Landslides very likely in Munnar, govt warned

Thiruvananthapuram: As rains have intensified in the hilly regions of districts like Idukki and Wayanad, the government has been warned of possible landslides near Munnar, on the basis of sensors that can detect landslides. Taking a cue from last year’s Pettimudy disaster, the government relocated residents from the area.
The Centre for Wireless Networks and Applications (CWNA), under the deemed university Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, has given a report to Kerala state disaster management authority (KSDMA) that it has detected possibilities of landslides near Anthoniar Colony in Munnar.
“First-level regional warning for landslides using global and site-specific rainfall thresholds have been crossed. So we request citizens to be alert and be watchful about the situation in Munnar region. The first-level alert indicates that there are possibilities of landslides in the landslide-prone areas surrounding our deployment site in Anthoniar Colony, Munnar,” said the analysis report by Maneesha V Ramesh, director of the centre and also the member of KSDMA’s landslide advisory committee.
The report, prepared after analyzing the rainfall, says that at the specific location, thresholds have been crossed to reach the second level. “We could see the surfaces are slowly losing their strength since the pore pressure in the vulnerable layers have shown a steady increase of 27.95% in the last 24 days. This can lead to soil slips in and around the site. Hence if the rain continues at this rate or increases further, the probability of soil slips and landslides can be initiated in the nearby regions. Therefore, caution and constant vigilance is advised,” it said.
On the basis of the report, Idukki district administration has already relocated residents in Anthoniar Colony and Ikka Nagar (another colony nearby) to safer locations. “We received the alert regarding this from the state emergency operations centre. We have already shifted 44 persons residing in the area to safe camps and another 114 persons have relocated to houses of their relatives in safer areas,” said Sheeba George, Idukki district collector.
CWNA has developed and deployed a wireless sensor network for landslide detection consisting of more than 100 geological sensors and more than 10 wireless sensor nodes at six locations in Munnar area. This system, functional since 2009, monitors the deployment site, collecting and transmitting data round the clock.
The landslide disaster of August 2020 at Pettimudy near Munnar had claimed 70 lives (66 confirmed dead and four bodies still missing). The district administration has also sought the services of a second team of National disaster response force (NDRF) in addition to the existing team stationed in the district. It is learnt that the government has sanctioned the second team.