The trail of destruction stretched from Mundakkai town, which bore the full force of the first landslide around 2am, to Chooralmala, where the second one hit at 4.10am. Nearly 350 families lived in the affected zone that is otherwise a verdant expanse of tea and cardamom estates. Rows of houses were buried in mud, water bodies overflowed and changed course, and huge trees fell like matchsticks.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan said 93 bodies had been found until evening, including 16 from the Chaliyar river in Pothukal village of the district. Of the 34 bodies that could be immediately identified, 18 were handed over to the victims’ families. Rescue teams evacuated more than 250 people and continue to scour the debris for signs of life, officials said. A total of 3,069 people have moved into 45 relief camps in Wayanad.
“It’s heart-wrenching. These people, including children, went to sleep not knowing the tragedy that awaited them. There was extremely heavy rainfall and nature’s fury has wiped out an entire belt,” CM Vijayan said. He said 64-204mm rain was predicted since Sunday, but what came was an unprecedented torrent – 200mm on the first day and 372mm over the next 24 hours.
Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha villages were cut off, impeding rescue operations. Although the area is a tourist destination, visitors didn’t suffer as much as the residents as all tourism activity had been suspended because of inclement weather.
PM speaks to Kerala CM, assures all help from Centre
Distressed by the landslides in parts of Wayanad. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured… Rescue ops are currently underway to assist all those affected. Spoke to Kerala CM @pinarayivijayan and also assured all possible help from the Centre in the wake of the prevailing situation there,” The Prime Minister said in a post on X.
Home minister Amit Shah, too, spoke to Vijayan and assured him of all possible help from the central govt. Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin released Rs 5 crore for relief measures and also sent a rescue team to Kerala.
The rescue teams at work in the disaster zone include those from the Army, Navy and NDRF. The state govt deployed police and fire brigade disaster-response teams. Two IAF helicopters and the Navy’s River Crossing Team from Ezhimala Naval Academy, Kannur, also joined the mission at the state govt’s request.
Vijayan said contributions had started pouring into the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund from various quarters.
In 2018, nearly 500 people died in the Kerala floods.