Picture : ANI / X
In one of the worst natural disasters in Kerala, at least 123 persons were killed and 128 injured in massive landslides triggered by torrential rains in Wayanad With hundreds trapped under the debris, sparking fears of mounting fatalities, rescue agencies were racing against time to pull out any survivors.
Rescue teams comprising the Army, Navy, and NDRF are collectively looking for survivors amid rough weather and multiple agencies are working in tandem to provide critical assistance to those affected.
According to a senior government source, heavy rains triggered a series of massive landslides in hilly areas of Meppadi in the district, sparking apprehensions of a possible increase in fatalities.
As rescue workers are recovering body parts from the rivers and mud, it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of people killed in the tragedy, the source said.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan quoted aby ANI said “We have arranged the best possible treatment for the injured. Many people are still trapped under the debris. We have opened 45 relief camps in Wayanad and a total of 118 camps across the state, accommodating 5,531 people. The fire force, NDRF, and police are working together. Various divisions of the Army and Navy are coordinating the rescue operations.”
Vijayan further added, “The landslide in Wayanad is a heart-wrenching disaster. There was extremely heavy rainfall. An entire area has been wiped out. We have recovered 93 bodies so far, but the numbers may change. There are 128 people receiving treatment for injuries. Many who went to sleep last night have been swept away.”
Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan’s OSD S Karthikeyan was tasked with coordinating the rescue operations, the CM’s office said in a statement.
Principal Director of Local Self-Government Department V Sambasiva Rao has been appointed as Special Officer in this regard, the statement said, adding that he will work from Wayanad.
Warming of the Arabian Sea is allowing the formation of deep cloud systems, leading to extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala in a shorter period and increasing the possibility of landslides, a senior climate scientist said on Tuesday.
Extremely heavy rain triggered a series of landslides in the hilly areas of Kerala’s Wayanad district early on Tuesday, leaving at least 45 people dead. Many were feared trapped under the debris. S Abhilash, the director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) said Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Calicut, and Malappuram districts have been receiving copious rainfall due to the active monsoon offshore trough affecting the entire Konkan region for the last two weeks.
The soil was saturated after two weeks of rainfall. A deep mesoscale cloud system formed off the coast in the Arabian Sea on Monday and led to extremely heavy rain in Wayanad, Calicut, Malappuram, and Kannur, resulting in localised landslides, he told PTI.
