides- Kokkayar, Plappally and Kavali (Fig. 2 , a, b, c) that occurred in 2021. We also employed ethnographic techniques, such as in-depth interviews with elderly impacted individuals, to learn about their shared experiences. These three landslides are amongst the tens of landslides in the vicinity of the study area (Fig. 3 ). The reason for selecting these three landslides is because of their catastrophic nature resulting in many human casualties. We believe that the narrative of these three landslides applies to other landslides that occurred in the immediate vicinity of this area.

(Source: Google Earth) ( b ) Study area with elevation map draped over hill shade map showing major landslides since 2018 (Elevation data is ALOS PALSAR) ( c ) Google Earth image showing the spatial distribution of these three landslides along a valley

Location map ( a ) South India

Field photos of ( a ) Kokkayar landslide ( b ) Plappally landslide ( c ) Kavali landslide

A distant view of the hills in the study area showing several landslides

Site and situation of the landslides

Kokkayar landslide.

Kokkayar landslide (9°34′21''N; 76°53′13''E) of Peermade taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala has killed seven people and completely destroyed seven houses. The dimension of this landslide is 500 m (length) × 40 m (avg. width) × 1 m (avg. thickness). Rubber plantations predominantly occupy the area with intermittent clusters of mixed vegetation. The area is utilized for agriculture through terrace cultivation with the cut slope protected by rubble masonry wall. Rain pits were constructed on this slope. Houses are constructed by the cut and fill method but without any support in the cut slope. Most of the houses have dug wells and the depth to water level is shallow (< 2 m) whereas during the landslide these were found overflowing (as per local witness), pointing to the fully saturated column of soil. Numerous springs spout from this area (Fig. 4 a). This spouting phenomenon existed before landslides because dwellings have drains to flush away storm water (Fig. 4 b). These observations indicate that a seasonal first and/or second-order stream flows through this area, which might have been modified during the course of agriculture and/or habitation. A few fresh gullies have been formed, to which water is now confined.

a Spouting of spring at Kokkayar landslide ( b ) A demolished house having provisions for draining storm water ( c ) A highly-weathered joint in the country hornblende biotite gneiss ( d ) Soil profile showing dislodged material, lateritic soil, saprock and weathered bedrock

The in-depth interviews with the local people revealed that the vegetation, mainly rubber trees were clear-felled after slaughter tapping a few years prior to the event. Contour bunding and rain-pits were made prior to replanting the rubber saplings. These interventions seem to have taken place ignoring the natural hydrological requirement of letting the first/second order streams to have its free flow channels. Such interventions may have contributed to destabilizing of soil on the slopes.

The area is characterized by outcrops of hornblende biotite gneiss. The general trend of this foliated rock is 173°/35 W. The preponderance of feldspar in this rock and its subsequent alteration through weathering has resulted in the formation of clay. The rock is highly jointed, and weathering is found to be extensive along these joints (Fig. 4 c). The crown of the landslide is occupied by bouldery outcrops of this rock with no soil cover. Hence, during monsoon, all the water in the crown part has surcharged the immediately downslope column of lateritic soil causing an increase in pore-water pressure. Near the flanks of the landslide, the soil profile shows dislodged soil followed by lateritic soil of 1 m thickness and another 1 m thick saprolite (Fig. 4 d). This is further followed by bedrock. The dislodged material was finally dumped into the Pullakayar, a tributary of Manimala River.

Plappally landslide

Plappally landslide (9°37′3''N; 76°52′21''E) in Kanjirapally taluk of Kottayam district has killed four people and demolished two buildings. This landslide of 500 m (length) × 20 (avg. width) × 1 m (avg. thickness) was initiated in a rubber plantation whereas its runout stretches through areas of different land use types. In the Google Earth image (before landslide), the upslope in which the landslide occurred is confined is a truncated spur and its right boundary is marked by a straight lower-order river course, indicating a lineament (Fig. 5 a). Due to the broader surface area of this spur, the run-off zone is more extensive. The storm water when crossing the barren rock outcrop, situated downslope, facilitates sudden surcharge to the thin veneer of soil lying immediately downslope. It is in this zone the recent landslide was initiated. The surcharge zone can be well seen in the high-resolution (3 m) False Colour Composite (FCC) of Planet Lab (Fig. 5 b). The truncated spur together with the bulged foothill suggests this as a paleo-landslide, within which the recent landslide occurred.

