Landslides’ Avalanche Of 

Mud.
By: M.E.Reza

When China observed a day of mourning on 15th August 2010 for the victims of the previous
week’s deadliest mudslide in Zhouqu, Gansu province, similar calamities of varying scale
occurred elsewhere in various parts of Asia –Pacific region.  Landslides are common occurrences
closely connected with major natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, and
floods, and they constitute major hazards if they are widespread.  Flood warnings go hand-in-
hand with alarms over potential landslides – rain-triggered disasters.  With unprecedented
frequency of extreme weather calamities heightening, landslides – mudslides are expected to
feature increasingly in our disaster management nightmares.

Mid-year 2010 saw countries in the sub-continent i.e. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh battered
by torrential rains.  In Bangladesh, heavy rains in mid-June 2010 triggered landslides in Cox’s
Bazaar and Bandarban districts.  In Cox’s bazaar, 45 bodies were recovered from the Ukhia and
Teknaf landslides.  The disaster did not spare those in the security services either. In Himchharhi,
eight members of the army’s Engineering Construction Battalion were killed when landslides (a
big chunk of a hill) hit them. Twenty army vehicles were also buried in the mud.  Thousands of
houses collapsed due to the mudslides.  In India-controlled Kashmir, flash floods sent massive
mudslides down remote desert mountain sides crushing homes.  At least 132 people were killed
and 500 others missing.In Pakistan, landslides triggered by the worst floods in 80 years
obstructed access into areas already isolated by the massive disaster, thus hampering relief
efforts.  Aid workers had to use mules or travelled on foot to reach people in dire need of
assistance.  With numerous roads destroyed by the floods and blockages by landslides some of
the affected areas were completely marooned.  (i)

   

The landslide left a trail of raw earth on this steep slope above houses and tea plantation
buildings in West Java’s Bandung district. (AFP Photo/Pikiran Rakyat)

In Malaysia, although only a minor landslide incident took place on 10th August 2010, questions
about mitigating measures were immediately raised.  In the disaster which struck Duyong in
Malacca state, more than 1,000 homes were hit by flash floods and a landslide.  The landslide
missed several shop lots.    Four days later heavy rains in Penang caused a hillslope retaining
wall to collapse, sending a torrent of muddy water into low-costs flats nearby.   

 Like its other ASEAN neighbours, Malaysia too has its share of landslides, occurrences of
which are common in hilly terrains.  With the country moving rapidly towards urbanization,
some landslide occurrences proved to be serious hazards involving fatalities and losses, with
severe damages to the infrastructure.   Since the eighties, especially beginning with the
construction of the North-South Expressway, landslides had been closely monitored by the
authorities.  Increasing urban land use had seen occupation of more hilly lands and consequent to
a number of landslides involving affluent suburban areas in the capital over the past few years,
the Malaysian government banned  hillside development in 2008.  

4 September 2009. The Cikangkareng village landslide, Indonesia . Photo. AP

 Malaysia, with its experience of seasonal monsoon and share of extreme weather triggered
disasters, has undertaken mitigation measures to reduce landslide risks.  Maintenance of the hilly
slopes along the North-South Expressway (NSE) a major highway in the country, involved
installations of high-tech devices to detect impending landslides and reduce rock falls.  The
detectors gauge rain on priority slopes and collects data instrumental for determining
maintenance requirements on the slope concerned.  A total of 70 locations along the expressway
have been equipped with the Real Time Monitoring System (RTMS), the first in South-East
Asia.  The last major landslide along the NSE was in 2004. (ii)  

 As for Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelago spanning more than 17,000 islands, landslides kill
dozens of people every year.  With the exceptions of major incidents of magnitude, most of the
landslides only made local news.  Heavy rains nonetheless triggered landslides on Flores Island
in February 2010 and Buru Island, eastern Maluku province end of July 2010. In the former
incident, five villages were marooned following landslides which cut off access and blocked
network of roads in the affected area.  

It’s not unusual for the  Indonesian state railway company (PTKA) to increase patrols of  

26 December 2007. Local people and rescue teams have begun a desperate search for people
buried by landslides in central Java, Indonesia. Photo.AFP

 its lines during the rainy season since some spots are highly prone to landslides.   In late April
2010, train traffic between a number of stations (Labakjero, Leles, Banjar, and Wangon) was
disrupted for several hours due to landslides. (n)  
 Just a month earlier, inter-monsoonal rains caused landslides in Central Bengkulu and
Kepahiang districts, both of which are particularly vulnerable to landslides during the rainy
season.   Several landslides occurred in these areas during late March 2010 blocking major road
connections.  On March 11, a landslide hit Ciawitali hamlet in Cianjur, West java, destroying
five houses and killing 10 people.  

 In mid-March 2010, a massive mudslide of volcanic material from Mount Talang, hit Sungai
Janiah village in Solok regency, leaving 1,500 residents isolated.  In its advance, the mudslide
(locally known as galado) damaged bridges, and swept away eight houses along a river.  Huge
amounts volacanic material, (tens of thousands of cubic metres) from Mount Talang’s eruption in
2005 had accumulated at the upstream areas of four rivers posing threats to the population below.
There still remain large volumes of volcanic materials and boulders at the upstream areas which
could be carried by the rivers consequent to continuous heavy downpours.  (iii)  

A police officer comes down a landslide area in the village of Puguis, La Trinidad town, Benguet
province, northern Philippines on Sunday Oct. 11, 2009. Driving rain on the heels of back-to-
back storms triggered dozens of landslides across the northern Philippines, washing away
villages and leaving almost an entire province under water. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

 Over in the Philippines (mid-July 2010) when Typhoon Baysang exited after ravaging the
northern part of the country, it was not the end of the story.  Heavy rains in the Surrallah town,
South Cotabato province, triggered landslides which buried several homes in a village.  Even
moderate rains following the aftermath of a typhoon could still trigger floods and landslides in
low-lying and hilly areas which have been already drenched to hilt. (iv)  

 Two months earlier, in May 2010, mudslides buried dozens of shanties in Nanapan, a remote
gold mining village in southern Philippines, killing at least 26 people. One mudslide slammed
into about 30 shanties.  The area, already known to be mudslide prone was saturated consequent
to days of rain.  Residents in the affected area had ignored warnings to evacuate.  The gold
mining village, at Mount Diwata (580 miles south-east of Manila) has about 40,000 residents,
mostly miners and their families.  

 Thailand too had its brush with landslides (early August 2010) in the southern province of
Ranong,  triggered after a nonstop overnight rain.  Access to Ranong’s provincial seat was
blocked by mud, rocks, and trees dragged down by the landslide.   

 The ominous signs that extreme weather triggered disasters will continue to be more frequent
are there.  The number of massive floods which happened in China and Pakistan has already
prompted usage of the term “mega disasters”.  As more torrential downpours loomed over the
future, rain-triggered landslides/mudslides could be playing out often in our disaster management
nightmares.  

 References:-  
(i)                 Reuters. Landslides complicate Pakistan flood relief efforts. Mon Aug 9, 2010. Junaid Khan

(ii)               The Star. Friday June 18, 2010. Devices to detect landslides along NSE.SUBANG

(iii)             The Jakarta Post. Mudslide isolates 1,500 residents in Solok. Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang | Thu, March 18.2010 

(iv)             Philstar.com. Landslide, tornado hit 2 South Cotabato towns. July 15, 2010