At least 143 persons have been killed and nearly 130 injured in landslides triggered by heavy rain in Kerala’s Wayanad district on Tuesday, India Today quoted the state’s health minister Veena George as saying.
Several persons are missing after at least two landslides in the hilly region of Meppadi. The first occurred around 1 am followed by another at 4.30 am, The Indian Express reported.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that over 3,000 persons are being rehabilitated at 45 relief camps set up in the district, according to the newspaper.
Vijayan added that rescue efforts were underway in the Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala areas, The Hindu reported.
Although Mundakkai was the epicentre of the landslides, the debris was deposited six kilometres down the hills in Chooralmala, according to The Indian Express.
The district recorded more than 140 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between the mornings of Monday and Tuesday, which is nearly five times more than what is expected, the newspaper reported, citing India Meteorological Department data.
National Disaster Response Force Commander Akhilesh Kumar on Wednesday said that several persons may be trapped under collapsed buildings, ANI reported. “Till 10 pm last night, we rescued 70 persons, after which we had to stop because of bad weather and rain,” he said.
“Since there are many teams working, we cannot give an exact number of deaths…we only know about the bodies our team has recovered,” he said, adding that there were chances of another landslide due to heavy rain.
The Army’s canine squad will also join the rescue operations to sniff out persons trapped under the debris or human remains, according to The Indian Express.
The Kerala government has declared July 30 and July 31 as days of mourning.
The Army has deployed 200 soldiers from the Defence Security Corps and a medical team to assist with rescue operations, The Indian Express reported.
Two helicopters from the Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu’s Sulur were also dispatched to the district. Equipment has been called in from Karnataka’s Bengaluru to clear the debris.
The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday issued “orange” category alerts for five districts in Kerala – Kannur Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kasaragod.
This indicates that weather conditions may be less severe than on Tuesday when the districts were placed under a “red” category alert.
A red alert requires authorities to “take action” in light of an extreme weather-related event, while an orange alert tells authorities to “be prepared” for one. A “yellow” alert means they should “be updated” on the local weather situation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a social media post on Tuesday, said that he had spoken to Vijayan and assured him of assistance from the Centre.
The prime minister’s office also announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of those killed in the landslides. The injured have been promised Rs 50,000 each.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who were scheduled to meet with the families of those affected by the landslides on Wednesday, said that they had postponed their visit.
“Due to incessant rains and adverse weather conditions, we have been informed by authorities that we will not be able to land,” Rahul Gandhi posted on social media.
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