Wayanad News Today

Wayanad News Today

In the Indian state of Kerala, landslides occurred after continuous rains, in which at least 93 people lost their lives and many are still trapped.

These landslides occurred on Tuesday morning in the hilly areas of Wayanad district. Rescue operations are in full swing but are being hampered due to continuous rains and the collapse of an important bridge. The state’s top official V Venu told the media, ‘The situation is terrible right now. The number of dead could increase.’

This is about the landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, in which many people died after heavy rains and many are still trapped.

Rescue operations are underway, but the weather and the broken bridge are causing a lot of difficulty.

The earthquake-hit Kerala has faced its biggest disaster since 2018 when heavy rains claimed the lives of more than 400 people.

Officials say more than 200 army personnel and security forces have been deployed to help in search and rescue operations.

Chief Minister Pinari Vijayan told a press conference that Tuesday’s ‘landfall has devastated the entire region quite badly..’

Local hospitals are treating at least 123 injured more than 3,000 people have been rescued and 45 have been sent to relief camps, he said.

Apart from the confirmed death of 65 people in Wayanad, 16 bodies have been recovered from the Chaliyar River, which flows in the neighboring Malappuram district. Body parts of some other people have also been found.

Wayanad, a hilly district in the Western Ghats mountain range, is witnessing a spate of landslides during the monsoon.
The landslides have affected several areas, such as Mundakkai, Attamala, Chooralmala and Kunhome.

Videos found on social media show water mixed with mud flowing from unpaved roads and jungle areas, sweeping away houses and sweeping away people and vehicles.
A bridge connecting Chooralmala to Mundakkai and Attamala has broken, isolating these areas and making it difficult for rescue teams to reach stranded families.

Rashid Padikkalparamban, a local resident, told Reuters news agency that at least three storms struck the area in the middle of the night as the bridge was washed away.

State and National Disaster Relief teams are carrying out rescue operations with the help of local people.

Mr Venu said a small team had managed to cross the river and reach the isolated areas. He said that more attention is needed, but it is becoming very difficult to cross the river to avoid the impact of the fast flowing river.
Due to heavy rains, air transport work also had to be suspended, he said.

Need for immediate pre-emptive management of vulnerable (threatened) schools and safe structures in Kerala: Expert

On Tuesday, scientists and experts demanded immediate pre-emptive management of schools and safe structures for the vulnerable population, when at least 57 people died in continuous floods in Kerala. Former Union Earth Sciences Ministry secretary Madhavan Rajeev said weather agencies can predict the incidence of a heavy rain but it cannot be said whether it will lead to a disaster or not.

‘A heavy rain does not always lead to a disaster. We need a different system to predict a disaster. It is difficult but possible,’ Rajeev told PTI.

The conditions that lead to an earthquake, such as the texture of the soil, the moisture and slope of the soil, all need to be known, and it is important to apply all this knowledge in a transformational system, he said. ‘Unfortunately, we haven’t done this yet.’

‘When a river is full, we take people to a safe place. We can do the same thing when it rains heavily and continuously. We have good science and good understanding; we have to apply it practically,’ Rajeev said.

Sreekumar, a disaster risk management specialist at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration, told PTI that more than 120 mm rainfall for two to three days is enough to trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of the southern coastal state.

‘There are many landslide-prone areas in Wayanad. All we can do is shift people to safer places. Authorities should build monsoon houses for people living in such areas,’ Sreekumar said. (PTI)

Kerala’s Chief Minister said that the flag will be hoisted half-mast as a mark of grief.

‘Kerala Bank has already contributed Rs 50 lakh to CMDRF (Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund). Sikkim’s Chief Minister has announced Rs 2 crore and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has announced Rs 5 crore as aid. In response to the disaster in Wayanad, the state has announced two days of official mourning. Public functions and festivals have been postponed. We request that the national flag be hoisted at half mast as a mark of mourning,’ said the Chief Minister of Kerala.

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