Kerala: 3 Back-to-Back Landslides Devastate Wayanad, Destroy Bridge, Wash Away Houses, and Leave Bodies Floating

Kerala: 3 Back-to-Back Landslides Devastate Wayanad, Destroy Bridge, Wash Away Houses, and Leave Bodies Floating

On Tuesday, three large landslides occurred in quick succession in Wayanad, collapsing bridges and roads and leaving bodies floating in the rivers. The landslides occurred as the community of Chooralmala was completely destroyed. The entire extent of the devastation caused by the landslides was not known to the rescue workers from the fire brigade, police, State Disaster Response Force, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). A portion of Chooralmala town, including stores and cars, was damaged after three landslides occurred in the area between two and six in the morning.

Authorities have reported that hundreds are thought to be trapped and 45 people have perished. More than 200 buildings in Chooralmala village, according to locals, were destroyed by landslides, according to Onmanorama. As the only bridge between the villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai, the collapse of the bridge across the Iruvazhinji River has complicated the rescue efforts in Mundakkai. Additionally, authorities have verified that minor landslides are still occurring in the Wayanad district’s upper hills. It is reported that runoff from the Meppadi landslides has caused the water level of the Chaliyar River to surpass the danger threshold.

An Indian Army team from Wellington, Coonoor has been dispatched to Wayanad to help with the rescue efforts and build a bridge to Mundakkai. Many sites around the Western Ghats have recorded more than 300 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, according to statistics from the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, which tracks weather trends in the area. Rahul Gandhi, the Centre Leader of the Opposition and a former Wayanad Lok Sabha MP, has promised the Kerala government that he will provide Wayanad with every support feasible. The Prime Minister has spoken with Union ministers about this matter.

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Images on television showed aid workers stumbling across boulders and toppled trees while murky water rushed through, destroying numerous homes in the process. Two Indian Air Force helicopters have been mobilized as part of ongoing relief efforts, according to a statement from the Kerala chief minister’s office on Tuesday. Kerala is prone to flooding and severe rain; in 2018, one of the worst floods claimed about 400 lives.