After flood and intense heat, wind shakes up Kerala's disaster roster
The lack of a comprehensive tree-management policy on the part of local self-government institutions (LSGIs), apathy in invoking the Disaster Management Act to address tree-related hazards, and unchecked and haphazard hoardings on highrise buildings and roadsides have worsened the crisis.
K G Thara, former head of the State Institute for Land and Disaster Management Centre, said that soil conservation should be given priority to protect trees against extreme weather events. She said the pruning of trees by local bodies is not happening in the state.
'Trees are toppling because they are not being protected. Trees are becoming fragile and unable to withstand heavy rain and wind because of top soil erosion. The cutting of trees is not at all a solution and we should not forget that trees also help mitigate many disasters. Soil conservation should be given more focus. Instead of disaster response we need to focus on all this to mitigate such disasters,' she said.
Here to stay?
IMD director Neetha K Gopal said that the south westerly wind was strong compared to average surface level wind the state experiences. 'Amini Island, which is our first observation point, recorded a wind speed of 80-90 km per hour over the past days. If all the elements driving the monsoon are favourable this might happen again. Last July, we had similar strong winds but the rain was less compared to this year,' said Neetha.
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