Living with landslides: Community-based programme teaches combat techniques

As landslide deaths become increasingly regular in Sri Lanka during heavy rains, a community-based science programme offers a life-saving mechanism.

Getting to know about an imminent landslide even a second earlier could make a big difference, but often the early signs are ignored. To address this issue, an ambitious programme was launched last year.

Nature often gives early landslide warnings such as changes in the landscape, cracks on walls and difficulty in closing or opening doors or windows. (read the box story).

Drawing people's attention to such early warnings is one of the aims of the Community- Based Landslide Early Warning Project (CBLEW). It teaches people in a landslide- prone community to monitor early signs and prepare an initial response.

The National Building Research Organization ( NBRO), the premier institution responsible for dealing with landslide prevention, has identified several risk zones.

NBRO Geologist Darshani Rajapakse said the CBLEW project had been introduced to about 100 villages in Badulla, Nuwara Eliya and Kegalle.

The first step of the programme is to educate the communities on early signs of a landslide and how to respond when disaster occurs. The villages are then taught how to use simple equipment such as a rain gauge, a basic but useful device that can save lives.

According to scientists, 75mm rain for 24 hours in a landslide-prone area should put the people on ‘alert’ while 100mm rain upgrades the risk level to a 'Warning'. A rainfall of 150mm for 24 hours means it is time for 'evacuation' for safety.

The third stage of the programme trains the villagers to map the danger