Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala still reels under the aftershock of the Southwest monsoon, a geologist has advised the state be cautious and be prepared for the Northeast monsoon.
G. Sankar, senior consultant, National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) has said, “We don’t know if the rainfall will be normal, excess or deficient. However, in the highland areas, there are signs of aborted landslides, landslides which started, but got aborted in between. There are fissures at several places in Western Ghats, especially in Wayanad and Idukki. This means that we have to be prepared for a lot of landslides, even if it is a normal rainfall.”
The Southwest monsoon had caused 520 landslides, of which 275 were in Idukki, he said. “The enormity of the landslides was not covered by the media, as most of these areas remained inaccessible,” he added.
It may not be the best time now to clear debris from areas where there has been a landslide, he said. “It is a personal view, that we should not remove debris from these areas, until the NE monsoon is over. The mass of earth is in somewhat a stabilised condition. So, the debris should not be disturbed. I am not talking about road or communication lines blocks,” he said.
He proposed a few measures which the government can take to avoid a major disaster. “It should be ensured that water does not get collected in high slopes. The pits should be covered. Otherwise water will infiltrate into earth, and the soil will become saturated. That condition should not occur. The ground that is already weak will be further weakened by this water. So water should be drained off as early as possible. All the natural drains should be cleared,” he said.
When asked whether anthropological activities might have been a major reason for the landslides, he said the reasons were yet to be investigated into. He said that quarrying should be avoided at all costs. “The government has instructed collectors to ban quarrying as the blasting and corresponding tremors can induce landslides,” he said.
