Wayanad landslide LIVE | 125 dead, many feared trapped under debris; rescue underway
The first landslide reportedly struck Mundakkai Town around 1 am, while the second one struck 3 hours later, at Chooraal Mala School, which was serving as a camp
At least 125 people have been killed massive landslides triggered by heavy rains in Wayanad on Tuesday (July 30) while hundreds are trapped beneath the debris, sparking fears of mounting fatalities, even as rescue agencies were racing against time to pull out any survivors.
Rescue teams comprising the Army, Navy, and NDRF are collectively looking for survivors amid rough weather and multiple agencies are working in tandem to provide critical assistance to those affected.
According to a senior government source, heavy rains triggered a series of massive landslides in hilly areas of Meppadi in the district.
The dead includes women and children. The bodies of the deceased are being taken to various hospital morgues for identification and autopsy.
Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha villages were among the areas affected and cut off by the landslides.
In a bid to rapidly evacuate stranded persons, two Indian Air Force helicopters from Air Force Station Sulur have been dispatched to the affected area.
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Live Updates
- 30 July 2024 12:32 PM GMT
Wayanad landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says "Additional Kaniv 108 ambulances have been brought in. 3,069 people are in relief camps in Wayanad alone. Five ministers are coordinating the efforts. Due to adverse weather conditions, people were relocated, and an orange alert… pic.twitter.com/JB5zVwao8H
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024 - 30 July 2024 12:31 PM GMT
Wayanad landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says "Steps have been initiated to deliver food and essential supplies. Two vehicles carrying 20,000 litres of drinking water will arrive at the disaster area. Health workers currently on leave are instructed to return to duty… pic.twitter.com/RwAoVqnYDm
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024 - 30 July 2024 11:54 AM GMT
118 relief camps opened across Kerala, rescue work underway: Vijayan
We have arranged the best possible treatment for the injured. Many people are still trapped under the debris. We have opened 45 relief camps in Wayanad and a total of 118 camps across the state, accommodating 5,531 people. The fire force, NDRF, and police are working together. Various divisions of the Army and Navy are coordinating the rescue operations: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
- 30 July 2024 11:52 AM GMT
"321 members of the Fire Force have been deployed in Wayanad. The services of the Army have also been made available. An NDRF team of 60 members has reached Wayanad, and an 89-member team from Bengaluru is on the way. Upon learning of the disaster, both the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi, along with various party leaders, have offered their assistance. They have assured us that we will work together to address this crisis," says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
- 30 July 2024 11:48 AM GMT
#WATCH | Kerala: Bodies of the deceased in the Wayanad landslide that occurred earlier today, were brought to Nilambur Taluk Hospital.
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024
A total of 93 bodies have been recovered. pic.twitter.com/cisRmTivB2 - 30 July 2024 11:47 AM GMT
Heart-wrenching disaster, 93 bodies found so far: Pinarayi Vijayan
Wayanad landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says "The landslide in Wayanad is a heart-wrenching disaster. There was extremely heavy rainfall. An entire area has been wiped out. We have recovered 93 bodies so far, but the numbers may change. There are 128 people receiving… pic.twitter.com/y6bPfVtLNZ
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2024 - 30 July 2024 11:41 AM GMT
Warming of Arabian Sea linked to Wayanad landslides: Climate scientist
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.
S Abhilash, the 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.
The soil was saturated after two weeks of rainfall. A deep mesoscale cloud system formed off the coast in the Arabian Sea on Monday and led to extremely heavy rain in Wayanad, Calicut, Malappuram, and Kannur, resulting in localised landslides, he told PTI.
"The clouds were very deep, similar to those seen during the 2019 Kerala floods," Abhilash said.
He said scientists have noticed a trend of very deep cloud systems developing over the southeast Arabian Sea, he said, adding that sometimes, these systems intrude into the land, like that in 2019.
"Our research found that the southeast Arabian Sea is becoming warmer, causing the atmosphere above this region, including Kerala, to become thermodynamically unstable," Abhilash said.
"This atmospheric instability, allowing the formation of deep clouds, is linked to climate change. Earlier, this kind of rainfall was more common in the northern Konkan belt, north of Mangalore." With climate change, that rain-bearing belt with deep clouds is extending southward and this is the main reason behind such extremely heavy rainfall, he added.
- 30 July 2024 11:23 AM GMT
70 people died due to landslides in Kerala's Wayanad: MoS Home Nityanand Rai in RS
Seventy people have died in landslides in Kerala's Wayanad, several are injured, two have been rescued alive from the debris and 250 moved to safe places, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
"I would like to express with grief that 70 bodies have been recovered. Many are injured. Two people have so far been rescued alive from the debris and 250 moved to safe places," the minister said.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping a close watch on the situation and Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian has been sent to visit the affected area.
Modi has spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and assured him of all possible help from the Centre.
"Two teams of the NDRF, two columns of the Indian Army and two IAF helicopters have been deployed for the search-and-rescue operations," Rai said.
More than 300 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, fire brigade, citizen safety, police and local emergency response teams have been deployed for the search-and-rescue operations.
"Three additional teams of the NDRF are on their way. Dog squads have also been deployed for the search-and-rescue operations," Rai said.
He said two units of the DSC centre at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu are on their way and two units of the 91 Infantry Brigade at Thiruvananthapuram are on standby.
