There have been 156 fatalities reported from the landslide in Wayanad, Kerala. More than 100 persons remain unaccounted for. The nonstop rain has made rescue operations more difficult. Communication with the villages affected by the landslide was cut off when the bridge that connected Mundakkai and Chooralmala collapsed. Helicopters are unable to fly as a result of a red alert issued by the meteorological department. People are being evacuated, efforts are being made.
Wayanad in Kerala has been devastated by flooding, which left the hills behind early on Tuesday. In barely four hours, four villages with a combined population of around 22,000 people were entirely destroyed. Thousands of people were forced to relocate, and hundreds of homes were damaged.156 deaths have been reported thus far. More than 100 persons remain unaccounted for. Rescue and relief efforts are still in progress. The catastrophe that happened eleven years ago at Kedarnath has returned to memory because of this one. The person who slept through the night was discovered amid the debris in the morning without having had a chance to wake up. The allure of these settlements has been destroyed by the widespread destruction.
Wayanad consists of four villages: Mundakkai, Chooralamala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha. With the collapse of the bridge connecting Mundakkai and Chooralmala, connectivity with the areas affected by the landslide was severed. Helicopters are unable to fly as a result of a red alert issued by the meteorological department. People are being evacuated, efforts are being made. In response to a red signal for heavy rainfall in Wayanad and surrounding districts issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), schools in eleven districts of Kerala have been instructed to close.
Everyone is astonished to see how destroyed Kerala's environment has become. This is thought to be Wayanad's greatest tragedy. Within four hours, there were three landslides, and four towns were destroyed by the mountains' deluge. As the wreckage is being cleared away, bodies are being discovered within, either buried beneath stones or covered in muck. A few corpses were discovered drifting in the river. Rescue crews are working on the scene in the meanwhile. Seldom has anyone in Wayanad witnessed the destruction caused by landslides following intense downpours.
Why a disaster like Kedarnath?
June 16–17, 2013. That is, eleven years later, individuals can still clearly recall that awful night. Following that night's intense rainfall in Uttarakhand, the districts of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi experienced flash floods and landslides. The Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, and Mandakini rivers became scarlet and poured devastation in their wake. The map vanished, obliterating places like Uttarkashi Dharali, Kedarnath, Govindghat, Bhinder, and Rambada. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of over ten persons. Numerous thousands didn't. The Air Force has assisted in the rescue of around 1.10 lakh persons. A catastrophe like this had happened that awful night at Kedarnath due to the water falling from the mountains. In actuality, the flash flood was caused by the ice wall of the natural lake formed on the Chorabari glacier shattering, and it was observed that there was extensive damage from Kedarnath Dham to Haridwar (about 250 km away).
Let's start by discussing the August 2018 floods in Kerala. The state's "flood of the century" was the moniker given to the natural calamity that claimed 483 lives in Kerala. Along with taking lives, this terrible calamity also ruined livelihoods and property. This had such a profound effect that the 2018 flood was classified as a "Disaster of Serious Nature" by the federal government.
In 2019, a landslide in Puthumala in Wayanad, around 10 km away from the impacted areas, caused another calamity that claimed 17 lives. Thirty-five persons were killed in landslides that occurred in the state's Idukki and Kottayam districts in October 2021 due to persistent rainfall.
Eighteen people lost their lives, hundreds of properties were damaged, and thousands more were forced into relief camps in August 2022 as a result of severe rains causing landslides and flash floods throughout the state.
