Japanese disaster management specialist says

In view of the devastating landslides that destroyed Wayanad last year, KO University, Japan disaster management specialist Prof. Rajib Shaw has called for a fundamental change in India’s disaster preparations strategy – urging that initial warning systems be embedded directly within communities, and schools should be converted into localized initial warning nodes.

Pro. Shaw led a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Management-Cozicode, National Institute of Technology-Calicut and KO University, Japan, in a study based on a comprehensive on—ground probe in Vanad Landslides. The broad report, titled ‘Wayanad Landslides 2024: Early Warning System – Last Mile was converted to the first mile, was released on Wednesday (6 August 2025) in Kozhikode.

The study proposes that teachers work as disaster awareness ambassadors, while students act as information broadcasters within their families and communities. Pro. Rajab Shaw said in a conversation, “People in Wayanad received warnings, but did not take action on them. The gap between warning and response motivated us to investigate more deeply.” Hindu On Friday.

He said that lapse originated from a combination of behavior, cultural and institutional factors that collectively obstruct time withdrawal and preparations.

According to the report, landslides killed on July 30, 2024 – One of the deadliest in the history of Kerala killed about 400 people, injured more than 200 people, and displaced about 7,000 people. More than 1,500 houses were destroyed, in which more than ₹ 281 crore was estimated to have economic losses.

The report identified a deadly mix of factors behind the tragedy, including excessive rainfall of 409 mm in 24 hours and human-induced weaknesses such as uncontrolled forests, land-utilization changes, poor construction on delicate terrain and increasing population and tourism pressure on ecological sensitive Western Ghats. This directly connects climate change to acute monsoon that triggers disaster.

Failure in disaster response was not due to lack of warnings, but due to a breakdown in communication and institutional coordination, communities, leaving as a ‘last mile’ in a flawed system rather than the strong ‘first mile’ of flexibility. The report said that local panchayats lacked disaster literacy and training, while official communication bureaucracy stayed in delay.

Former Faculty of Kyoto University and President of United Nations Global Science Technology Advisory Group. Shaw stated that in Japan, school defaults work as centers and do annual practice to suit regional risks – it is a tsunami, earthquake, or landslide. He said, “Teachers, students and family know their roles during one disaster. This is the kind of cultural change we want here.”

Considering the notion that there was a mistake in technology in Wayanad, Prof. Shaw told how the public responded, is based on real breakdown. “Without awareness, the culture of practice, disaster training, or preparations, the alert became just noise. People did not know what to do,” he said, reducing the difference between institutions and communities should now be Kerala’s top priority.

Pro. Shaw emphasized that each effective initial warning system rests on three important columns – timely and accurate information, community behavior and perception, and clear withdrawal mechanisms. “In Wayanad, technology acted, and a warning was issued. But the second and third columns collapsed,” he said.