Abstract:
This research examines the effects of the landslide in Meeriyabedda Estate which occurred in October
2014. The objective of the research is to analyze the immediate and enduring social and economic
effects caused by the landslide. The descriptive analysis was used to analyze the effects using secondary
data between the periods of 2010 to 2019. According to the data, totally 79 families were affected by
the landslide, among them 37 people died by the landslide. Rest of the people had immediately
evacuated from their houses to the main camps. Moreover, after the landslide, people lost their income
sources such as agriculture cultivation, animal husbandry, tea plantation, and shops etc. In addition
Meeriyabedda estate people face difficulties in accessing medical facilities and schools as a result of
the decline of transport and infrastructure due to the landslide. Findings anticipate that Meeriyabedda
estate people are still facing many problems in building their economic as well as social aspects.
Further, this study will be helpful for the policy makers as it provides recommendations to fix warning
devices to detect the landslide at high risk areas for landslide and to provide self-employment and credit
facilities to people who have lost their lands, properties and employment as well as building schools
and hospitals in close proximity to the resettled areas for the easy access.