a Google Earth image showing a distant view of Plappally landslide showing a suspected lineament, remnants of paleolandslide and its associated truncated spur ( b ) 3 m resolution FCC of Planet Lab image showing the landslide runout and its surcharge area ( c ) Storm water gushing through the uprooted house location ( d ) The ruins of the devastated house, which was constructed along the course of a lower-order stream ( e ) Seepage along the joints of hornblende biotite gneiss

This landslide is also confined to a lower-order stream course. The two buildings, which were destroyed, were constructed precisely on the river course. Water gushes through this during the monsoon (Fig. 5 c), whereas it is dry during the non-monsoon season (Fig. 5 d) showing its seasonal nature. But seepage can be seen along the joints of the country rock, hornblende biotite gneiss (Fig. 5 e). Here again, in the upper slope, where the houses stood before the landslide, plantation with young rubber trees existed, which indicates a similar influencing factor like at Kokkayar.

Kavali landslide

Six people died and one house was demolished by the Kavali landslide, which is 250 m (length) × 15 (avg. width) × 2 m (avg. thickness) in dimension. Hornblende biotite gneiss is the country rock, which is highly weathered and jointed. The attitude of this highly foliated rock is 315°/80NE. Here too, spring water is tapped for domestic purposes. The destroyed house was constructed in a cut-slope, but the cut-slope is still retained after the landslide. The cut-slope profile exhibits lateritic soil, saprolite, and weathered bedrock. The area is characterized by thick vegetation when compared to the sparse vegetation in the adjacent area. This thick mixed vegetation with rubber plantation is the major crop, followed by nutmeg, arecanut, and teak. Google Earth image (Fig. 6 a) also revealed thick vegetation. A Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) map was created using the high-resolution Planet Lab image to understand the area’s land use. NDVI revealed that the landslide occurred in a densely vegetated area when compared to other areas consisting of a wide variety of land uses like moderate vegetation, grassland, barren outcrop, and built-up. Usually, landslides are less reported in densely vegetated areas (cf. Alcantara-Ayala et al. 2006 ; Reichenbach et al. 2014 ). In contrast to this, a recent study by Lan et al. ( 2020 ) suggests that a densely vegetated slope decreases its stability. This study has been concurred with by the recent findings of Hao et al. ( 2022 ) wherein most of the landslides that occurred in Kerala during 2018 are spatially associated with forest land. However, a closer look at Fig. 6 a, b reveals forest fragmentation and breaking-off of the contiguity of the forest canopy, creating scattered and fragmented forest islands. Studies reveal that such a process could compromise landscape integrity (Ramachandra and Kumar 2011 ; Batar et al. 2021 ).

a Google Earth image showing a distant view of Kavali landslide and forest fragmentation ( b ) NDVI of Kavali area depicting dense vegetation in landslide occurred area

The Western Ghats, especially its southern part encompassing the entire state of Kerala, witness landslides often during monsoon season. Since 2018, the noteworthy feature of the monsoon has been that it triggers landslides during the sporadic high-intensity rainfall (cf. Vishnu et al. 2019 , 2020 ; Yunus et al. 2021 ; Sajinkumar et al. 2022 ). Though several studies have been conducted in this region, and measures suggested were not adopted, we present here specific omnipresent reasons that facilitate landslides in this region.

