A landslide documentary which should be a wake up call - Sierra Leone (Aug2017)

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong district,
Darjeeling Sikkim Himalaya

Nainital then (2012) and now (2017)

You can read more on the plight of the lake at Nainital here

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong district,
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

Quote of the Day and two images

"The haphazard construction of buildings scares me. People here love to encroach and have no regard of rules. They don't listen to anything."                                                                                                                                            Shri Nitish Kumar,
Chief Minister of Bihar,
talking at the 1st Bihar Conference on DRR
13-14May2015                                                                                        

      Both Gangtok (Sikkim) and Darjeeling (W Bengal) are booming towns in the Himalayas, located in seismic zone IV and also in one of the most landslide prone areas of the country. I wonder whether Shri Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar was also alluding to the many townships, all along the Himalayas which are becoming recipes for disasters?                               

Praful Rao,

Kalimpong,

Dist Darjeeling                                               

                                                                   .

Earthquake induced landslides and the onset of the SW monsoons 2015

Placed above is a preliminary map of Earthquake Induced Landslides in Nepal (read Dr Dave Petley's report here). I am aware of a similar study being carried out by a team from the GSI in the Darjeeling-Sikkim region.
With the SW monsoons knocking at our doorsteps and almost 3000mm of rain ahead (for Darjeeling district) in the next 5months, my biggest fear is how our injured mountains will bear up with this onslaught... and don't forget that 'developmental activities' such as road building and construction work including those of dams have gone ahead over the years, at breakneck speed in this entire region, with little regard to the environment.
In this regard, placed below is an article by Ranit Chatterjee, a graduate of TISS and now a student at Kyoto University(Japan):-

A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE

In the back drop of the recent earthquake in Nepal followed by temblor in the hills with epicentre located in Mirik and keeping in mind the approaching monsoon season ,the area may get hit badly by landslide in the coming months. The occurrence of earthquakes in steep landslide-prone areas greatly increases the likelihood that landslides will occur, either because of ground shaking or shaking-caused dilation of soil materials, which allows rapid infiltration of water. The second condition is more serious for Darjeeling considering the soil and rock conditions. The Darjeeling area may see an increase in landslides as an after effect of the series of recent earthquakes and onset of rainy season. Interestingly, it has been noticed that the rainfall pattern has changed in the region. The annual rainfall though has not changed much but the rainfall pattern is no longer uniformly spread over five months but happen in concentrated pockets over a short span of time mainly in July and August. This increases the runoff and chances of landslides increases.

In order to increase the level of awareness and preparedness at both institutional and personal level following measures can reduce the risk to a certain extent.  

1. Early warning system especially for heavy rainfall, landslide is an effective measure for saving lives. In the hills due to very spread out settlements it is important to set up a mechanism to transmit message across to villages. The banging of electric poles  can be used effectively to alert people when power supply is down and SMS is not available.

2. Identify safe locations for each area and the knowledge of safe location should be communicated to the community. A general system needs to be practiced where community leaders can guide them to the safe house. Like practiced in Japan once a year a real time mock drill for evacuation may be useful to put down a protocol and understand the evacuation process.

3. In case of houses, which have been damaged in the recent earthquake or aftershocks. It is recommended to get a structural safety check done by a qualified structural engineer or Civil engineer. Architects are trained in design and basics of structures and can handle up to 4 storied buildings unless he or she has a specialization in structures. Draftsman and masons are equivalent to quacks please avoid their advise on design and structural safety.

5.  Check for possible signs of landslides like tilting of trees, fences, and electric poles. Cracks in the lintel and sill of doors and windows.

6. Observe the weather closely everyday on your smart phone or Internet. A good practice is to keep a check on the weather forecast and warnings for the day.

7. Know the emergency contact numbers of the local fire service, police, disaster management department, ambulance etc.

8. Keep important documents inside plastic packet to protect from damage by water. Laminating important document is another of protecting the documents.

9. Preparation of an emergency kit at household level.

______________________________________________________

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

A problem with no solution : Report on Guwahati flood/landslides from the media :27Jun2014

Times of India :27Jun2014
GUWAHATI: At least nine people were killed on Friday when incessant rain triggered floods in the city. Four of the victims, including three of a family , died in landslides at two different places and four others were electrocuted. A youth drowned in the Bharalu river, which cuts through the city.
The Met office said the city recorded 57mm rainfall till 8.30am on Friday, the fifth-highest in a decade. Vast areas were inundated as clogged natural and artificial drains spilled over. "We have not been successful in building an effective drainage system in the city ," chief minister Tarun Gogoi said.

The Telegraph : 27Jun2014Guwahati, June 27: Unprecedented flash floods and landslides have again brought into focus the rampant encroachment and earth-cutting on hills in and around the city. The government blames encroachment on hills for the woes but appears hesitant to evict illegal settlers, ostensibly because of pressure from groups like the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, which spearheads the agitation for land rights of hill dwellers.
An official said, “Haphazard, unplanned urbanisation and phenomenal growth of population in the city since the state capital was shifted here from Shillong in the early seventies has put enormous pressure on the city’s hills with rampant encroachment and shrinkage of green cover. A strong political will is required to evict illegal settlers.”

Comment by Praful Rao

What is regrettable from the above reports is that so many more towns and cities all over the North East of India are also teetering on the brink of disaster, with no apparent solution in sight.
What is coming out loud and clear in all this, is that despite rainfall being moderate, death rates and devastation are disproportionately high due the phenomenal rate (of mostly unplanned) urbanization and an unprecedented rise in human interference in mountain environs in recent years.
(90% of all landslide fatalities in Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya in the last 3 yrs have taken place in an urban setting and been caused by relatively small landslides which have been triggered off at least partly by some form of human activity)
While this activity is totally controllable and the Uttarakhand devastation,last year should have taught us a lesson - the problem is a runaway horse which has spiralled way out of control.

Italics above are mine.

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

 

A short film on water issues in Kalimpong.

Rohan Rao,
Secretary,STH,
Kalimpong,
Dist-Darjeeling,
Email - sth.secretary@gmail.com

Speech of Philippines delegate in COP 19 (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw, 11-22Nov2013)

You can read more on COP 19 here

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling