New Delhi: The death toll due to massive landslides in Kerala’s district Wayanad has surged over 276 whereas more than 200 people are still missing.
The massive landslides, triggered by heavy rainfall, struck the hilly regions of Wayanad district in Kerala during the early hours of Tuesday.
The villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha were among the hardest hit, with access to these areas cut off by the landslides.
Members of several families have reported that their loved ones remain untraced. In Wayanad, 45 relief camps have been established, accommodating 3,069 people.
Meanwhile, various rescue agencies resumed their operations early in the morning to trace people suspected to be trapped in the tragedy, which has killed at least 160 people and left 197 injured.
According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), members of the fire and rescue, civil defence, NDRF, and local emergency response teams are involved in the rescue operations.
Around 200 Indian Army personnel from DSC Centre Kannur and 122 TA Battalion from Kozhikode are also at the site. Along with this, two Air Force helicopters, a Mi-17 and an ALH, are also coordinating the rescue operations.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an ‘orange’ alert in Wayanad and neighbouring districts, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall on July 31 and August 1.
The weather department has also predicted heavy rainfall for August 2. “Strong surface winds with speeds reaching 30-40 gusting to 50 kmph are likely to prevail occasionally over Kerala on July 30 and 31,” the IMD said.
Vehicles washed away in floodwaters could be seen stuck in tree trunks and submerged here and there in many places. Huge boulders rolled down the hills and hindered the path of rescue workers.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that 93 bodies had been recovered so far, and 128 people injured. Vijayan said 34 persons who had lost their lives have been identified, with 18 bodies being handed over to their families.
The Kerala government declared a two-day state mourning following the disaster. Vijayan said that the initial landslide occurred around 2 am followed by one around 4.30 am, resulting in hundreds being trapped in the debris.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army is carrying out rescue operations in landslide-hit areas of Wayanad in conjunction with NDRF and other agencies.
According to the senior climate scientist said, the 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.
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 said.
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued a red alert for the high-range Wayanad district rocked by landslides triggered by incessant rains and neighbouring Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur districts indicating extremely heavy rainfall.
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