Introspection of land use policy

The recent landslide susceptibility map of Kerala (cf. Sajinkumar and Oommen 2021 ; Escobar-Wolf et al. 2021 ) shows an area of 3300 and 2886 km 2 as highly and moderately susceptible to landslides, respectively. It will be an arduous task to implement stringent measures such as habitation- and construction-free zones in these areas. However, some of the landslide-facilitating practices that are common, may be inadvertently so, can be averted. Kerala is predominantly an agrarian state, and the general agricultural land use seen are cash crops, with rubber plantations occupying the midlands and tea, coffee and cardamom in the highlands. All the three landslides occurred in the midlands, especially where rubber plantation dominates the land use. The construction of rain pits is a common practice in almost all rubber estates. Major disturbance to the slope stability occurs when fully matured rubber trees are slaughtered after their life span of ~ 20 years, and fresh saplings are planted in a broad pit of 1 m 3 size. Rain pits are also dug here. The method of stubble mulching is not practiced here and large area of land will be disturbed when the trees are uprooted using machinery. Hence, avoiding rain pits, planting pits, and promoting stubble mulching practice will help reduce the probability of landslide occurrences. Avoiding rain pits and planting pits in susceptible landslide areas will help increase run-off rather than infiltration. In addition, all agricultural techniques on the hilly slope affects the lower-order drainage, by obstructing it with rubble-masonry walls, redirecting it to a more hazardous slope, or by constructing houses. These lower-order courses, except in thickly vegetated forest areas, are usually seasonal, and during monsoon season, the normal flow of water is thus disturbed by these practices. Hence, a stringent land use policy to avoid such practices in agricultural fields is a pressing requirement.

Rainfall- the sole triggering factor

As mentioned, these three landslides were also triggered by a sporadic-high intensity rainfall of > 266 mm in a single day (Fig. 7 ) but with a 5-day antecedent rainfall of only 109.9 mm. The comparatively higher rainfall of 48.8 (2nd October), 45.4 (8th October and 69.6 mm (11th October) might have saturated the soil column and the 16th October anomalous event was sufficient enough to trigger landslides. In order to limit the risk of rainfall-induced landslides, an accurate and exact rainfall forecast that allows for the issuance of early warnings based on the rainfall threshold of the area is essential (Weidner et al. 2018 ). The sparse density of rain gauges and manual operation methods make things difficult. For e.g., the rain gauge station nearest to these three landslides is Kanjirapally, approximately 10 km away from this landslide, which is grossly inadequate to capture the micro-climatic conditions of the susceptible areas. Moreover, this rain gauge station is a manual one with daily rainfall recording on the succeeding day at 8.30 am ( www.imd.gov.in ). Having automated rain gauges that report rain information near real-time will be critical for developing early warning systems.

Hyetograph of Kanjirappally rain gauge, which is the nearest to the landslide affected area. Note the prominent 266 mm rainfall on the landslide day

Soil thickness and soil-rock interface plane

The hilly area of the entire state of Kerala is characterized by a thin veneer of unconsolidated soil, resting above the massive Precambrian crystalline rock except for plateau regions like Munnar and Nelliyampathy (Sajinkumar and Anbazhagan 2015 ). Usually, the glide plane of the landslides will be the contact plane of these two litho-units (cf. Istiyanti et al. 2021 ). Thus, wherever the landslide occurs, the bedrock will be exposed, which can be seen in all these three landslides. Hence, along with the understanding of landslide susceptibility, the soil thickness of the area and the saturation capacity of that soil column have to be investigated. The contact between these two litho-units is stable in a plain or gentler slope (Fig. 8 a) whereas it will be in a meta-stable position when in a steep slope (cf. Getachew and Meten 2021 ; Puente-Sotomayor et al. 2021 ) (Fig. 8 b). This equilibrium will be lost when the soil column is saturated by water during the monsoon season (Fig. 8 c).

Sketch depicting the contact between unconsolidated soil and massive crystalline Precambrian rocks along the Western Ghats part of Kerala. ( a–c ) shows the different stages of stability of these two lithounits

The three landslides that occurred on 16th October 2021 are located in the same valley, and were triggered by a high-intensity rainfall of 266 mm in one day. These similarities are never the same when conditioning factors are analyzed. The steep slopes of the hilly regions where all three landslides occurred originally contained natural contiguous forests that may have held the thin soil and regolith layer together. The modern landscape, however, is dominated by human interventions such as the replacement of natural vegetation with plantations, highways, and human settlements. These measures facilitated the triggering of the landslides by a sudden storm of intense rainfall (cf. Lahai et al. 2021 ). However, a closer check using ground reality and satellite photographs revealed that the Kokkayar landslide was completely caused by humans, whereas the Plappally landslide was also affected by geomorphic and tectonic causes. The third site, the Kavali landslide, was caused by forest fragmentation on the forest island. Consequently, regardless of the contributing components, the common and vital feature to be researched is the rainfall dynamics, which can be converted into early warning systems, thereby saving countless lives.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) for facilitating fieldwork in these areas. Jobin Sebastian, a freelance photographer and paraglide trainer, is highly thanked for providing photos (Figs. 1 d and 2 ). The lab work was carried out at the Laboratory for Earth Resources Information System (LERIS) housed at the Department of Geology, University of Kerala. LERIS is a collaborative initiative of Indian Space Research Organization and University of Kerala.

