IIT-DELHI’S HI-RES LANDSLIDE RISK MAP FOR INDIA

Focus:

In response to the 2023 North India floods and landslides, IIT-Delhi aimed to create India’s first national-scale landslide susceptibility map.

About the Landslide Map: 

  • Data Collection: Graduate student Nirdesh Sharma collected data on 1.5 lakh landslide events from sources including the Geological Survey of India.
  • Factors considered : 16 factors influencing landslide susceptibility, like soil cover, tree density,etc
  • High-Resolution Map: A high-resolution ‘Indian Landslide Susceptibility Map’ was developed with a 100m resolution, covering the entire nation.
Source: Springer
  • Contribution : 
  • The map is hailed as an excellent contribution, providing the first comprehensive national-scale landslide probabilities.
  • Identified vulnerable regions include parts of the Himalayan foothills, Assam-Meghalaya, Western Ghats, and previously unknown risk areas.
  • Ensemble machine learning methods.
  • Future Initiatives:
  • Plans to develop a ‘Landslide Early Warning System’ using map data.
  • Beneficial for organizations like Geological Survey of India and National Disaster Management Authority
  • Accessibility: The map, available online for free, offers public-friendly exploration through a user interface.