Landslide threat: More families to be relocated from vulnerable spots in Kerala’s Kozhikode district

Rescue operations underway after landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains at Chooralmala in Wayanad district of Kerala on July 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The disaster management authority has initiated measures to shift more families from the landslide-prone upland areas of Kozhikode district in Kerala. Intensified action comes in the wake of the multiple incidents of landslides which affected various villages under Thamarassery and Vadakara taluks in Kozhikode district.

People who earlier expressed unwillingness to cooperate with the relocation requests have been found responding positively to the call in the wake of the emergency situation. Vanimel panchayat is reportedly having the highest number of families affected by the recent incidents of landslides and flash floods. On July 30 alone, 13 houses were destroyed in landslips.

“We have requested the support of various youth organisations and neighbourhood groups to identify and report the details of families which live in the risky areas. Arrangements are in place to provide them temporary accommodation,” said a local body member from Vanimel.

He said all the nearby local grama panchayats had adopted a similar approach to mitigate the impact of natural calamities.  

In Kozhikode district, rural areas such as Kattippara, Narippatta, Kavilumpara, Kayakkodi, Chakkittappara, Thiruvambadi and Kodencheri are highly vulnerable to landslides and flooding. Revenue department sources confirm that the local administrators and disaster management teams are in touch with the residents in vulnerable areas to request their cooperation for a temporary relocation.

A few years ago, a Geological Survey of India team led by Rahul Kumar Chaurasia and Zameer Ahmed had also conducted studies in the district about the reasons behind recurring landslides during the south-west monsoon season. It was part of the preparation of a detailed map of landslide-prone areas with the support of domain experts from various States. The study was initiated as two major landslides in 2018 claimed the lives of 16 persons in Kozhikode’s Karincholamala and Kannappankundu. 

There were also initiatives from the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management to conduct field-level studies in the affected areas and come up with a flood map for the reference of disaster management authorities. The efforts were made in coordination with experts from the department dealing with remote-sensing and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). They had also suggested immediate implementation of buffer zones around natural drainages and afforestation programmes.

Meanwhile, functionaries of leading environmental organisations point out that a micro-level landslip hazard zonation study previously recommended by researchers of KSDMA is yet to take place in Kozhikode district by covering villages prone to slump, debris flow and slope failures. In a previous study, there were seven grama panchayats which were found to have the highest percentage of highly unstable and critical areas.

Widest area of risky spots

Thiruvambadi panchayat is reportedly having the widest area of such risky spots occupied by upland farmers. Research findings with KSDMA itself confirms that 23.79 % of the total area falls under a highly unstable area.

Panchayats such as Chakkittappara, Kodencheri, Kavilumpara, Koodaranhi, Puthuppadi and Koorachundu also have many risky areas now occupied by farmers. Lack of an attractive rehabilitation package is seemingly holding farmers back to such risky spots for survival.