The author declare that there is no funding in the manuscript.

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Department of Geology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695581, India

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Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

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Ajin, R.S., Nandakumar, D., Rajaneesh, A. et al. The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt. Geoenviron Disasters 9 , 16 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-022-00218-1

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A Detailed study on Landslides in India

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Published 21st Aug, 2021

Introduction

Landslides have caused massive damage of life and property during extremely heavy rain across India. The Kedarnath landslide in Uttarakhand in June 2013, caused by flash floods that resulted in over 5,000 deaths, was identified as the most tragic such disaster. Recently a landslide hit Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, which happened for the second time in 15 days, killing at least 14 people and burying many others. The tragedy was exacerbated by heavy rain, hailstones, and debris on vehicles, including a state-of-the-art transport bus on National Highway 5.

15% of India's landmass is prone to landslides, however, its vulnerability will increase in the future due to climate change and human pressure. This improved size can be considered by adopting a multidisciplinary approach that integrates all aspects of disaster risk management namely mitigation, preparedness, response, and rehabilitation.

What is landslide?

Landslides are the rapid movement of rock, soil, and vegetation under a slope under the influence of gravity. It can be caused by natural factors, e.g. Heavy rain, earthquakes, or can be caused by extreme human disturbance of the slope - stability. Landslides are rarely at the same level as earthquakes or volcanic events. The magnitude and magnitude of landslides, however, depends on the geological structure, the slope angle of the slope, the nature of the mountain rocks, and the interaction of people with the slope. As per Geological Survey of India, the window of economic loss due to landslides may reach between 1-2% of the gross national product in many developing countries.

Causes of Landslides

The main causes of landslides are

Rain and snow
Excessive or continuous rainfall can lead to massive landslides in the high slopes where National Highways and roads are built.
The Nashri region between BatoteRamban-Ramsu, and Banihal (Jammu and Kashmir) is prone to landslides. Landslides in this area are especially difficult during the rainy season and winter when car traffic is disrupted for a few days.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
Earthquakes are a major cause of landslides in mountainous areas. In India, Landslides are more common in the rolling hills of the Tertiary Period, such as the Himalayas.
In the Kashmir region, the 1905 earthquake caused a landslide in the small Himalayas and the Greater Himalayas in which several thousand people lost their lives.
Volcanoes also cause landslides in mountainous areas.
Mining, Mining and Cutting Road
The continued extraction of coal, minerals, and minerals from the mines and quarries and the construction of roads by cutting slopes on the rolling hills create the ideal conditions for the availability of soil extraction.
Such landslides can be seen throughout the Himalayas and in the Eastern and Western Ghats.
Loading about housing
The unplanned growth of cities and towns in hilly areas without exploring soil and rock is also an important cause of landslides.
The eastern slope of Nanital (Uttarakhand) is sinking due to the heavy load of hotels and residential buildings.
Deforestation
Deforestation and other human activities also cause landslides. Most landslides are minor involving some blocks up to a few meters across. But some are big enough to cause disaster. They can bury roads, buildings, and other structures.
The negative effects of erosion can be reduced by observing deforestation on mountain slopes, by following the building codes of these areas, and by avoiding the construction of buildings on steep slopes.

