The Landslide Atlas of India

• 13 Mar 2023

On March 11, 2023, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released The Landslide Atlas of India.

The Atlas is based on an all-India database created by the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre that includes three types of landslide inventory: seasonal, event-based, and route-wise, covering the period from 1998 to 2022.

• Deaths Due to Landslides: Landslides rank third globally in terms of deaths among natural disasters.
• Sudden heavy rains due to climate change are increasing landslides, particularly in the Himalayan region, where 73% of landslides are attributed to heavy rains and reduced water-absorbing capacity of soil.
• Impact of Landslides: Landslides can cause buildings, roads, bridges, and other structures to collapse or become damaged, resulting in injuries, deaths, and financial losses.
• The risk analysis is based on the density of human and livestock populations in affected areas.
• Increasing Risks: The risk is increasing due to climate change and human activities such as deforestation and unplanned urbanization.
• Heavy rains reduced water-absorbing capacity of soil, and specific events such as earthquakes or slope cuts can trigger landslides.
• Occurrence of Landslides:The maximum number of landslides between 1988 and 2022 were recorded in Mizoram (12,385), followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Manipur, and Maharashtra.