KOCHI: KUFOS research report that five districts of Kerala are under threat of mudflow and landslides. Most of the areas in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts are under threat. The Department of Climate Variability and Aquatic Ecosystems also found that after the 2018 floods, the probability of landslides increased by 3.46 percent in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur districts.

10 maps of Kerala have been prepared through artificial intelligence-based deep learning technology. The research was based on 3575 landslides in Kerala from 1990 to 2020. A study based on landslides from 2018 found that the danger has increased. Dr Girish Gopinath, head of the department, said that this became clear in the map created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). AL Achu who is a student, participated in the research in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and Michigan Technical University, USA.

The rain has changed and the threat has increased

• Sudden torrential downpours add to the threat in high-lying areas. Thin rain that falls for a long time is alien to Kerala now
• Landslides and large-scale soil mining cause changes in the topography. Variations in the flow of rivers also a factor
• Unscientifically constructed rain pits in sloping areas

'HighRisk' in HighRange

13 percent areas of Kerala are under threat of severe landslides. In the high range, 31 percent of places above 600 meters are in a danger zone. Among these, the threat is very high in areas with a slope of 10 to 40 degrees.

Prevention of unscientific land use and soil mining is the only way to avoid landslides.

Dr. T Pradeep Kumar,

Vice Chancellor, Kufos