India among the countries most affected by landslides due to human activities:

Earthquakes caused by human activities are increasing worldwide and India is among the worst-affected countries, accounting for at least 28% of such incidents over the past 12 years, according to a published study.
Investigators have collected data on more than 4,800 deadly earthquakes that occurred from 2004 to 2016, leaving behind those caused by earthquakes.
More than 56,000 people have been killed by landslides worldwide during this time, most of them affected by one slope, according to a study based on the Global Fatal Landslide Database (GFLD).
At least 700 of these deadly landslides were caused by construction work, illegal mining, and uncontrolled rolling of hills.
While the trend is global, Asia has been found to be the most affected continent where 75% of landslides occurred, with the highest number reported near the Himalayan Arc.
All 10 countries in the world of deadly humanitarian catastrophes are located in Asia. India accounts for 20% of these cases.
The study states that fatal soil erosion is on the rise in India, where landslides caused by construction occur during this period, followed by China (9%), Pakistan (6%), the Philippines (5%), Nepal (5%) and Malaysia (5%).).
We knew that people were putting increasing pressure on the local community, but it was surprising to find the obvious trend in the database that deadly landslides caused by construction, illegal mountain cutting and illegal mines were increasing worldwide during this time.

Vulnerability profile of India

In India, the hazard affects at least 15% of the world's land area (approximately 0.49 million square km.) It is most common in geodynamical operating areas in the Himalayan and Arakan-Yoma areas in the north-eastern part of the country and as in the more stable areas of Meghalaya Plateau, Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills. The Nilgiri Mountains, located at the confluence of the Eastern and Western Ghats, bear countless scars from landslides.

Consequences of landslides

Loss of Life: The most devastating effect of landslides is the loss of precious human and animal life. In the latest Kinnaur Landslide, 14 deaths have already been reported.
Restrictions on Travel: Mud, rocks, and sloping debris create a barrier to critical transport routes such as highways, railways, etc. This prevents the movement of goods and people.
Infrastructure Damage: Several houses, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure are damaged whenever an earthquake occurs.
Economic Loss: The amount of money spent restores lost infrastructure, mass rehabilitation, and the provision of relief services to affected people.
Risk of Water Availability: When soil erosion occurs on slopes of a river valley, the size of the sliding can reach the bottom of the valley and cause partial or complete closure of the river channel. This pile of debris leading to the river closure is often called the Landslide dam. It can affect the availability of water to nearby people.

Measures taken for land management in India

National Disaster Risk Management Strategy (2019): Addresses all aspects of disaster risk reduction and management, including risk mapping, monitoring and early warning systems, awareness programs, skills development, training, regulations and policies, stabilization and landslide reduction, etc.
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.
Hazard mapping should be done to locate areas commonly prone to landslides. It is always advisable to adopt area-specific measures to deal with landslides.
Restriction on the construction and other developmental activities such as roads and dams, limiting agriculture to valleys and areas with a moderate slope, and control on the development of large settlements in high vulnerability zones, should be enforced.
Landslide Hazard, vulnerability and Risk Assessment
Multi – Hazard Conceptualisation
Landslide Remediation practice
Research and Development, monitoring, and early warning
Knowledge network and management
Capacity building and Training
Public awareness and Education
Emergency preparedness and response
Regulation and Enforcement

Suggestive Measures

Firstly, provinces such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in high-risk areas should be especially vigilant in pursuing disruptive projects. There should be a proper implementation of the environmental impact assessment procedures prior to the start of mining or dam construction.
Second, there should be the adoption of small-scale zoning processes for mountains and other high-risk regions.
Third, more funding should be made to planning and demolition agencies and reducing structures to improve disaster management.
Fourthly, there should be the involvement of trained staff in the area to strengthen the reduction of public awareness programs and programs.
Fifth, mitigation strategies such as limiting agriculture in the valleys and areas with moderate slopes, promoting large-scale deforestation programs, and building masses to reduce water flow, etc.

The conclusion

Increased human encroachment on the environment has led to an increase in the number of natural disasters.
However, the National Disaster Response Force under The Disaster Management Act, 2005 has carried out many rescue operations by providing assistance and assistance to the affected country, including deployment, at the request of Government, Armed Forces, Central Military, and similar communications, air and other supplies. They have also worked to increase public awareness to reduce the impact of these natural disasters by organizing preparedness campaigns.

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List of worst landslides in India

List of worst landslides that you should know..

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Landslide is a natural phenomenon which is caused majorly due to heavy rains, floods, earthquakes, construction etc.

