The landslides occurred in Meppadi, Mundakkai town and Chooralmala in the wee hours of Tuesday. While the death toll is expected to rise according to reports from the district administration, over 400 people have been stranded in the landslide-affected areas waiting to be evacuated.
The recurring flash floods triggered by heavy rains in the area are making rescue operations difficult. Rescue workers said several houses in Attamala, Government Vocational Higher Secondary School at Vellarmala were washed away in the landslides.
Revenue Minister K Rajan said two NDRF teams are on the way to the incident site. By noon two more teams will arrive from Bangalore and Arkonam and join the rescue operations. “We expect to evacuate all the stranded people by evening,” he said and declined to give the death toll. “We are still assessing the massive destruction that has taken place. Our focus is on evacuating people who are still stranded in the affected areas and providing medical care to the injured people being brought to the hospitals,” he said.
Two helicopters from Sulur base will be joining the rescue operations soon.
More than 400 families were cut off from the rest of the world in Mundakkai following the collapse of a bridge at Cane hill.
Several injured persons have been evacuated from the disaster site and shifted to Meppadi VIMS Hospital. At the moment nearly 60 persons are being treated at the hospital.
The severely injured persons are being rushed to the Kozhikode medical college where special arrangements have been put in place to deal with the emergency cases.
The landslides occurred in areas where several homestays are also functioning which has raised concerns about the safety of tourists as well. According to reports, several people staying in the homestays are reported missing. The local authorities are trying to locate the people.
It is reported that two doctors who were staying at the Chooralmala homestay are also missing.
Control Room
The health department-National Health Mission has opened a control room in Wayanad district. The control room can be reached on the following numbers ; 9656938689 and 8086010833 for any help in case of an emergency.
Mundakkai is close to the spot where the Puthumala landslide tragedy occurred earlier. Efforts are now underway to bring people out of isolated areas. During the rescue operations, there were large-scale landslides and landslides in Chooralmala town. The rescuers were on the run. There has been heavy damage in the area for about a kilometre. Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Puthumala Prada are in Meppadi panchayath.
A few families were evacuated from the Punjiri Mattam Mundakkai area on Monday. The evacuation was carried out following a landslide at Mundakkai Hills on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the met department has predicted heavy to very heavy rains in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur, Thrissur districts. The heavy rains are adversely affecting the rescue operations in the affected areas.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the heads of various departments to carry out the rescue and relief operations on a war footing.
Opposition leader in Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has sought help from the defence forces in the rescue and relief operations in the affected areas.