Landslide Report 2 (Kalimpong) July 2020 - contd

Landslide 4

I was with Prof Indira Lepcha (2nd from L) and a group of Geography Dept Students of North Bengal University in Feb2020 at this site in Lower Chibo area of Kalimpong. At that time the slide near the jhora was much smaller

Toe erosion at the same spot on 27July2020 has caused a much bigger slide now even though the road
is quite intact.
Location: Lower Chibo, Kalimpong
Coordinates: 27°03.077´N 088°26.732´E
Elevation: 923m
Date of Occurrence: 27July2020.
Landslide type: Debris
Size: Large (size of a 3 storey building)
Cause of Landslide: Heavy rainfall and toe erosion
Damage:
No apparent damage but if further slippage occurs the slide may block the jhora, forming a small landslide dam
Rainfall: 06July -109mm, 23Jul - 62.8mm, 27Jul - 88mm

Landslide 5

Location: Chitrey, Kalimpong district
Coordinates: 27°03´51.09"N 088°25´42.20"E
Elevation: 277m
Date of Occurrence: 27July2020.
Landslide type: Debris
Size: Large (size of a 3 storey building)
Cause of Landslide: Heavy rainfall
Damage:  Chitrey lies on NH10 and is where the road bifurcates to Sikkim and Kalimpong. The landslide here was troublesome and active below the road several years ago because of toe erosion by the Chitrey jhora. It has somehow remained dormant.
This slide from above the road was activated on 27Jul and threatens to cut off Kalimpong and SIkkim on NH10.
Rainfall: 06July -109mm, 23Jul - 62.8mm, 27Jul - 88mm

Landslide 6

          Signatures of some of the people of 3rd Mile who are affected by the landslides

Location: Lower Tashiding (3rd Mile) Kalimpong district
Coordinates: Between 27°03.721'N 088°26.214'E  and 27°03.694'N 088°26.346'E 
Elevation: 615m to 687m
Date of Occurrence: 27July2020.
Landslide type: Debris
Size: Villagers estimate approx 300m of farmland and populated areas maybe subsiding.
Cause of Landslide: Erosion during heavy rain by the 6th Mile and Gurudev jhoras (mountain rivulets) which gets charged by the large runoff from urban areas (Kalimpong town) at the crest. This subsidence is not new but has been accelerated by the heavy rains of Jun/Jul2020.
Damage: As per villagers I talked to, approx 40 homes are affected, along with farmland at the 3rd Mile area are affected. Also State Highway 12 which connects Teesta Bazar to Kalimpong is likely to be affected at the 3rd Mile area due to its proximity to the subsiding areas.
Rainfall: 06July -109mm, 23Jul - 62.8mm, 27Jul - 88mm

Unverified Damage Reports

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

Landslide report (Kalimpong) : 17 Aug 2013, Mahakal Dara (between Dr.Graham's Homes and Deolo).

On 17Aug2013 between 0400 hrs - 0500 hrs, a landslide occurred on the road to Mahakal Dara from Kalimpong town. Earlier rockfall and slide instances in this area during intense rain is documented here  and here.
Known details of the slide on 17Aug2013 are as follows :-

• The landslide is located between Dr. Graham's Homes school and Deolo
  (N 27°08.6677’, E 88°49.4376’).
• Rainfall - 28mm between approx 0200hrs - 0400hrs.
• Clearing the road will take at least 2-3 days since the slide is still active, which effectively maroons approx 2-300 people in Mahakal Dara village.
• No deaths.
• Probable cause : Underground water seepage from leaking Deolo water reservoirs (which store domestic water supply for Kalimpong town and are located almost directly above the affected area) and the intense rainfall.

Photo credit : Mukesh Sharma,

                      Dainik Jagran.

Rohan Rao,

Kalimpong,

Dist-Darjeeling,

Email - rohan.rao1313@gmail.com
                                                                                                                                                 

The first landslide report of 2013 ie (01/2013)

Even as Sikkim Express reported training being conducted in Disaster Management in North Sikkim (see above), the Telegraph of 30 Mar2013, reported the first landslides in this region for the year 2013, luckily there were no fatalities.

An excerpt of the report from the Telegraph of 30Mar2013 is placed below :-

"Landslides

Siliguri, March 29: Two rain-triggered landslides in Sikkim’s North district today stranded 300-350 tourists going from Gangtok to Lachen and Lachung, both over 90km from the state’s capital.

There are no reports of deaths. The subsidence happened between 6pm and 6.30pm, according to Border Roads Organisation (BRO) sources. The roads from Chungthang to Lachen and Lachung both got blocked.

There are reports of tourists stuck on both sides. The BRO sources said no road repair work could be started in the evening as the rain has continued unabated."

It is well known that we live in an area where the landslide fatalities are the highest in the world  and that the Geological Survey of India has categorized us in the most landslide prone zones in the country (see below).

One of our endeavors in STH is to catalogue and maintain a record of this disaster form so that we may study its causes and help us live with this hazard in the best way possible.

Praful Rao,

Kalimpong