Guwahati landslide, Assam: The landslide took place on September 18, 1948 due to heavy rains. Over 500 people died in the landslide and according to the reports, the landslide buried an entire village
Darjeeling landslide, West Bengal: The landslide happened around October 4, 1968. The landslide was triggered by floods and the 60 km long highway was cut in 91 parts. As per reports, thousands of people died in the landslide
Malpa landslide, Uttarakhand: Consecutives landslides occurred between August 11 and August 17 in 1998 in the village of Malpa where over 380 people died as the entire village washed away in the landslide. The landslide is one of the worst landslides in India
Mumbai landslide, Maharashtra: The landslide was caused in July 2000. The landslide took place in the suburbs of Mumbai due heavy rains which was followed by land erosion. As per reports around 67 people died and the local trains were also stricken
Amboori landslide, Kerala: The landslide was known as the worst landslide in Kerala's history. The landslide occurred on November 9, 2001 due to heavy rains and around 40 people died in the incident
Kedarnath landslide, Uttarakhand: The landslide took place on June 16, 2013 and was the result of Uttarakhand floods. Over 5700 were reported dead and over 4,200 villages had been affected by the floods and post-floods landslide
Malin landslide, Maharashtra: The landslide occurred on July 30, 2014, in a village in Malin. The landslide occurred due to heavy rainfall and around 151 people died and 100 people went missing after the disaster.

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Landslides in India

October 22, 2021 by studymumbai Leave a Comment

Landslides, when catastrophic, can cause a lot of devastation. Landslides today are caused not just naturally but also because of unplanned human activity on the hills. In many places in India, people continue to carry out modifications on the hill slopes, without carrying our proper slope stability analysis, despite being aware of the consequences.

What are Landslides

The term ‘landslide’ means movement of rock, soil or debris down a slope under the influence of gravity; this movement usually when the slope gradient exceeds its threshold angle of stability (Crozier, 2002).

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Landslides are caused due to a combination of various natural as well as anthropogenic factors. They cause substantial damage and claim around 5000 lives each year (Vasudevan and Ramanathan, 2016). In India, landslides commonly occur in the regions near the Himalayas in North and North-Eastern states, Western Ghats and Nilgiris (Das et al., 2014).

Landslides can be classified based on factors such as type of movement, type of material, rate of movement, activity, age of movement, morphological characteristics, size/scale etc. The most adopted classification is that of Varnes and Cruden of 1996, which classifies landslides based on two attributes, type of movement and type of material.

Landslide Movement

Landslide Movement can be described as falls, topples, translational slides, lateral spreads, and flows.

In falls and topples, heavy blocks of material fall after separating from a very steep slope or cliff. Boulders tumbling down a slope would be a fall or topple.
In translational slides, surface material is separated from the more stable underlying layer of a slope. An earthquake may shake the loosen top layer of soil from the harder earth beneath in this type of landslide.
A lateral spread or flow is the movement of material sideways, or laterally. This happens when a powerful force, such as an earthquake, makes the ground move quickly, like a liquid.

Landslide Material

A landslide can involve rock, soil, vegetation, water, or some combination of all these. A landslide caused by a volcano can also contain hot volcanic ash and lava from the eruption. A landslide high in the mountains may have snow and snowmelt.

Why do Landslides Occur?

Factors that contribute towards landslides can be categorized as follows:

Geological factors such as weak and sheared material, the presence of fissures and joints, and contrasts in permeability or stiffness of the slope forming material
Morphological factors such as tectonic uplift, glacial rebound and erosion of the hill slope or toe
Physical factors such as heavy rainfall, rapid snow melt, and earthquakes. Also, anthropogenic (human caused) factors such as mining, deforestation and excavation of the hill slope or toe

Landslides in the North East

The North Eastern Region of India, also commonly referred to as the North-East comprises of the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura (Mdoner, 2021). Most of the North-East is a hilly region and experiences landslide hazards, especially during the monsoons (Alam, 2001). In the North-East, these geo-environmental hazards have caused significant damage to life and property, damage to natural resources (e.g. vegetation, land and soil) and hamper developmental projects like roads, bridges and communication lines, etc.

The North East receives heavy rainfall each year, and torrential rains over the last few years have caused several flash floods and landslides in the region, causing a lot of devastation as people were rendered homeless, useful infrastructure such as roads were washed away.

Anthropogenic factors are human factors such as quarrying, indiscriminate excavation of the hill, the construction of large buildings on or near the hillslopes. These factors, along with other factors such as the presence of vertical joints, heavy rainfall, improper drainage, and water seepage through rock joints and bedding intersections can cause landslides to occur. Shale can also be a problematic material; water can cause weathering of the shale foundation, and cause sliding of the foundation resulting in a landslide (Vasudevan and Ramanathan, 2016).

While unplanned construction activities in the past few years have increase the instability of most hill slopes thus increase the chances of landslides, the North-East region itself is highly seismic and prone to earthquakes which is another reason why this region experiences frequent landslides.

Landslide in Aizawl – Ramhlun Sports Complex Slide
Laipuitlang Landslide, Aizawl City, Patkai hills

Analysing landslide hazards

For analysing landslide hazard of a particular region, various thematic maps based on different themes are used. Researchers commonly use thematic maps based on different themes such as drainage, geomorphology, geology, slope, Landuse/Landcover etc for analysing (Das et al., 2014).

Base Map: A map on which geographical and topographical data (boundaries, transportation, river, landmarks etc) is plotted and provides general information of the area.
Drainage Map: It shows the pattern of drainage network available in the area. Drainage network is vital in the identification of landslide prone areas as it reflects the slope formation of the region and its erosional aspects.
Geomorphology Map: It shows the spatial distribution of different landforms and near surface deposits, and the processes and time that act on the formation of these landforms.
Geology Maps: It shows the composition and relationship among rock and sediment near the earth’s upper surface. It helps to understand the rock composition and structure within a study area and their role in the causes of landslide in the region.
Landuse/Landcover Map: This map helps identify the different classes of land and helps understand changes in landuse pattern of the study area over a different period.
Contour Map: A contour line is an imaginary line that joins points of equal elevation on the earth surface. It is one of the most important ways of showing the relief feature of earth on the map.
Slope Aspect Map: It shows the direction and steepness of hilly terrain slope. The direction of the slope in respect to sun has huge influence on its structural and chemical composition of the soil slope.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM): This is a three-dimensional representation of the earth’s topography through remote sensing technique. It is used to generate contour, slope, aspect map.

Conducting Stability Analysis of Slopes

Prediction of Landslides

Simple forms of landslides could also be predicted to some extent using deterministic and probabilistic analysis. Most of these predictive attempts try to associate landslide activity with rainfall records or occurrence of earthquake or with slope surface movement measurements. Researchers however have not had much success with their prediction attempts in complex situations (Bhandari & Jeyatharan 1994).

Recommendations and Remedial Measures

Here are protective measures that the authorities as well as the community should undertake in the North East states of India:

Slopes that are identified as vulnerable to landslides should be bolstered using technical methods. Crated masonry wall should be provided at various positions on the slope.
The drainage system of the cities should be fixed to allow water to flow freely through the channel without affecting slope.
Mining and any quarrying activities on in and around the hills must be strictly banned.
No new construction work, or human settlement, should be allowed in areas identified as high-risk zones. People already living in the most risk prone areas should be rehabilitated to safer areas through government development schemes such as JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) (Mohua, 2021).
In general, the excavated soil should ideally be taken away from the site and not be dumped on the side of the excavation as it puts more load on the slope. Jute geogrid can be placed on the slope for growth of vegetations (Sarkar and Venkataraman, 1989).
Trees should be retained as far as possible. Even if logging (cutting of trees) is to be undertaken, it should be done in a controlled manner. People should plant more deep-rooted trees along the slope as the roots of the tree would hold the soil more tightly and make the soil less saturated, thus reducing the chances of landslides.

It’s extremely important for the city authorities to prepare standard guidelines for landslide management and mitigation for their respective cities. These guidelines should be shared with the administrative department, with all the stakeholders who are associated with disaster management, and also with the community.

