Shahmin A Phom
Concerned Citizen
Nagaland surrounded by lush hills, is no stranger to the wrath of the Mother Nature. In recent times, the state has seen an increase in landslide incident, a path of destruction and hopelessness in their wake. The rough terrain of the state, along with erratic weather patterns and human activity has produced a perfect storm that puts the state basic foundations in jeopardy.
As of 2024, multiple landslides had occurred in different districts. Be it the landslide at alahuto of Zunheboto district or the Chumoukedima and recent landslide at NH29 near Dzüdza bridge triggered by heavy monsoon rains and midnight cloudburst on August on 15 brought unimaginable devastation to the people of the state. All these incidents call for an urgent necessity for an immediate attention in combating the natural disaster management and climate change.
India is among the top five landslide-prone countries in the world. About 0.42 million square km of India’s landmass, or about 13% of its area, spread over 15 states and four Union Territories. This covers almost all the hilly regions in the country. About 0.18 million square km, or 42% of this vulnerable area is in the Northeastern region, where the terrain is mostly hilly. As per the Landslide Atlas of India, major landslide prone areas in India include The Northeastern Region (comprises about 50 percent of the total landslide prone areas in India), Kerela, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir lying so on.
Nagaland has a history of major landslides; In between 2015-2022 around 36 landslides has occurred in Nagaland. On 26 May 2005, the landslide at Mokokchung took 14 people, who were buried alive causing many more injured with innumerable damages to properties. During July 2018, major road life lines were cut-off by massive landslides in Kohima when NH-29, also connecting Manipur was cut off putting the survival of the two states at stake. Sanuoru-Secretariat road on 30th July 2018 was affected when half of the black topped road just below the working women hostel sank some 3ft down where 1 church and 5 houses were damaged by landslide and 4 houses evacuated.
The most traumatizing impact of a landslide is the loss of precious human and animal lives. In the recent Wayanad case, already more than 250 deaths have been reported. These lead to enhanced economic losses as, significant amount is spent on reconstructing the lost infrastructure, rehabilitating the masses, and providing relief support to the impacted people. The mud, rocks, and debris moving down the slope result in infrastructural damage to houses, buildings, and roads and create a barrier on critical transportation routes. This restricts the movement of goods and people. It forces communities to evacuate and migrate. This leads to social disruption and psychological stress among affected populations. Roads blockage pause the transportation of good and services. With high demand of good and low supply it leads to increase in price. With prolonged days to clear the land and without proper necessary needs stuck in the roads demotivates the drivers. To avoid the catastrophic consequences of landslides, as witnessed in Wayanad, Kerala (30 July 2024) and Joshimath, Uttarakhand (Dec 2023- jan 2024) because of Unplanned urbanization, large-scale construction, and over-exploitation of natural resources.
i. Building must have a structure of resilience, proper precautionary measure should be taken in order to combat such disaster brought on by human activity, environmental deterioration, and natural processes is crucial to addressing these issues. Setting up a network of sensors is necessary for data collecting and real-time monitoring.
ii. Regions with sufficient amount water or irrigations can opt for terrace farming which can help reduce landslide risks.
iii. Areas which are high prone to landslide should retain walls on mountain slopes to stop the falling materials coming down.
iv. Education and training can help ensure the preparedness of the disaster management authorities as well as the local community. As mentioned by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority regarding the safety measures should be imparted among the community and in education institution.
v. It is imperative to create an integrated Early Warning System (EWS) with Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. Communities could be given important time to take preventive action by having a system like this to predict and warn people about imminent threats.
vi. Formation of States Council, It is a calculated move to establish a cooperative platform that unites the disaster management officials from several districts within the region. The establishment of a centralized council would facilitate the exchange of information, expertise, and assets to proficiently evaluate and handle the consequences of diverse stressors on the area.
vii. Environmental considerations, proper town planning that accounts for the unique characteristics of mountainous terrain is vital. Development that is environmentally conscious must limit heavy building, use retaining walls, manage slope cutting properly, and put in place efficient drainage systems.
viii. The inability to keep an eye on whether the terrain can support the weight has increased the risk of landslides. There are no building codes in several of Nagaland's hilly regions. Regulations are frequently not carried out well. Construction of new buildings, the growth of infrastructure, and even agricultural practices might make landslides more likely.
ix. NSDMA should focus on granular Hazard Mapping to have accurate knowledge of prone areas by taking the help of National Landslide Risk Management Strategy (2019) that covers all aspects of landslide disaster risk reduction and management, such as hazard mapping, monitoring, and early warning systems.
x. Develop a regularly update and emergency response plans to ensure swift and effective response to landslide disasters such as emergency responders, infrastructure operators, healthcare providers. The government agencies, local communities and non-governmental Organisation can take up the responsibilities in this field.
To mitigate these impacts, it is crucial to adopt a multi-faceted approach that includes resilience building, sustainable practices, early warning systems, and collaborative governance. The time to act is now, and collective efforts from the government, communities, and individuals can help minimize the wrath of landslides and ensure a resilient and sustainable tomorrow.
