In recognition of the work the Amrita University has done on detection and warning of landslides, the International Programme on Landslides (IPL) has bestowed the ‘World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction’.
A release from the University said that it would hold till 2020 the title the IPL conferred at the Fourth World Landslide Forum in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The title made the University the first centre in India to enjoy such a distinction, though there were 20 such centres across the world.
The University faculty Maneesha Sudhir, who leads the research on landslides, said the recognition would allow the Centre for Wireless Networks and Applications, to increase its capabilities within the country while collaborating with the United Nations and other globally renowned research centres.
Ms. Sudhir is a director of the Centre.
The Centre planned to develop a comprehensive framework including landslide hazard mapping, remote sensing, low-cost sensing, big data analytic and decision models. The next step in its research would be to provide an opportunity to implement end-to-end systems for real-time monitoring, detection, early warning of landslides in India.
It would also undertake development of low-cost MEMS sensors and big data analytic platform for disaster risk reduction.
The release added that landslides were the third most deadly natural disasters with around $ 400 billion spent on disaster management.
More than 300 people died every year due to landslides.
In India, 12 % area was susceptible to landslides - Western Ghats, Konkan hills, Eastern Ghats, North East Himalayas and North West Himalayas.
The release also said that the IPL’s recognition came close on the heels of it awarding another project to enhance large-scale, real-time landslide monitoring and early warning system for landslide-prone regions in Himalayas and Western Ghats.
