Last Updated on 03/08/2024 by wccexam Desk
Devastation in Wayanad
Wayanad landslide Tragedy: There is devastation everywhere after the landslide in Wayanad, one of the worst natural disasters to hit Kerala. Many people are still buried under the debris and they are being searched on a war footing. Many people have also been rescued. Rescue teams used advanced technical equipment and dog squads on Friday to retrieve dead bodies or possible survivors buried under the debris. After the Wayanad landslide accident, businessmen, celebrities and institutions are donating lakhs and crores of rupees to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. Meanwhile, an elderly woman running a tea shop has also come forward to help the victims.
The woman who made tea donated 10 thousand rupees
Subaida, a resident of Pallithottam in Kollam district, runs a small tea stall to support herself and her husband. She has donated Rs 10,000 to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF). Rescue teams on Friday used GPS coordinates, including the last location received from mobile phones of people living in the landslide-hit areas, and drone images to look for people trapped under the debris as the search operation gained momentum after the Army completed the construction of a 190-foot-long Bailey bridge. Rescuers conducting search operations with advanced radar systems in a landslide-hit village in Wayanad have detected breathing signals, possibly of a human or animal.
People are buried under the rubble
An official involved in the operation said that a blue signal was found on the radar while searching a house in the badly affected Mundakkai village. The official told reporters that there was a sign of someone continuously breathing. However, the search operation ended on Friday evening as rescue workers concluded that there was no possibility of the presence of any person under the rubble. In a post on Facebook late in the evening, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the search for people is continuing, small movements have been detected on the radar, which is giving rays of hope.
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He said amid the debris of the collapsed building, rescue workers are continuing their efforts and are determined to find survivors. Three days after the landslide in the Mundakkai area of Wayanad district, rescue workers on Friday found four members of a family safe in an area near Padavetty Kunnu. The death toll in the landslide incidents has risen to 210 while 273 people have been injured. According to the Kerala Health Department, 134 human organs have also been recovered. The search and rescue operation, which resumed in the early hours of Friday, got a boost when a Bailey bridge helped rescue teams move heavy machinery, including excavators, and ambulances to the worst-hit Mundakkai and Choorlamalla settlements.
The government said 218 people are missing
According to official sources, the loss of life and property will be known only after rescue workers clear the houses covered with debris and wooden logs using heavy machinery. Kerala Public Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas said in the evening that 218 people are missing as per the records of the district administration after checking Aadhaar documents, tourist details, questioning Asha workers and speaking to people in relief camps and hospitals. State ADGP M R Ajith Kumar had said in the morning that about 300 people were still missing. Wayanad District Collector Meghasri D R told reporters that the worst-hit towns of Mundakkai and Choorlamalla have been divided into six zones. 40 teams of rescue workers along with heavy machinery and swan squads have been deployed in these areas.
He said that with the help of drone photographs and GPS coordinates, several places have been identified where search and rescue operations can be carried out. He also said that the aerial photographs taken by the drones have helped in identifying the GPS coordinates of specific search locations. On Friday, the fourth day of the landslide in Wayanad district, 40 teams of rescue workers started the search and rescue operation amid rain and adverse conditions. The joint teams include personnel from the Army, NDRF, DSG, Coast Guard and Navy. Officials said that policemen from eight police stations located in a 40 km area of Chaliyar and local swimming forces have jointly started searching for bodies that may have been washed away or are stranded on the river bank.
Search operation with the help of helicopter
Along with this, another search operation has also been launched with the help of police helicopter. Apart from this, the Coast Guard, Navy and Forest Department jointly conducted a search operation on the river banks and in the areas where the bodies may be trapped. Revenue Minister K. Rajan had said a day earlier that a drone-based radar from Delhi would be brought to Wayanad on Saturday to locate the bodies buried in the debris. He said that at present the help of six dogs is being taken in the search operation and four more dogs will be brought to Wayanad from Tamil Nadu. In the relief camps of Meppadi in Wayanad, Kerala, those who lost everything in the landslide that hit the area last Tuesday expressed their pain. A survivor cried and said, I don’t know what to do. Everything we had is lost. We have only what we are wearing right now.
9,977 people from 2,981 families in 91 camps
A state government release said that a total of 91 camps have been set up across the district, in which 9,977 people from 2,981 families are living. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is visiting the affected areas along with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Rahul on Friday described the landslide as a terrible tragedy that was never seen in any area of the state. He said that this incident should be taken in a different way. Rahul Gandhi said that he will raise this matter in Delhi and also before Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan, as this is a tragedy of a different level and this incident should be taken in a different way. He also promised that the Congress party will build more than 100 houses in Wayanad.