India's Mass Wasting Hazards

 India's Mass Wasting Hazards


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 slow motion of the Indian crust, about 5 cm a year accumulates stress to which natural disasters are attributed. Some landslides make unique, and unparalleled catastrophes. Landslides and avalanches are among the major hydro geological hazards that affect large parts of India besides the Himalayas, the Northeastern hill ranges, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Eastern Ghats and the Vindhyans, in that order, covering about 15 percent of the landmass. The Himalayas alone count for landslides of every fame, name and description big and small, quick and creeping, ancient and new. The Northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems of a bewildering variety. Landslides in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal as also those in Sikkim, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh pose chronic problems, causing recurring economic losses worth billions of rupees. A different variety of landslides, characterized by a lateritic cap, pose constant threat to the Western Ghats in the South, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast besides Nilgiris, which is highly prone to landslides. Some ways that the country could mitigate this type of natural disaster is they should identify the vulnerable areas and actions should be taken in this regard on a priority basis. Having early warning systems and monitoring systems should be there, Hazard mapping can be done to identify the areas which are more prone to landslides, Restriction on the construction in the risky areas should be imposed. Afforestation programs should take place. Restricting development in landslide areas and protecting the existing ones. The country should specify codes or standards etc. For the construction of the buildings and other purposes in such areas of risk. Insurance facilities should be taken by the people to deal with the loss. Terrace farming should be adopted in hilly areas. Response teams should be quick to deal with landslides if they occur.






                                            Below are maps of the identified landslide zones









https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26964-8
https://ndma.gov.in/Natural-Hazards/Landslide
https://www.vedantu.com/geography/landslide



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 17, 2023 at 10:28 PM

    What's going on, Angie. I absolutely enjoyed reading through your blog on the Mass Wasting Hazards in India!! Great job on your wording and explaining everything about what happened. This type of Mass Wasting event in India is one of the most saddest disasters I have ever read. Overall, great job on your work!! Keep it up!!

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  2. AnonymousMarch 18, 2023 at 10:01 AM

    Wonderful post, Angie! You have such great diction when describing the causes and effects of mass wasting! The term afforestation really stood out to me because I hadn't seen it too many times before, so I looked it up and used context to remember that it is the process of establishing a forest, particularly on land that was not previously forested. Isn't it shocking how simple it sounds to limit deforestation and increase afforestation for the sake of the planet and our safety, but people are so driven for resources and wealth that it doesn't matter. I really enjoyed reading your post. While those high mountain ranges sound like they can pose such hazards, they must me magnificent.

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  3. Emelyn HilarioMarch 19, 2023 at 1:49 PM

    Angie. This was a very informative post. My country is very prone to his hazard as well. I did a little bit of research on google and it said that India is considered a third world country, therefore it is crazy to believe that the damages caused by mass wasting have caused the country billions of dollars. More developed countries take years to recover from damages caused by natural hazards, I can't imagine how long it would take for India to recover... especially if they experience this often. In your mitigation efforts you mentioned that they should send out alerts to the public and that home owners should ensure their homes, but unfortunately I doubt that this is accessible to everybody. Thank you so much for sharing!

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