National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad Releases ‘Landslide Atlas Of India

March 7, 2023

For the first time, NRSC scientist did risk assessment on landslides recorded between 1988 and 2022 in 147 districts in 17 states and two union territories to build a Landslide Atlas of India.
Atlas, prepared under Disaster Management Support Programme of ISRO, provides state-wise geospatial distribution of landslides using space data and geospatial models.
NRSC is responsible for managing data from aerial and satellite sources.
Important points-
- India is third most landslide prone country in world.
- Area- 12.6% of India’s land area, excluding snow covered area, is prone to landslide.
- Northwest Himalayas contribute 66.5% of landslides in India, followed by Northeast Himalayas (18.8%) and Western Ghats (14.7%).
- Top 5 districts based on their exposure to landslide: Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Thrissur (Kerala), Rajouri (J&K) and Palakkad (Kerala).
Landslide is defined as the movement of mass of rock, earth or debris down a slope.
- Causes: deforestation, heavy rainfall, earthquake etc.
- Impact: Loss of lives and infrastructure, risk of floods, creates financial burden for rebuilding infrastructure