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Villages, forests flattened as landslides wreak havoc in rain-hit Kerala’s Wayanad
Large tracts of human habitation and forests are reported to have been washed away in land slips amid heart rending scenes of people searching for kin in hospitals.
Kerala’s Wayanad is one of the worst-hit districts as incessant rains clobber the state with the district reporting 14 deaths and several missing in multiple landslides. Large tracts of human habitation and forests are reported to have washed away in land slips amid heart rending scenes of people searching for kin in hospitals.
The southern state is witnessing floods for the second straight year. Last year more than 450 people had died in flood devastation that left damages amounting to hundreds of crores.
In Wayanad’s Puthumala, which witnessed a major landslide yesterday, local people said more than 40 were missing as a a land slip washed away a housing colony of plantation labourers. Rescue teams from National Disaster Response Force were struggling to reach the affected areas as roads in some areas have caved. The team, however, managed to rescue nearly 50 people from the area.
“I came out of my house hearing a startling sound from the hills. It was shocking to see a huge mound of earth caving in and big boulders coming down along with water gushing from above. I don’t remember anything other than that,” a local woman, who is yet to come to terms with the tragedy, said, reports PTI.
She was one among several people who escaped unhurt from Puthumala and was later shifted to a make-shift relief camp in Meppadi in the district.
t was a scenic tea plantation village with green pastures, lofty hills and plunging valleys till Thursday evening.
But, incessant rains and massive landslides have turned Puthumala at Meppadi ,into a pool of mud and filth, flattening the hilly curves, uprooting trees and washing away all signs of an inhabited village.
Located over 20 kmsfrom district headquarters of Kalpetta here,Puthumala was rocked by a series of massive landslides following unprecedented rains last evening.
Photos and videos shared on social media show gushing swollen rivers washing away everything and houses giving in to the force of water. Rain water can be seen flowing on the roads with cars and other vehicles being washed away in Wayanad, a hill station in the Western Ghats.
A portion of a towering hill came down completely and huge mound of earth between two hills caved in,grounding every structure in the valley, eyewitnesses said.
There seems to be no relief in sight as the Met office has issued Code Red for the entire west coast and warned of very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, including in Wayanad known for its plantations, forests and wildlife.
In view of incessant rains revenue authorities have advised tourists to avoid Wayanad and Idukki districts till August 15. “Some areas like Nilambur, Iritty, Kottiyur and hill destination Munnar received 18-20 cms rainfall in last 24 hours”, the met office said.
The toll in floods in the state has touched 25 as water-logging forced the closure of Kochi international airport till Sunday. All educational institutes have been ordered shut for today and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought Army and Air Force help as weathermen predicted more rains in the next two days.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who represents Wayanad in Lok Sabha, spoke to Prime Minister Modi seeking help for the state. He later tweeted that the Prime Minsiter had assured all help.
