NDMA to incorporate 3Ms into action plan for landslide management

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The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will incorporate the 3Ms — mapping, monitoring, and mitigation — into its action plan to better manage landslide-related disasters, a senior official said on Monday.

 

The rationale behind this move is resilient recovery, rapid response, and risk assessment.

 

This comes against the backdrop of changing rainfall patterns causing floods and landslides.

 

"We are about to hold a workshop at NDMA on landslide mitigation, and the theme will be the three Ms: mapping, monitoring, and mitigation for the three Rs: resilient recovery, rapid response, and risk assessment," said Safi Rizvi, advisor for mitigation at NDMA and executive director of the National Institute of Disaster Management, at an event organised by IPE Global and Esri India.

 

Mapping and monitoring are essential in disaster management, and "for us at NDMA, mapping and monitoring is not the end; it's just the beginning. The third M — mitigation — is our real game," he said.

 

A study by IPE Global and Esri India released on Monday reveals that climate change is expected to cause a 43 per cent rise in the intensity of extreme rainfall events in India by 2030, making the country hotter and wetter. 

 

It projects that 72 per cent of tier I and tier II cities will witness an increase in heatwave stress and extreme rainfall events, with Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Surat, Thane, Hyderabad, Patna, and Bhubaneswar experiencing a two-fold increase in heatwave days. The extended heatwave conditions will likely trigger more frequent, incessant, and erratic rainfall events.

 

The frequency, intensity, and unpredictability of extreme heat and rainfall events have risen significantly in recent decades. India has witnessed a 15-fold increase in extreme heatwave days during March-May and June-September over the last three decades (1993–2024).

 

Alarmingly, the last decade alone has seen a 19-fold increase in extreme heatwave days.

 

The study also found that monsoon seasons in India are witnessing extended summer-like conditions, except on non-rainy days.

 

Abinash Mohanty, Head of the Climate Change and Sustainability Practice at IPE Global, said mitigation programmes require significant funding, whether for landslides or earthquakes.

 

On the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission (XV FC), the central government allocated Rs 13,693 crore to the National Disaster Mitigation Fund and Rs 32,031 crore to the State Disaster Mitigation Fund for FY22 to FY26.

 

Rizvi said the mitigation fund is used across four windows: 10 per cent for remote sensing and community engagement, 20 per cent for mitigation, and 30 per cent for recovery and reconstruction.