At least 361 people dead following series of landslides in Kerala State, India.

At least 361 people have lost their lives, with another 206 still missing and more than 273 having suffered injuries, following a series of landslides in the Wayanad District of Kerala State on 30 July 2024. The landslides occurred when heavy rains associated with the onset of the onset of the annual monsoon. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. The landslides have affected the villages of Punjri Matom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, Meppadi and Kunhome.

Rescue workers searching for survivors following a landslide in Wayanad District, Kerala, on 30 July 2024. Times of India.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season, the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

Wayanad District is thought likely to have become more vulnerable to landslides due to the extensive deforestation it has suffered in recent years. Tree roots can help to hold soft sediments together on slopes, and deforestation is often associated with landslides. According to a 2022 study led by Kakoli Saha of the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, between 1950 and 2018 Wayanad District lost around 62% of its forest cover, mostly being replaced with tea plantations, which have much shallower root systems, failing to stabilise steep slopes.

Land use land cover change of Wayanad District from 1950 to 2012; (A) land use land cover till 1950; (B) land use land cover till 1982; and (C) land use land cover till 2012. Saha et al. (2022).

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Woman dies after being trampled by Elephant at tourist resourt in Kerala State, India.

A woman has died after being trampled by an Elephant at a resort in the Wayanad District of Kerala State, India, on Saturday 23 January 2021. The victim, described as Shahana Sathar, the head of the psychology department at the Darunnujoom College of Arts and Science, was staying in a tent at a campsite on the resort with her cousin and a friend; she was reportedly attacked by a wild Elephant while sitting near the tent, and died of crush injuries to the chest at the scene of the incident. The resort has now been closed by Forest Department officials, who had previously warned the owner about the dangers of locating campsites too close to the forest edge, and who are now planning legal action. The campsite is described as being located on a landslide-prone slope, surrounded by dense forest, with no protection from animals. Local environmental group Wayanad Prakruti Samrakshana Samiti has warned about the large number of such camps that have sprung up in the region, with about 300 ventures operating campsites and tree huts in the forests, with no official permission and little regard for the safety of guests or the environment.

 

A campsite at the Rainforest Resort in the Wayanad District of Kerala State, India, where a woman was killed by an Elephant on 23 January 2021. India Today.

The population of India has risen from 376 million in 1950 to 1339 million today, fuelling an expansion of both urban and agricultural land use into former wilderness areas. The wild Elephant population has declined over the same period, but still stands at about 27 000. Many animals will simply flee such incursions, or, if unable to, are likely to end up in the cooking pots of hungry villagers. Elephants, however, are a somewhat different proposition. They are large animals, not used to being challenged by other animals in their home ranges, and typically live in matriarchal herds of up to a hundred, with herds holding large territories, criss-crossed by Elephant trails. A herd of Elephants encountering a new Human settlement, particularly a poorly defended structure, are unlikely to attempt to go round it, and are quite likely to maximise the damage they cause to show their displeasure. This has resulted in an increasing cycle of Elephant-Human conflict in rural areas of India, with 2361 people killed by Elephants between 2014 and 2019, while in the same period 510 Elephants were killed by people.

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