Disaster Management, Technology and Community participation : Darjeeling, West Bengal, India on Land slide... Tapas Kumar Ghatak, Geophysicist and Spatial Management Expert ( UNICEF, WORLD BANK)

1. Community Based
Disaster Management
Programme
Few Attempt with Community
participation
and
Technology application.

2. The name DARJEELING means the
Place of the DORJE or THUNDERBOLT

3. The tantra of the DARJEELING HIMALAYA
speaks of the Spirits that live in its Mountains
Benevolent at most times, they endow the
land with rain, wind & sunshine, pouring
life into all living creatures
If angered, they become malevolent & fling
storms & thunder into the world.
Upheaval occurs everywhere

4. LANDSLIDES IN THE DARJEELING HIMALAYA
HAVE BEEN A COMMON PHENOMENON
• Major landslides have occurred at least 16 times
in the past 138 years between 1880-1998
• Over 1300 lives have been recorded as lost
• Major landslides have recurred once every 8.6
years, with an average of 9.4 deaths being
recorded during every incidence
• But with increasingly dense settlement over
time, the casualty rate has risen

5. THE LANDSLIDE TIMELINE
• 1860, 1880, 1899
• 1910, 1932, 1942, 1943, 1944
• 1950, 1854, 1968, 1980, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1998
THE TISTA COURSE CHANGES
1787, 1881, 1892, 1902, 1906, 1922, 1923, 1948, 1952, 1969, 1972

6. THE UNSOLVED RIDDLE
• 1779 - Major Rennel’s first maps show the
Tista draining into the GANGA
• 1787 - The river switched course completely
during the Great Tista Flood to drain into the
BRAHMAPUTRA
• DID FAR WORSE LANDSLIDES HIT
DARJEELING & SIKKIM IN 1787 ?

7. • The story of a tremendous Flood in the TISTA VALLEY is
preserved by the Lepchas in the Legend of Sacred
Mt.TENDONG
DARJEELING , when annexed by the British in 1835, lacked
a population but showed signs of having been formerly
occupied
• In his 1854 tour, Sir Joseph Hooker noted the scars of
huge landslides all over the region
• Place-names in the RANGIT VALLEY speak of:
– RANGIROON [=the Place where the River Turned] or
RANGLI-RANGLIOT [=the Place of Receding Waters]
THE EVIDENCE

8. 1998 Landslides

9. Monitoring of landslides
Monitoring form
containing information
on 26 indicators for
early warning of
landslides
Forms filled up and
submitted fortnightly to
GP, BDO and District
Information compiled,
collated and action
taken

10. Interaction with community
A member of the community explains the events of the 1998 landslide. The
boulders in the picture are those that rolled down during the landslide

11. Sensitization programme - Field visit
Dr Jeta Sankratayan explains a technical point of
landslides to Jude Henriques, Programme Communication
Officer, UNICEF and officers from Darjeeling district

12. People involved in monitoring
Cracks in the wall -
early warning sign for a landslide

13. Dance drama to mobilize community

14. Tasks completed
A COMPLETE DIGITAL SPATIAL DATA BASE FOR
THE HILL REGION OF THE DISTRICT WHICH
CONTAINS:
1 AN ELEVATION MODEL
2. ALL ROADS AND RIVERS
3. LOCATION OF ALL LAND SLIDES
4. ROCK COMPETENCY
5. RAIN FALL RECONDS
6. BLOCK BASE/ GP BASE SETTLEMENTS AND TOWNS
7. AGRICULTURE, TEA, CINCONA AND FOREST
DISTRIBUTION

15. THE SECOND PHASE
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
ON THE FOLLOWING
1. FOR EACH LAND SLIDE: ITS YEAR OF OCCURENCE , AREA OR NAMEITS YEAR OF OCCURENCE , AREA OR NAME
OF THE SLIDE, VILLAGE AND POPULATION EFFECTED BY EACH LANDOF THE SLIDE, VILLAGE AND POPULATION EFFECTED BY EACH LAND
SLIDES, ITS SEVERITY, LOSS IN ROAD CONNECTIVITYSLIDES, ITS SEVERITY, LOSS IN ROAD CONNECTIVITY
2.2. ROADS:ROADS: ITS CONNECTING VILLAGE, SENSITIVENESS IN LAND SLIDESITS CONNECTING VILLAGE, SENSITIVENESS IN LAND SLIDES
TYPES OF TRANSPORT IT CARRIESTYPES OF TRANSPORT IT CARRIES
3. IMPORTANT LOCATIONS: SCHOOLS, RAILWAY SYATIONS, POSTSCHOOLS, RAILWAY SYATIONS, POST
OFFICES, GP OFFICES, HEALTH SUBCENTERSOFFICES, GP OFFICES, HEALTH SUBCENTERS
4.4. DISASTER RELATED INFORMATION: DEATHS, INJURED, RELIEF

16. Rivers and Jhoras and Landslide locations ofRivers and Jhoras and Landslide locations of
Darjeeling DistrictDarjeeling District

17. KURSEONG BLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICTKURSEONG BLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICT

18. KURSEONG BLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICTKURSEONG BLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICTELEVATION MODEL OF KURSEONG BLOCK OFELEVATION MODEL OF KURSEONG BLOCK OF
DARJEELING DISTRICTDARJEELING DISTRICT

19. ELEVATION MODELELEVATION MODEL OF KURSEONG BLOCK OFOF KURSEONG BLOCK OF
DARJEELING DISTRICTDARJEELING DISTRICT
GAYABARI-II G.P. OF KURSEONG BLOCK OFGAYABARI-II G.P. OF KURSEONG BLOCK OF
DARJEELING DISTRICTDARJEELING DISTRICT

20. SETTLEMENT LOCATION OF GAYABARI-II G.P. OF KURSEONGSETTLEMENT LOCATION OF GAYABARI-II G.P. OF KURSEONG
BLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICTBLOCK OF DARJEELING DISTRICT

21. No.ofLandslideOccurranceSince1995

22. CAUSEOFLANDSLIDE

23. SEVERITYOFLANDSLID

24. No. of Landslide 36
Year 1998
No. of Landslide 10
Year 2002
No. of Landslide 24
Year 2003
Year wise Landslide of Kurseong Block
2 0 0 2

25. No.ofdaysClosedNearestRoads

26. N

27. N

28. N

29. N

30. N

31. N

32. N

33. N

34. N

35. N

42. Few examples of
other areas with
community as the
main driver
Case Study:
Assam

47. PLANNINN
G
POLICIES
PLANNINNG POLICIES
What it should be
What it is Now
=Development
?