Landslides in Wayanad: What moved the hills in 48 hours rain and how the catastrophe unfolded

TNN / Updated: Jul 31, 2024, 21:39 IST

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Two massive landslides triggered by 572 mm of rainfall in 48 hours devastated a town near Meppadi, Wayanad. The disaster took 126 lives, injured 196, and left 98 missing. Rescue operations involved multiple agencies. Authorities declared two days of mourning, and the PMO announced compensation for victims' families and the injured.

Landslides in Wayanad: What moved the hills in 48 hours rain and how the catastrophe unfolded

KOCHI: Two massive landslides devastated a small town near Meppadi in Wayanad district. The disaster claimed at least 150 lives, injured 170 and left hundreds more stranded and violently shaken out of sleep in the wee hours.

Here is a breakdown of the incident that unfolded in Wayanad since early Tuesday:

Extremely heavy rain early Tuesday triggered landslides in the hilly district of Wayanad in northeastern Kerala, the soil already saturated after two weeks of rainfall.
Forecast was for 64-204mm rain on Monday, but Wayanad received 200mm, and another 372mm in the next 24 hours, till Tuesday morning.
The first landslide was reported in Mundakkai town around 2am. The second one struck Chooralmala, 3.5km away, around 4.10am.
Sleeping villagers caught off-guard. Some said they fled their homes as muddy water began flowing around midnight.
Swollen water bodies changed course, flowing through hamlets, and boulders rolled down, wreaking havoc. Several trapped in houses; roads flooded and bridges swept away.
Rescue teams comprising Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, police and firefighters look for survivors. Army's canine unit to sniff out people under debris.
Kerala to observe two-day mourning. PMO announces compensation of Rs 2 lakh for families of the victims, Rs 50,000 each for the injured.

Harrowing flow of bodies
Residents along the Chaliyar River in Pothukallu, Nilambur, were confronted with a chilling scene as they discovered multiple dead bodies and severed body parts floating in the water, mixed with household items on Tuesday morning.
Around 7:30 a.m., locals spotted the body of a young boy, about three years old, entangled in bamboo near Mele Kunippala, 20 km downstream from the Mundakkai landslide site in Wayanad. Within just 10 minutes, another body was discovered in the river at Vellilamadu.

Throughout the day, a thorough search conducted by residents, supported by police, fire and rescue teams, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), resulted in the recovery of at least 49 additional bodies, with 25 of them being only parts.
A preventable tragedy
An environmental disaster has struck the picturesque Mundakkai village, which has seen a surge in residences and homestays due to the tourism boom in Wayanad over the past two decades.
The devastating tragedy, which claimed the lives of over a hundred people, could have been avoided had the state acted on the recommendations from a high-level committee of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) four years ago.
The committee had advised the urgent relocation of 4,000 families, particularly those living on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats in Wayanad, due to the area's vulnerability to landslides.
The disaster struck Mundakkai village, overlooking the scenic Vellarmala hills, where the landslide began following heavy rains on Tuesday.
These hills are part of the 'Camel Hump' mountain range, classified as a landslide-prone zone. Mundakkai, along with 17 other villages in Wayanad, is identified as susceptible to landslides in the district disaster management plan prepared by KSDMA.

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