Wayanad Landslides: 'Painful disaster; rescue ops on,' says Kerala CM Pinarayi

Latest visuals from Wayanad’s Chooralmala where the search and rescue operations are underway. A landslide that occurred here yesterday, claimed the lives of 158 people.

On rescue operation in Kerala’s Wayanad, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh says, “Our assets including helicopters are deployed in Wayanad. Yesterday, due to the weather flying was affected. Today, the operation is on.”

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi will go to Wayanad on Thursday. Rahul is the MP from Wayanad.

During their visit, the Gandhi siblings will visit relief camps and hospitals to meet the survivors and the injured.

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi highlighted that the ecological issues of Wayanad, his constituency, should be looked into amid the devastating landslides that have killed over 150 people.

“It is the second time this tragedy has taken place, this took place 5 years ago as well. It is clear that this area has an ecological issue, so this should be looked into and whatever hi-tech solution can be brought forward, will be good,” Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Wayanad losses could have been minimised had Kerala govt become alert following arrival of NDRF teams.

Union Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday blamed the Pinarayi Vijayan government of Kerala for the scale of tragedy that happened in the Wayanad district on Tuesday following landslides there. In a statement made in the Rajya Saya, Shah told Parliament that the Kerala government was given an early warning about landslides.

More than 150 people lost their lives and over 200 were injured in the devastating landslides that hit Wayanad district early Tuesday. Shah said the Pinarayi Vijayan government had been warned by the Centre on July 23, a week before the landslides took so many lives.

He said the Centre had dispatched nine NDRF teams to Kerala after heavy rainfall was predicted for the southern state. “Nine NDRF teams were sent to Kerala in advance. The Kerala government did not evacuate people in time,” Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha.

During search efforts, military forces have found around 70 dead.

The Army originally said that 1,000 individuals had been evacuated.

The dead toll has crossed 150.

The death toll in the Wayanad landslides has reached nearly 150 with hundreds of others still feared trapped almost 24 hours after the disaster occurred in the district on Tuesday. Kerala is observing a two-day mourning from Wednesday while search and rescue operations are being carried out for the second day.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday appealed to the corporate world to contribute generously for the relief and rehabilitation of people hit by massive landslides in Wayanad district in neighbouring Kerala.

In a message to the corporates, Siddaramaiah exhorted them to help rebuild the affected areas through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

“The scale of the disaster necessitates a coordinated and generous response from all sectors of society, particularly from corporate entities that have always been pillars of support in times of need,” the CM said in his letter.

He further said Karnataka is specifically looking for financial support to facilitate the logistics of relief operations and rebuilding efforts and food supplies, especially non-perishable food items and clothing.

The Indian Army has ramped up its rescue operations in Kerala’s Wayanad following devastating landslides, successfully evacuating more than 1,000 people from affected areas to safety.

As of Wednesday morning, the bodies of around 70 victims have been recovered. As per an official statement, four columns from the DSC Centre in Kannur and the 122 TA Battalion are conducting combined rescue efforts alongside the NDRF and state rescue teams.

An advance party from MEG & Centre, consisting of one officer, one JCO, and three ORs, arrived at 07:00 pm on Tuesday to conduct reconnaissance on Meppadi-Chooralmala Road and assess the need for bridge resources in affected areas.

Union Minister George Kurian has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the landslide situation in Kerala’s Wayanad district, with the central government assuring all possible assistance to the state for the rescue efforts of those affected by the tragedy.

Kurian visited the people affected by the landslide in Wayanad.

“The situation is being monitored by the central government at the highest level. The Honourable Prime Minister is monitoring the situation and has deputed me to visit the affected areas.

“Both control rooms of the Ministry of Home Affairs are monitoring the situation 24×7 and providing all possible assistance to the state,” he is quoted as saying in a press release here on Wednesday.

The massive Wayanad landslides that levelled houses and buried lives underneath them have also scarred the survivors for life.

With their near and dear ones gone and staring at an uncertain future, survivors recount their most traumatic experience ever that unfolded in the wee hours of July 30.

Speaking to PTI, Pranjeesh, a survivor from Mundakkai, says he heard a loud noise and the landslide occurred four times.

“Around 12:40 am, the landslide occurred. We heard a huge sound. Three members of my family were lost in the landslide that passed right in front of my house. Now, we are in a camp and safe. We are eight people. My mother’s sister and her family were left behind,” he said.

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, a senior climate scientist said on Tuesday.

Extremely heavy rain triggered a series of landslides in the hilly areas of Kerala’s Wayanad district early on Tuesday, leaving at least 123 people dead and 128 injured. Many were feared trapped under the debris.

S Abhilash, 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.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose reached Kerala’s Calicut on Tuesday night to take stock of the relief work underway in Wayanad, where a series of landslides left at least 150 people dead, the Raj Bhavan said here.

In a post on “X”, it also said that Bose has spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the rescue operations.

“Governor Bose has reached Calicut Airport on his way to the landslide hit Meppadi in the Wayanad Hills. He is in touch with the central and state agencies engaged in relief operations,” it said.

The 73-year-old Bose, who is from Kerala, will be visiting hospitals and relief camps and also facilitate rescue and relief operations.

Rescue attempts to evacuate trapped people from the landslide-affected districts of Mundakali and Chooralmala in Wayanad began this morning.

The death toll has grown to 150, and 91 people remain missing. Four teams of NDRF, Army soldiers, and volunteers have dispersed to remote locations.

A second MEG crew will arrive on site by tonight to build the Bailley bridge, which will ferry rescue personnel and heavy equipment across the river.