– This year has seen a series of landslides around the world, with significant death tolls in places like China, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Kerala.
– Landslides are becoming more frequent and causing significant loss of lives and livelihoods due to climate change.
– India accounts for about 8% of global landslide fatalities, with 847 deaths and displacement of thousands in the period from 2001-21.
– The IIT-M team developed a high-resolution India Landslide Susceptibility Map, showing 13.17% of the country is susceptible to landslides.
– The Indian Space Research Organisation released a “Landslide Atlas of India” in 2023, identifying landslide hotspots in the country.
– Conditioning factors like soil topography and triggering factors like intense rainfall and agricultural activities contribute to landslides.
– Deforestation for plantations in Kerala is seen as a major trigger for landslides, as observed in the recent incidents in Wayanad.
– Continuous heavy rainfall, saturated topsoil, and a day of extremely heavy rain triggered the deadly landslides in Wayanad.
– Measures have been announced in Delhi to address critical infrastructure issues after three UPSC aspirants drowned in a flooded basement, including surveys, desilting of drains, and disciplinary action against officials.