Landslide Disaster

There is a big news from Colombia in South America regarding the deadly landslide causing widespread destruction and damage. Landslide is one of the natural or man- made hazards and can be disaster if it affects the human population directly or indirectly. It is to be noted that it happens only in those places which have mountains so it is not found in plain areas. Each year many people around the world are affected by landslide and it is common in many countries including Nepal during the rainy seasons. Landslide in Krishnabhir on Mugling highway is well known in Nepal for its yearly blockage during Monsoon time causing the disruption in transport disruption and break in supply chain to Kathmandu city.

In 1949 landslide in then USSR killed 12,000 people, Honduras landslide ( 20 Sep 1973) killed more than 2,000 people and in the latest event landslide in China (7 Aug 2010) killed 1,756  people. Many factors are involved in landslide like nearby the fault area, slope of the mountain, proximity to river and so on.Sometimes earthquake also induces instability to the weak mountain and causes the landslide.Figures below from USGS shows the before and after the landslide event where we can see closely the damage to the roads (red circle). 

Landslide images  (Up: Before and Down: After)

There are many ways to tackle the landslide and one is the landslide mapping and do land-use according to the hazard. Beside that, retaining wall and other engineering methods can also be employed.Forestation of affected area can also help a lot in controlling the rain water and thereby reducing the chance of landslide in very steep slope areas as in Nepal.Water Induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP) was established on 7 February 2000 under the Ministry of Water Resources  to tackle with the water induced disaster including landslide in Nepal. Next blog will talk about the disaster scenario of Nepal including landslide.

The Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011- Part 2

It is already more than 2 months after the great Earthquake of March 11, 2011 that severely hit the Japan. More than 15,000 people lost their lives and more than 15000 are still missing. It is the worst type of natural disaster after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake in which more than 100,000 people were killed. The major cause of the casualties was Tsunami rather than the building damage by the earthquake shaking.The most affected areas include the Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures all in the Northern part of Japan. Properties worth of billions of dollars have been destroyed. It has been said that it will take more than 2 years to clear the debris and make the area fit for the rehabilitation.

Drive of the Support

1. Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Nepal Jhal Nath Khanal visited the Japanese Embassy in Nepal on 14th March 2011 (just after 2 days after event) and had meeting with Ambassador Mizuno. He expressed his deep condolences to the victims of the enormously powerful earthquake and tsunami.
2. Many people have shown their generosity towards the Japanese people in this difficult times. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Many countries including Nepal have offered their help. As a gesture of support Government of Nepal provided 5,000 blankets for the evacuees suffering from severe cold.
3. People pray in memory of Japan earthquake victims back in Nepal. People lit the butter lamps in the memory of the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in different religious places including Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.
4. Nepalese people residing in Japan have contributed in cash as per their capacity to different organization to support the victims.

These are only the small part of the news related with the help and support.

This blog wishes the deep condolences to the bereaved families and shows the solidarity in this difficult time. May God bless you all to overcome this tragedy.