Landslides

September 24, 2019

Landslides caused by flash floods stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand during the flash floods of June 2013 in India. The NDRF rescued thousands of stranded pilgrims after terrain changed instantly. The final death count remains hazy ... given the unprecedented scale of the flash floods. Environmental health remains the cornerstone of hydrometeorological disasters in the day and age of Climate Change.

No matter how good the training is, search and rescue is onerous during natural calamities.

SAR (Search and rescue) of frail and infirm, nursing mothers, pregnant women calls for special training of the forces.

Landslides and land slips seem to defy geophysics!

The landslides in Uttarakhand exposed the underlying rocks in the aftermath of the flash floods of 2013.

Secondary landslides were triggered altering the very landscape.

This photograph brings out the critical significance of trees in mountainous areas. Without trees the mountainsides let loose the terror of landslides. Rock gravel, loamy soil collapse changing terrain and the hydrology of the area. Conservation is the cornerstone of the battle against Climate Change.

This rock slip near Laxminagar in Campbell Bay Great Nicobar Island was ruptured during the Asian Tsunami triggering Great Andaman Sumatra Earthquake of 26th December 2004.

This rock in Lakshminagar in Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar Island sits on the faultline whose slip caused the Great Andaman Sumatra Earthquake of 26.12.2004 and triggered the Asian Tsunami. This is one geological scar of the great Andaman Sumatra Earthquake on land that is visible outside the ocean. The epicentre of the earthquake was on the same faultline further out in the ocean deep under the sea.

Large parts of the Himalayas are very prone to seismic activity because of tectonic push. The Himalayas are also very prone to landslides. Unsustainable development - in this instance building a road in such landslide prone area puts the lives of millions of innocent tourists at risk.

Roads and highways cutting through landslide prone areas does not make for sensible eco sensitive sustainable economic development. Troops movements also cannot be justified.

Landslides begin like this with rocks rolling over. I thanked the Lord for bringing me back safely to Manali.

Everywhere one sees, there are landslide areas. In winter they get covered by snow. Higher peaks of the Himalayas remain snow even in summer. This picture was shot by me on 1.06.2014 on my way to Rohtang Pass in the Himalayas. Weather vagaries are the high point of life in the Himalayas. The geology of the mountain chain is such that any plain land (between mountains too) causes landslides and landslips.

human footprint like orchard cultivation - although in ideal weather but not perfect land ... can be deleterious to human safety.

Manifestation of landslide in the lower Himalayas...

Rocks thrown ajar by a cloudburst.

Landslide, unsustainable development .

Landslide in the Himalayas. Tree growth is central to mitigating landslides. Sustainable developmnt has to be the Mantra of the political class.

When trees are uprooted soil becomes lose and can trigger landslides... it is obvious here.

Landslides on this mountainside of t water body bears geological scars to speak of.

Mountainsdes are very prone to landslides. Landslides decimate habitat for endemic wildlife.

Road and highway construction in mountainous areas are always very vulnerable to landslides.

Landslides expose the minerals but ruin the tree line and forest cover.

The beginnings of a landslide

Utterly unsustainable! Building roads in such precariously landslide prone areas is uttery irresponsible. it reveals corruption rather than foresight.

Limestone and calcium stands exposed after a landslide.

Landslides change terrain instantly. Sinkholes created by landslides create waterfalls because rivers change courses in the aftermath of landslides.

All acros the equatorial region of planet earth El Nino has a devastating impact. Coupled with the humidity of the tropics, the moisture burden during El Nino years impound the Equatorial countries with paralysing amount of rain... leading to mudslides and landslides. All the pictures from here below are from landslides triggered by El Nino in Brazil in 2011.