MAN MADE DISASTER
NATURE’S
RESPONSE AT WAYANAD
WESTERN GHAT
GETTING DESTROYED
SARASIJ
MAJUMDER
The devastating landslides resulted in
the deaths of over 289 people and injuries to more than 300 in WAYANAD district, KERALA.
Mr. Shah expressed condolences to the
families affected and emphasized the need for non-political discourse on this
issue.
The above figures are likely to rise, as rescue operations are on.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described it as one
of the worst disasters in the state’s history. I think he starts and ends his responsibility in that line!!
HOW IT STARTED:
The first landslide occurred at 2 a.m., followed by another
at 4 a.m., catching the villagers off-guard while they were sleeping and
resulting in a high number of casualties.
Vehicles washed away in floodwaters were seen stuck in tree
trunks and submerged in many places as swollen water bodies changed their
course and flowed through inhabited areas, causing further devastation.
FLASH FLOODS:
Triggered by heavy rain, the flood waters washed away a bridge connecting
Chooralmala to Mundakkai, severely affecting connectivity to Mundakkai and
impacting areas including Chooralmala and Pothukallu at Meppadi.
Huge boulders rolled down the hills, hindering the path of
rescue workers.
What Is Disturbing:
Bodies were laid in a row on the floor of a small, crowded hospital in Meppadi
village, where distraught people were searching amongst corpses for their loved ones.
RESCUE OPERATIONS:
In anticipation of the disaster, nine NDRF teams were airlifted to
Kerala on July 23. Army was mobilized on July 24 . State Government was
sleeping at that time. The NDRF, and Army
reached to trapped and injured
survivors. A special 24-hour control room has been established at the police
headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.
45 camps have been set up in the district and 3,069 people have been rehabilitated there,
till yesterday.
Climatic Warming & Multiple Early Warnings:
The central government issued an early warning to the Kerala
government on July 23, 2024, about potential heavy rainfall and landslides.
Additional warnings were given on July 24 and 25,
reiterating the risks.
On July 26, a specific warning highlighted the likelihood of
20 cm of rainfall and potential landslides. This is RED ALERT.
Warming of the Arabian Sea was causing deep cloud systems
that resulted in extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala, increasing landslide risk,
according to a senior climate scientist, and the information was available to
state administration, who ignored the imminent Disaster, and consequence.
S Abhilash, director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric
Radar Research, told PTI that heavy rainfall from an active monsoon offshore
trough saturated the soil, leading to localised landslides.
Severity of Rainfall and Alerts:
A "red alert" signifies heavy to extremely heavy
rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an "orange alert" indicates
very heavy rain ranging from 6 cm to 20 cm. The early warnings were intended to
mitigate the impact of such severe weather.
Kerala's Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, acknowledged the
heavy rainfall alert but stated that no
red alert was initially
(?) issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The CM is hiding behind a blame
game!!!
Background,
and Overview of Kerala's
Landslide History:
Frequent
Landslides: Kerala has a history of frequent landslides, particularly in
the monsoon season. The state's hilly terrain and heavy rainfall contribute to
the vulnerability.
In the past decade, Kerala has experienced several
devastating landslides, with significant loss of life and property.
The central government always provided early warnings and deploys the National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assist in disaster-prone areas.
Financial aid and resources were, and are also allocated to assist in disaster
relief and rehabilitation efforts.
As the 2011 Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Expert Ecology
Panel (WGEEP) report resurfaced due to natural calamities in the state, the
assembly committee on environment's special report on the 2018 floods
ascertained the need to implement its recommendations.
The assembly committee conducted extensive site visits
across Wayanad, Palakkad, Thrissur, and Idukki after the 2018 floods, revealing
severe ecological damage from unregulated land use and construction, which
highlights the irreversible consequences of not preserving the Western Ghats.
STATE GOVERNMENT TOOK NO ACTION, IT SEEMS.
INVESTIGATION
SHALL BE DONE:
The Kerala government has its disaster management framework,
which includes state disaster response teams and local administrative measures.
This never worked in time, and it is wastage of money. Further investigation
and analysis would be necessary to fully understand the sequence of events and
the effectiveness of the response measures taken by the STATE.
This situation underscores the importance of effective
communication and coordination between different levels of government to
mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
INFORMATION SOURCE:
TOI, IE, HT-- last few days.
https://english.mathrubhumi.com/
Image: ISRO-- Acknowledged with thanks.
My quick comment is that the issue of natural disasters is more to be resolved by experts at. National level by using a microscopic pruning of bvulneranle zones and declare these to remain under developed in modern ways and to preserve these areas using unconvention means by increasing vegetation and blocking the interstices in higher altitudes so that rain water flows on the surface rather than moving underneath the slopes.
ReplyDeleteNoted your point. Re- Forestation, and stabilizing the Hill/ Mountain Slope by a combination of SOIL MECHANICS, and STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING is the only solution. This thing frequently happens in Lower Himalayas. Couple of times I witnessed it-- in a smaller scale.
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