\n<\/p>\n
Every monsoon, Wayanad’s hills carry the risk of disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n Steep slopes, saturated soil and increasingly erratic rainfall have made this Kerala district the most landslide-prone in the state, according to a 2024 study by Indian researchers.<\/span><\/p>\n The danger has grown over decades. Studies show that around <\/span>62 percent of Wayanad’s green cover disappeared between 1950 and 2018<\/span>, as tea plantations expanded nearly <\/span>18-fold<\/span>. With forests cleared, many hillsides lost the deep root systems that once held the soil together.<\/span><\/p>\n When a landslide strikes, it often comes with little warning.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, however, a network of local residents armed with simple rain gauges is helping change that. Their daily observations are giving scientists a clearer picture of when slopes are approaching a dangerous tipping point \u2014 sometimes buying precious hours for people to move to safety.<\/span><\/p>\n The story began after Kerala’s devastating floods in <\/span>2018<\/span>, which claimed more than <\/span>400 lives<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n In the aftermath, the <\/span>Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology<\/span>, a research institute based in Kalpetta, set out to build a community-driven rainfall monitoring system for Wayanad.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, a network of local residents armed with simple rain gauges is helping enhance early warning systems.<\/p>\n Led by director <\/span>C K Vishnudas<\/span>, the team started with a handful of rain gauges. The network expanded rapidly after the <\/span>2019 Puthumala landslide<\/span>, which killed 17 people.<\/span><\/p>\n Working with farmers, tribal communities and environmental groups, the Hume Centre gradually installed around <\/span>200 rain gauges<\/span> across the district.<\/span><\/p>\n The strength of the system lies in its people.<\/span><\/p>\n Each rain gauge is looked after by a volunteer who records the day’s rainfall and shares the data with the research team. Together, these readings transform local observations into a reliable, district-wide database.<\/span><\/p>\n Because the network is spread across villages, plantations and tribal settlements, it captures highly localised rainfall that broader weather systems often miss.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>India Meteorological Department (IMD)<\/span> issues weather alerts at the district or taluk level. While these warnings are essential, they cannot always identify which specific hillside or village faces the greatest danger.<\/span><\/p>\n The Hume Centre’s network works at a much finer scale.<\/span><\/p>\n A rain gauge is a meteorological instrument used to collect and measure the depth of liquid precipitation (rainfall) over a specific area, usually expressed in millimeters or inches. Photograph: (AI-generated image)<\/p>\n Rainfall is tracked across <\/span>25-square-kilometre grids<\/span>, allowing researchers to understand how much rain has fallen in individual pockets of Wayanad.<\/span><\/p>\n Vishnudas and his team have also mapped previous landslide sites, classifying them into low-, medium- and high-risk zones based on rainfall thresholds, the main trigger for most landslides in the district.<\/span><\/p>\n By combining rainfall data with information on terrain and slope stability, the system can identify areas where the risk of a landslide is increasing, rather than issuing broad warnings for the entire district.<\/span><\/p>\n The network has already shown its value.<\/span><\/p>\n During an intense rainfall event in <\/span>2020<\/span>, <\/span>55 rain gauges<\/span> around the landslide-prone village of Mundakkai recorded nearly <\/span>1,000 mm of rainfall<\/span> over a short period.<\/span><\/p>\n Although several homes were destroyed, residents had been evacuated in advance and no lives were lost.<\/span><\/p>\n The goal is simple: provide communities with enough warning to act before disaster strikes.<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers working on other landslide early warning technologies, including AI-based systems developed at <\/span>IIT Mandi<\/span>, are pursuing the same objective.<\/span><\/p>\n The network faced its toughest test in <\/span>July 2024<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n The rain gauge at Thettamala recorded <\/span>409 mm of rainfall within 24 hours<\/span>, shortly before the devastating Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides that claimed more than <\/span>250 lives<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Working with farmers, tribal communities and environmental groups, the Hume Centre gradually installed around 200 rain gauges across the district.