Landslides: An Effect Turning into a Disaster

Chittagong city in Bangladesh is known for having both hilly areas as well as being next to the shores of the Bay of Bengal, it is more likely to have cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes as natural disasters. Landslides on the other hand are more commonly known as effect of disaster, rather than an actual disaster.

Most people don’t know how devastating a single landslide can be and shockingly they don’t give it much importance as the other disasters.

This study will explore how disastrous were the past landslides of Chittagong and how important it is to make people aware of the situation to take essential steps of prevention. It will indicate that the damage reduction should be focusing on the planning of future infrastructures and as well as controlling the already done damage by creating awareness.

Landslides are not only caused by natural reasons but also by human influenced situations. In the beginning of the 20th century the British rulers started turning Chittagong into a city and it was constructed by cutting down hills and forests to build infrastructures. Ever since then the process of urbanization was introduced it became faster and faster and the number of hills reduced.

A theory goes that the process of building infrastructures was slow at first so the nature had time to recover itself and adjust to the human invasion. But now as the whole thing is happening so fast that the nature doesn’t have time or space to adjust anymore. Thus disasters like landslides are happening.

Due to rapid change in the climate landslides have increased in South East Asia including Bangladesh (Hoque Johirul). Combined effect of rainfall and hill cutting induced slope instability triggered landslide in Chittagong. According to Delhi based DMC, among the total landslide incidents 60% occurred in the South East Asia in the 2009 which killed about 280 people.

In 2012, about 110 people were killed in a landslide in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh 127 people died in the 11th June 2007 landslide, 11 died in 18th august 2008 in Chittagong, 96 died in 2010 in Cox’s Bazar and in 2012, 122 died in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Bandar ban.

Illegally cutting hills in order to build infrastructures and selling soil off to soil merchants and contractors are the main human influenced reasons behind landslides. A group of people cut down hills and sell the soil as well as rent the area to poor people. There are thousands of people living in dangerous areas despite of the risk and the reason behind it is poverty. Though this practice is totally illegal people still live in those risky areas because of the relatively low rent. So they care less about the risk and government cannot drive them out.

Illegal hill-cutting due to rampant building activity has left some 70,000 people at risk of landslides in 18 sub-districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban hill districts, as well as the city of Chittagong.

Chittagong has always been subject to heavy rainfall and minor earthquake but before the year 2000 there wasn’t any landslide (Land Slides). The reason behind it is deforestation and hill cutting. Recently in 24th September 2014 the high court of Bangladesh has ordered the government to stop the activity of cutting and destroying hills. They also ordered the administration to take legal actions against those who are responsible upon a petition filed by BELA.

We need to think about helping the endangered people and creating awareness and re-habituating them is a good way to do it. Army, fire brigade and volunteers are the main support in rescue operation.

In Vatiary, Chittagong some of the victims of previous landslides have been re-habituated with the help of Bangladesh army. But what more important is that we need to build our infrastructures in such a manner that it doesn’t affect the nature.

Awareness can be created by using newspapers, advertising, radio, broadcasting network etc. Also we can help the authority to find solutions about dealing with the people already living in those areas. We can plant trees on the damaged hill slopes so that any future heavy rainfall doesn’t affect the soil to collapse.

In the past landslides were not considered as destructive as other disasters. But after the previous landslides we have to consider it as a major threat. We have to stop the group of people who destroy the nature for their own personal gain. The people should be more aware of what they are doing and what needs to be done.

Only then co-existing is possible without destroying the nature. Because destroying the nature is like calling our own destruction.

Given the circumstances of Chittagong, landslides can be prevented. We just need to be more cautious and work for the betterment of people as well as nature.