A paradigm quantitative approach for a regional risk assessment and management in a few landslide prone hamlets along the windward slope of Western Ghats, India

Landslide occurrences in Western Ghats are not rare but rather a brooding omnipresent reality with all its fury. The devastation caused by this cataclysmic phenomenon is unwittingly greater than one could imagine as the density of population in the state of Kerala is ~800 per km2. This study aims at providing a quantitative estimation of elements at risk to landslides in a stretch of landslide susceptible zones, demarcated using a heuristic approach and spreading over a few hamlets in parts of Western Ghats. The vulnerability results reveal that: 1,321,056 nos. of human population, 2656 cattle, livestock and poultry, and INR 2650 crore (~US$ 143 billion) worth of property are at risk. Management practices, on a regional scale, along transport corridors and major settlement areas are proposed. As this part of the world experiences a tropical climate, monsoon is the sole triggering mechanism of landslides. Hence an early warning system with reference to rainfall and a series of surface drainage network will help in minimizing the effects of the landslides.