<\/p>\n After the disaster, the Union Home Minister informed Parliament that four early warnings indicating the possibility of rainfall exceeding <\/span>200 mm<\/span> had been issued to the Kerala government in the days leading up to the event.<\/span><\/p>\n The Kerala government, however, maintained that a red alert for Wayanad was issued only after the disaster had already occurred.<\/span><\/p>\n The tragedy highlighted an important lesson: even the most accurate scientific data can save lives only if warnings are communicated clearly, trusted by decision-makers and acted upon in time.<\/span><\/p>\n Since then, Wayanad has continued to strengthen its disaster preparedness.<\/span><\/p>\n The district’s efforts now extend beyond rainfall monitoring. Initiatives include <\/span>India’s first permanent animal evacuation shelter<\/span>, forest restoration projects that help stabilise fragile slopes, and conservation work aimed at protecting wildlife corridors.<\/span><\/p>\n Ecologists also emphasise the importance of restoring native vegetation, whose deep root systems naturally strengthen hillsides and reduce erosion.<\/span><\/p>\n Together, these measures show that technology, community participation and ecological restoration can complement one another.<\/span><\/p>\n What makes Wayanad’s rain gauge network remarkable is not expensive technology but everyday commitment.<\/span><\/p>\n Every morning, farmers and volunteers step out to check rain gauges, record measurements and send the data to the Hume Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n Scientists analyse the information, identify emerging risks and translate the numbers into warnings that local administrators can understand and act upon.<\/span><\/p>\n The hills of Wayanad will always be vulnerable to landslides.<\/span><\/p>\n But every rain gauge installed across the district gives communities a better chance to prepare.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes, that small act of vigilance can mean the difference between loss and survival.<\/span><\/p>\n Images courtesy of Vikalp Sangam<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Every monsoon, Wayanad’s hills carry the risk of disaster. Steep slopes, saturated soil and increasingly erratic rainfall have made this Kerala district the most landslide-prone in the state, according to a 2024 study by Indian researchers. The danger has grown over decades. Studies show that around 62 percent of Wayanad’s green cover disappeared between 1950 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10662],"tags":[5702,24331,24333,554,24336,24329,24328,13529,14835,24330,7669,11715,24332,6487,2927,24327,11366,24335,24326,24334],"class_list":["post-34293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-food-news","tag-community","tag-community-based-rainfall-monitoring","tag-deforestation-and-soil-erosion","tag-flood","tag-gauge","tag-hume-centre-for-ecology-and-wildlife-biology","tag-kerala-disaster-preparedness","tag-keralas","tag-landslide","tag-landslide-early-warning-system","tag-lives","tag-monsoon","tag-mundakkai-chooralmala-landslide","tag-network","tag-rain","tag-rain-gauge-network","tag-saving","tag-wayanad","tag-wayanad-landslides","tag-western-ghats-climate-resilience"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/img-cdn.publive.online\/fit-in\/1200x675\/english-betterindia\/media\/media_files\/2026\/07\/08\/1-2026-07-08-15-59-11.png",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"INDIAN FOOD NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Every monsoon, Wayanad’s hills carry the risk of disaster. Steep slopes, saturated soil and increasingly erratic rainfall have made this Kerala district the most landslide-prone in the state, according to a 2024 study by Indian researchers. The danger has grown over decades. Studies show that around 62 percent of Wayanad’s green cover disappeared between 1950…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34295,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34293\/revisions\/34295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A network born from tragedy<\/span><\/h2>\n
Why local data matters<\/span><\/h2>\n
A system that has already saved lives<\/span><\/h2>\n
When warnings aren’t enough<\/span><\/h2>\n
Building resilience beyond rain gauges<\/span><\/h2>\n
Ordinary people making an extraordinary difference<\/span><\/h2>\n
Sources:<\/em><\/span><\/h5>\n
‘Hyper-local climate predictions to protect Kerala from extreme weather events<\/a>‘: by K A Shaji for Mongabay India, Published on 7 December 2024<\/em><\/h5>\n
‘Wayanad On Edge: A Year After the Landslide, The Threat Returns<\/a>‘: by Outlook India, Published on 30 July 2025<\/em><\/h5>\n
‘Monsoon mayhem: How climate change is fueling floods and landslides across India<\/a>‘: by The World from PRX, Published on 12 August 2025<\/em><\/h5>\n
‘Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide: assessment of initiation, progression, and impact<\/a>‘: by Scientific Reports, Published on 24 July 2025<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"