2014 Malin landslide

On 30 July 2014, a landslide occurred in the village of Malin in the Ambegaon taluka of the Pune district in Maharashtra, India. The landslide, which hit early in the morning while residents were asleep,[3] was believed to have been caused by a burst of heavy rainfall, and killed at least 151 people.[4] Rains continued after the landslide making rescue efforts difficult.

2014 Malin landslide
Location of Maharashtra in India
Date30 July 2014
LocationMalin, Ambegaon taluka, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
Coordinates19°9′40″N 73°41′18″E
CauseLandslide due to heavy rain
Deaths151[1]
Missing100[2]
Property damage40 houses
Malin
Location of Malin in Maharashtra state.

Cause

The landslides were caused after heavy rainfall that had begun the previous day, with the village for receiving 10.8 cm (4 in) of rain on 29 July and the downpour continuing throughout the following day. The environmental destruction that resulted in the landslide is believed to have had many causes. Major cause was negligence of geological facts before any developmental process. Another cause cited as contributing to the landslide was deforestation in the area. Deforestation removes not only trees, but also root structures that hold together the soil. Through deforestation, the soil of the surrounding land was made loose, and experts argue that deforestation was the primary undelaying anthropogenic cause of the landslide.[5] One additional reason was changing agricultural practices – villagers had recently shifted from cultivation of rice and finger millet to wheat, which required levelling of steep areas, which contributed to instability of the hills. Also the construction of the nearby Dimbhe Dam ten years ago was considered as a possible reason. The instability of the hillsides was due to the construction activities, which are often done without careful analysis of environmental consequences.[6] Stone quarrying, among other types of construction, was specifically blamed by Sumaira Abdulali of the Awaaz Foundation, for the instability of the hillside.[7]

Casualties

Although initial reports stated that the landslide had killed 17 people, officials expected the death toll to exceed 150.[8] As of 4 August 2014, the death toll had reached 134. The bodies so far recovered were of 50 men, 64 women and 20 children.[9] Later estimates indicated more than 160 people, and possibly up to 200.[10] About 44 to 46 separate houses were believed to have been buried in the landslide.[11][12]

Management

The landslide was first noticed by a bus driver who drove by the area and saw that the village had been overrun with mud and earth.[10] Emergency services, including 378 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, were mobilized to the area, and 8 victims had been rescued from the landslide prior to the evening of 30 July.[12] Nevertheless, rescue efforts had been hampered by poor road conditions and continuing rains.[13] Authorities have also expressed pessimism about the possibility of recovering any of the trapped people alive.[12] As of 31 July, 22 people had been rescued alive from the landslide.[14] On 4 August, the survivors of the landslide were ordered by the district administration to move out of Malin.[15] Apart from the Security Forces, members of voluntary organizations and locals also helped in rescue operations. On 7 August, rescue operations officially drew to a close, with the final death toll estimate resting at 151.[16][4]

Reactions
  • Office of Prime Minister of India released a statement in response to the landslide, in which they "condoled the loss of lives in the landslide and directed all possible efforts to help the affected people."[17]
  • Chief of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar, dubbed the landslide "unfortunate", and tweeted that "We have many villages located beneath hillocks. This incident has alarmed us to rethink about such villages."[18]
  • The CPIM demanded a "time bound enquiry into the true causes of this disaster".[19]

References
  1. "Malin landslide toll mounts to 136". The Hindu. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  2. Associated Press (31 July 2014). "At least 30 dead after landslide buries Indian village". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  3. "Indian landslide: more than dozens trapped in Pune village of Malin". BBC News. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  4. Rashid, Atikh (8 December 2018). "Four years and many surveys later, disaster prevention work yet to begin in 20 'landslide-prone' villages". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  5. "The real reason for Pune village landslide: Forest was cleared for a govt scheme". Firstpost. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  6. Mazoomdaar, Jay (31 July 2014). "Is India's construction boom behind Pune village landslide?". BBC. BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  7. "Indian media: Deforestation behind deadly Pune landslide". BBC. BBC News. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. AAP (30 July 2014). "Landslide kills 17 in Indian village". The Australian. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  9. "Malin, Day 6: Body count reaches 134". The Indian Express. 5 August 2014.
  10. "India landslide: Rescuers race to find survivors in Pune village as toll rises". BBC News India. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  11. "Major landslide hits Pune village; at least 17 dead, over 160 feared trapped". The Indian Express. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  12. Jain, Bharti (30 July 2014). "17 dead, 158 feared trapped in landslide near Pune, rescue operations on". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  13. AP (30 July 2014). "Rain-triggered landslide buries homes in remote Indian village, killing at least 17". US News & World Report. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  14. Acharya, Nupur (31 July 2014). "Pune Landslide Survivor Fears Family is Buried Under a Mass of Mud". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  15. Joshi, Yogesh (4 August 2014). "Malin landslide survivors asked to relocate". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  16. Banerjee, Shoumojit (7 August 2014). "Malin landslide: Rescue operations draw to a close". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  17. "PM Narendra Modi directs Rajnath Singh to rush to landslide-hit spot in Pune". The Economic Times. Press Trust of India. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  18. "Pune landslide: Sharad Pawar terms incident 'unfortunate'". DNA India. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  19. "Malin Disaster". The Politburo of CPIM. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.