Landslide map of India

Landslide map of India

Recently National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), Hyderabad has released ‘Landslide Map of India’.

NRSC scientists have carried out hazard assessment of landslides recorded between 1988 – 2022 to prepare ‘Landslide Map of India’ for the first time.
The assessment is based on landslides recorded in 147 districts across 17 states and two union territories in the country.
This map has been prepared under the Disaster Management Support Program of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
This map will provide state wise geospatial distribution of landslides using space data, and geospatial models.
NRSC is responsible for managing the data received from aerial and satellite sources.

Key facts given in the map –

India is the third most landslide prone country in the world.
6 percent of India’s land area is prone to landslides, excluding snow-covered areas.
5 percent of landslides in India occur in the North-Western Himalayas. It is followed by the Northeast Himalayas (18.8 percent) and the Western Ghats (14.7 percent).
The top 5 districts in terms of vulnerability to landslides are Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Thrissur (Kerala), Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) and Palakkad (Kerala).
Landslide is defined as the rapid movement of massive rocks, debris or soil down a slope.

Steps taken by the government to monitor and control landslides –

Geographical Information System (GIS) based Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) has been developed under the LANDSLIP project.
The Geological Survey of India has carried out landslide susceptibility mapping in different parts of the country.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued guidelines for landslide prone areas.

Following causes of landslides: