GUWAHATI, June 24 - In view of incessant rainfall and many incidents of landslides in the city during past few weeks, the Kamrup Metro district administration has issued a landslide advisory for residents of the city.
�Due to incessant rainfall during past one month, the threat of landslide in different hilly areas in the city has increased manifold. In view of that, the district administration is issuing a general advisory for landslides to be followed by the public for safety and security of their lives and properties, �said Dr M Angamuthu, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup Metro.
He added, �The advisory covers features that might be noticed prior to major landslides, what to do if one suspects imminent landslide danger, what to do during landslide, and steps to be followed after occurrence of a landslide.�
As per the advisory, features that might be noticed prior to major landslides include formation of springs, seeps or saturated ground in areas that have not been typically wet before, new cracks or unusual bulges in the ground, street pavements or sidewalls, incidents of soil moving away from foundation, movement or tilting of ancillary structures such as deck and patios relative to the main house, tilting or cracking of concrete floors and foundations, broken waterlines and other underground utilities, leaning of telephone poles, trees, retaining walls and fences, sunken or dropped road beds, and rapid increase in creek water levels, possibly accompanied by turbidity.
In case of noticing of any such features which may lead one to suspect imminent landslide danger, residents have been asked to contact local fire, police or public works departments, inform concerned neighbhours and evacuate houses or move away from the path of landslide or debris� flow.
During a landslide, people have been advised to listen to any unusual sounds that might indicate moving debris such as trees crackling or boulders knocking together and to be alert for any sudden increase or decrease in water flow and for change from clear to muddy water in case anybody is near a stream or channel.
�Such changes may indicate landslide activities upstream and so one should be prepared to move quickly,� the advisory mentions.
After a landslide, people have been asked to stay away from such areas as there may be danger of additional slides. They have been also told to check for injured or trapped persons but without entering directly the affected areas.
The advisory asks people to direct rescuers to the affected location, listen to local radio or television for emergency information, look for broken utility lines such as telephone, electrical lines and water pipes and report them to authorities, check gas leakage from cylinders, and check buildings for damages.
