2021 Chamoli Avalanche, 2024 Wayanad Landslides Were Preventable, Says NDMA After Assessment

New Delhi: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has said that incidents including the 2021 Chamoli avalanche and the 2024 Wayanad landslides have highlighted gaps in in long-term risk reduction planning and community preparedness measures, reported Hindustan Times.

In a compilation by the NDMA wherein such incidents were assessed, it has been said that the Chamoli incident highlighted the inadequacy of conventional project assessment methodologies in the Himalayan region.

The HT report added that these two incidents along with several other disasters were preventable. One example cited in the compilation is that of the Silkyara tunnel, which already had a troubled construction history and provided numerous warning signals which were not addressed properly, leading to the 2023 collapse.

The tunnel had witnessed 21 documented collapse incidents of varying severity since the construction had commenced.

The NDMA assessment said that the Chamoli disaster, which had resulted in the destruction of two hydropower projects showed that human activities create compound risk that exceed traditional engineering assumptions in the Himalayan region, where issues such as geological instability and impact of climate change are major concerns.

It said that in the future, infrastructure development must incorporate dynamic risk modelling that accounts for changing environmental conditions and compound hazard scenarios, reported Hindustan Tims.

The NDMA said that thorough geological, seismic, and climate risk evaluations are a must.

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