It is also important to create an awareness programme among the community in the North-Eastern region to help them better understand the causes and impacts of landslides, the perils of houses created on steep slopes, and to teach them of natural ways to mitigate landslides.

Landslides may be caused either by natural process or human activity or combination of both. Landslides can be caused by earthquake, rains, logging, erosion and even development activities. Erosion is also a cause of landslides; when soil gets extremely saturated or loose, it can result in a landslide if there’s nothing holding the soil together. Landslides are also caused due to development activities that causse destruction of trees and result in modifications of hills. Unplanned construction activities, constructing buildings on a steep hill side can cause landslides and but lives in danger.

The stability of a hilly terrain is highly influenced by the angle of its slope, which is defined as the degree of inclination of a feature relative to the horizontal plane. Most hills have moderate slope but without much vegetation cover. Development work carried out in parts of North-East has resulted into instability of slopes in the region; construction of large number of settlements over the hills without any appropriate measure has also played a crucial role in the slope failure in the region (Das et al., 2014).

In most places in India, including the North East, it is common to see modifications carried out in hill slopes without proper slope stability analysis, even though the consequences are well known. In other cases, stable slopes are converted into unstable slopes by the people residing in the area by artificial modification/alterations of the hill slope without comprehending its consequences. In the past, such cases have caused loss of many lives in the North East even though the size of such landslides were very small.

This study presented an account of landslides in India,, including the North Eastern states of India. It was noted that physical factors such as heavy rainfall and earthquakes, along with anthropogenic (human caused) factors such as excavation and deforestation on the hill slopes, and improper drainage systems cause landslides in the North East.

Several recommendations and remedial measures were presented that outlined how landslides could be minimized using modern scientific and technological advancements, through community awareness programmes, and by having standard guidelines for landslide management and mitigation.

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A comprehensive review and potential guidance on the reliability of landslide evaluation approaches in Central, Northern, and Northwestern Highlands, Ethiopia

Review Paper
Published: 15 April 2024
Volume 83 , article number 173 , ( 2024 )

Cite this article

Biruk Gissila Gidday ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5597-2550 1 &
Bisrat Gissila Gidday 2

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The growing popularity of GIS technology in Ethiopia has encouraged multiple scholars to investigate landslide hazards using quantitative approaches, despite its limitations. The present review examined the approach used in the evaluation of landslide hazards by five prior studies that shared catchments. The review results reveal that the controlling factors assumed by the five researchers were inconsistent and resulted in highly divergent frequency ratio (FR) values, even for the same factors. This implies that the contribution of a single instability factor can be inferred sufficiently for landslide hazard assessment and mapping; otherwise, the results are highly subjective and disputable. Since the soil type in the region was alluvial-colluvial in the five studies, and a majority of the failures occurred shortly after rainfall, rainfall data and basic soil properties (classification and shear strength) should not be overlooked. In addition to the nonstandard use of morphometric parameters, the inherent limits of GIS methodologies, the omission of hydrogeotechnical properties, and the observed subjective outcomes make the GIS-based approach imprecise, error-prone, and doubtful. The total effect will result in ineffective early warning systems and unworthy mitigation measures, resulting in significant life costs and damage. As a result, it is recommended that GIS technology should be coupled with software (TRIGRS, Scoops3D, SINMAP, OpenLISEM, GLM, and SLIP) that considers hydrogeotechnical properties to provide more reliable conclusions. In addition to using instability factors consistently, regional statistical correlations of all morphometric parameters can be developed, allowing for less complex and realistic empirical models to be used.

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Investigating landslide susceptibility procedures in Greece

Katerina Kavoura & Nikolaos Sabatakakis

An Overview of a GIS Method for Mapping and Assessing Landslide Hazards

The geoenvironmental factors influencing slope failures in the Majerda basin, Algerian-Tunisian border

Ismail Arif, Riheb Hadji, … Soumaya Hajji

Data availability

Parameter significance and validation assessment will be conducted in the next study.

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Gidday, B.G., Gidday, B.G. A comprehensive review and potential guidance on the reliability of landslide evaluation approaches in Central, Northern, and Northwestern Highlands, Ethiopia. Bull Eng Geol Environ 83 , 173 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03653-6

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