Page 105 - Navy Journal 219

LANDSLIDE IN HILLY REGIONS OF BANGLADESH :
AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISORDER TO ACCUSTOM WITH

Commander M Mehadi Amin Miah, (G), psc BN

Introduction

Disaster is an event that completely disrupts the normal ways of a
community. It brings on human, economical, and environmental losses to the
community which the community cannot bear on its own. Earthquakes, floods,
tsunamis, wildfires, droughts, volcanic eruptions and devastating landslides are
termed as disasters when they occur in places that are heavily inhabited areas. A
disaster occurs when a hazard impacts on vulnerable people. The combination of
hazards, vulnerability and inability to reduce the potential negative consequences
of risk results in disaster. Natural hazards are naturally occurring physical
phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset events which can be geophysical
(earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity), hydrological
(avalanches and floods), climatological (extreme temperatures, drought and
wildfires) or meteorological (Cyclones and Tsunami).
Besides human activities, natural causes such as increase in rainfall in the
hilly regions also cause landslides. Trend of increasing landslides in the reserve
has negative implications on the biodiversity. It leads to large-scale devastation
of flora of the region. It leads to loss of biodiversity in terms of loss of habitat and
flora together with causalities of animals, etc. South-eastern part of Bangladesh
namely, Chottogram division falls in the belt of Himalayan Mountain’s
north-east hill ranges. The Western Ghats and the Nilgiri experience
considerable landslide activities of varying intensities. Chottogram hill tracks
stands unique due to its physiographic conditions, land characteristic and climate
conditions. Chottogram hill tracks is one of the most disaster prone regions in the
country exposed to different lower and mid Himalayans region. This excessive
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rain fall of monsoon 2017 is one of the reasons of massive land slide in this
region. Wherever, landslides take place, these pose huge threats to floral
diversity in terms of devastation of forests. It also sometimes results in causalities
to many faunal species in general and human population in particular.

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