Kerala’s Revenue department reported mild tremors in several localities in the landslide-hit Meppadi panchayat in Vythiri taluk in Wayanad district of Kerala on Friday (August 9, 2024) noon.
According to initial information from the Kerala government, residents of Anappara, Thazhathuvayalil, Pinangodu and Nenmeni villages felt the vibrations.
The district administration has suspended classes and counselled residents not to panic.
The National Centre for Seismology has not detected any significant tremor in Wayanad. The institute works under the India Meteorological Department (IMD). None of its stations and sensors in Kerala has recorded any seismic activity.
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An official said “a normal shifting of landmass” might have triggered the tremors. “It could be a localised phenomenon,” he said.
A Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) official told The Hindu that authorities were examining seismic records to trace the provenance and nature of the tremors in the Pozhuthana region in Wayanad district.
The KSDMA has dispatched officials to the locality to determine if anything “anomalous” occurred. “As of now, the seismic records do not reveal any indications of movements,” the official said.
Evacuation on
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Office (CMO) said Revenue department officials have started evacuating residents from several localities after they reported “deep rumblings and echoing sounds” from under the earth in the landslide-struck Meppadi village.
The CMO identified the localities as Regional Agricultural Research Station at Ambalavayal, Mankombu, Nenmeni, Ambukuthi Malika, Padiparambu, Sugandhagiri, Seetukunnu in Achooran village, Karattupadi in Vengapalli village, Myladipadi, Cholappuram and Thekkumthora.
District Collector D.R. Megashree is heading the evacuation operations.
Published - August 09, 2024 12:53 pm IST
