The flood that came from the mountain in Wayanad, Kerala on Tuesday morning has created havoc. 4 villages with a population of about 22 thousand have been completely destroyed in just 4 hours. Houses were buried and hundreds of people were trapped under the rubble. So far 156 people have been reported dead. 100 people are still missing. Relief and rescue work is also facing difficulties. This disaster has brought back memories of the Kedarnath tragedy that occurred 11 years ago. Those who slept at night did not get a chance to wake up and were found in the rubble in the morning. The destruction all around has ruined the beauty of these villages.
The four villages that have been razed to the ground in Wayanad include Mundakkai, Choorlamala, Attamala and Noolpuzha. Due to the collapse of the bridge between Mundakkai and Choorlamala, the contact with the landslide affected areas has been cut off. The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert due to which helicopters are not able to fly. Efforts are being made to evacuate people by land. The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert regarding heavy rains in Wayanad and surrounding districts, after which instructions have been given to close schools in 11 districts of Kerala.
The flood came from the mountains and swept away the villages
Everyone is terrified to see the devastation caused by nature in Kerala. This is being considered the biggest tragedy in Wayanad. Landslides occurred at three places in four hours and the flood from the mountains swept away four villages. Now the debris is being removed and bodies covered in mud or buried under stones are being found in it. Some bodies were also seen floating in the river. Amidst all this, rescue teams are risking their lives to carry out rescue operations. Hardly anyone would have seen such devastation due to landslides after heavy rains in Wayanad.
Also read: Mouths were filled with mud and sand, people were screaming while trapped in the debris… Eyewitness account of Wayanad landslide
Why a disaster like Kedarnath?
16-17 June, 2013. That is, 11 years ago, people still get scared remembering that dreadful night. That night, after heavy rains in Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts of Uttarakhand, there was a flash flood and landslide. Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and Mandakini rivers assumed a fierce form and left behind a trail of destruction. Areas like Govindghat, Bhindar, Kedarnath, Rambada and Uttarkashi Dharali disappeared from the map. More than 10 thousand people lost their lives in these areas. Thousands of people were not found. More than 1.10 lakh people were rescued with the help of the Air Force. Such devastation was caused by the snow flowing from the mountains in Kedarnath that dreadful night. Actually, the breaking of the icy wall of the natural lake formed on the Chorabari glacier caused a flash flood and devastation and ruin was seen from Kedarnath Dham to Haridwar (about 250 km away).
Kedarnath, located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, falls in Garhwal region at an altitude of 3,584 meters above sea level. Kedarnath is considered one of the four holy Dhams of Hindus. Kedarnath is the highest Jyotirlinga among the 12 Jyotirlingas mentioned in Hindu religious texts. Mandakini river flows near the Kedarnath temple. This temple is said to be about a thousand years old which is built with large stone slabs on a quadrangular base. Devotees going for Char Dham Darshan first go to Yamunotri, then Gangotri and later to Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Also read: ‘Centre should provide all possible help…’, Rahul said in Parliament on Wayanad landslide, will visit the affected area
Now what has happened in Wayanad?
Wayanad is known as a tourist destination in Kerala. It is located at an altitude of 2100 meters above sea level and the lush green vegetation, mist-covered hills and clean air make the area a paradise. But, today the situation is different. Debris is spread all around and roads have caved in at many places. The pictures that have come are enough to tell the scene of devastation in Wayanad. Actually, heavy rain in Wayanad between Monday-Tuesday night became a disaster. Landslides occurred three times between 1 am and 5 am and this caused devastation in four beautiful villages, Choorlammala, Attamala, Noolpuzha and Mundakkai, located in the catchment of the Cheliyar river below the mountain. Villages were engulfed in huge stones and debris. Within a short time, hundreds of houses became a pile of rubble.
Bodies found 50 km away
Most of the tea garden workers live in these four villages. There is a population of about 22 thousand. When the landslide happened at 1 o’clock in the night, people were sleeping in their homes. No one got a chance to escape or run away. Not only houses and constructions were destroyed by the debris, but people were also buried in their sleep. Be it children, elderly or women. Local people say that nature’s fury broke out at midnight. Mountains cracked at many places amid heavy rains. In Mundakkai too, debris came down from the mountains along with water. Mundakkai falls in the high-risk disaster area. From here, soil and big rocks rolled down at full speed and reached Churmala. Due to the flash flood, not one or two, but four villages were washed away. The devastation caused by nature can be estimated from the fact that 10 dead bodies were found 50 kilometers away from the place of the landslide.
Also read: Wayanad Landslide: Houses swept away, devastation all around, Army and Navy personnel on rescue… Pictures of Wayanad landslide
It rained intermittently till Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, rescue operations were started with the help of Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF and Kerala Disaster Management Authority. However, the weather is still so bad that the soldiers are risking their lives to rescue people from this disaster.
A team of 800 people engaged in rescue
Locals say that the problem is that the entire area behind the bridge between Mundakkai and Choorlamal has been isolated due to the collapse of the bridge. The Chunnamala river, which is about 100 meters wide, is in spate. A small team of NDRF somehow managed to cross the river and reach the other side. With the help of this team, about 800 people have been rescued so far. Officials say that the Meteorological Department has issued a two-day red alert due to which even helicopters cannot fly. Therefore, efforts are being made to reach the people trapped between water and debris by land. The rescue operation is going on day and night, but there are a lot of difficulties due to rain and fast flow of water.
483 people died in the floods in Kerala 6 years ago
Earlier, 483 people died in the natural disaster that struck Kerala in August 2018. This disaster was called the ‘flood of the century’ of the state. Not only people lost their lives in the tragedy, but property and livelihood were also destroyed. The central government had declared the 2018 flood as a ‘Disaster of Serious Nature’. After this accident, more than 14.50 lakh people from 3.91 lakh families were rehabilitated in relief camps. A total of 57,000 hectares of agricultural crops were destroyed. The pictures of airlifting pregnant women by Indian Air Force helicopters in 2018 are still fresh in the memory of the people of Kerala. After that, another disaster came in 2019. A landslide occurred in Puthumala, Wayanad, in which 17 people died. In October 2021, incessant rains again triggered landslides, killing 35 people in the state’s Idukki and Kottayam districts. In 2021, heavy rains and flood-related incidents claimed 53 lives in Kerala.
Also read: Wayanad Landslides News: Devastation in Wayanad, deaths due to landslides, Navy-Army personnel engaged in evacuating people trapped in the debris
In August 2022, 18 people were killed in landslides and flash floods in Kerala due to heavy rains. Hundreds of properties were damaged and thousands of people had to be displaced in relief camps. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, out of the 3,782 landslides that occurred in the country between 2015 and 2022, the highest number of 2,239 landslides were recorded in Kerala.