Wayanad landslides LIVE updates: Death toll rises to 12; Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi call CM Vijayan, offer support

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, George Kurian, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office (PMO) had ordered Indian Airforce, Navy and Army stations in South India to support the rescue and relief operations in Wayanad. 

He said the PMO closely monitored the situation and would extend all help to the State government. “Both Central and State governments will work closely to rush relief to the people of Wayanad,” he said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reviewed aerial and satellite photographs of the landslip-ravaged Wayanad district at the Kerala State Emergency Operations Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. 

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority’s (KSDMA) Chief Resilience Officer, Dr. Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, briefed Mr. Vijayan. 

Mr. Vijayan said that it was too early to quantify the loss of life and damage. Rescue workers were striving to reach the disaster-hit localities. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, had called him and offered support. 

“The picture will become clearer in the coming hours. The government has intervened strongly”, Mr. Vijayan added. Earlier, Mr. Vijayan had chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting at his official residence at the Cliff House in Thiruvananthapuram.

- G. Anand

Revenue Minister K. Rajan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that a bridge collapse at Mundakkayil in Wayanad district has left the landslide-hit locality cut off from the rest of the region. However, Mr. Rajan said an NDRF team was attempting to rig a pontoon bridge to reach the locality. He said the government also considered setting up a ropeway for search, rescue and relief operations. 

He said two IAF helicopters from Sular Air Base in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, were airborne and would reach Wayanad in less than an hour. Mr. Rajan, the government was keeping NDRF teams in Thrissur and Kozhikode in reserve, given the heavy rain. The NDRF has despatched two teams from Arkonam and Bangalore to Wayanad. 

Forest Minister K. Saseendran told reporters in Wayanad that local hospitals were treating 66 injured persons. At least six bodies were kept in various morgues. He said local people fished out a few bodies downstream of the Chaliyar River. He said some hospital staff were also missing. Mr. Saseendran said the landslip had occurred at 2 a.m., and it was too early to quantify its swathe.

A massive landslip occurred near Harle estate in Sakaleshpur on on Monday night. The landslip swept away a portion of the road that serves as an alternative to Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway which has seen many landslips in recent weeks. The landslip disrupted road network to many villages in the taluk.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force is carrying out rescue operations at Vilangad in rural Kozhikode where 12 families have been isolated due to a landslide. Seven families have been shifted to safer locations after the Kaithappoyi-Aanorammal road collapsed for over 80 metres in rural Kozhikode.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) on Tuesday morning opened one of the four spillway shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam at Padinjarethara following heavy inflow from the catchment areas.

The catchment areas had been witnessing heavy rain for the past four days, Dam Safety officials said. The officials told The Hindu that the shutter was raised at 8.10 a.m. after the water level in the reservoir crossed 773.25 m. The full reservoir level is 775.5 m.

“The shutter was raised by 10 cm in the morning and the rate of flow is maintained at 8.5 cubic metres per second (8,500 litres a second), the officials said.. If the inflow of water may increase the shutter would be raised 20 cms, officials added.

The water is being discharged through the Karamanthodu River to the Panamaram River, a tributary of the Kabani.

“As all arrangements were made before the raising of the spillway shutter, there is no need for worries,” Wayanad district collector R.D.Meghasree said. “Flood warning was issued to people residing in low-level areas along the banks of the Panamaram River, she said.

Seven relief camps have been opened in Kozhikode district, three in Mavoor Village, three in Kumaranallur Village and one in Kuruvattoor village. As many as 15 families in Ward 46 of Vadakara Municipality in Kozhikode district are being shifted into a cyclone shelter.

With the rain continuing to be heavy, a ban has been imposed on visitors at all tourist destinations in Kozhikode district. Besides, all granite quarries have been asked to shut down temporarily.

Health Minister Veena George said that the National Health Mission’s Kerala Director, Dr. Jeevan Babu, will coordinate health personnel and doctors in the disaster-hit Wayanad district. The government has opened three State-level control rooms. (9995220557, 9037277026, 9447732827).

Intense rainfall and low visibility are reportedly hampering relief and rescue operations. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has informed us that heavy rain will continue to lash Central and North Kerala for at least 24 hours.

Rescue operations led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, police, fire and rescue personnel and local people are underway at the Chooralmala area in the district, Wayanad district collector R.D. Meghasree said. As many as 11 bodies were recovered and nearly 50 persons were admitted to various hospitals so far. 

Incessant rain triggered landslips in many places, including Mundakkai, Attamala and Kunhome areas apart from Chooralmala in the district. The Mundakkai and Attamala areas were fully isolated after a bridge connecting the Chooralmala with the Mundakkai and Attamala areas was destroyed in a flash of flood after the landslide in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The District Disaster Management Committee issued a red alert after the heavy rain battered the district. The hill district was isolated on Tuesday morning after vehicular movement blocked on the three major ghat sections of roads such as the Wayanad ghat section of road on the Kozhikode-Kollegal national highway; Palchuram and Kuttiyadi ghat section of roads on the Mananthavady-Kannur and Mananthavadi-Kuttiyadi highways owing to landslips.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has dispatched five Ministers to the disaster-hit Wayanad district. The CMO said they would travel by a special aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram to the disaster-struck area. The delegation included Revenue Minister K Rajan, Public Works Minister Muhammad Riyaz, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Minister O R Kelu, Forest Minister K Saseendran and Ports Minister Kadannapally Ramachandran.

The swollen Chaliyar River washed up several bodies in Pothukal panchayat near Nilambur on Tuesday morning. They are presumed to be the victims of the landslides in Wayanad. District administration officials said three bodies, including that of a child, were recovered. A few others are reported to be still afloat in the flooded river.

As the water level in the Vilangad River continues to rise, authorities are evacuating residents from the riverbank areas to the Parish Hall as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile, officials said the water level at Kakkayam Dam was rising at an alarming rate. It has prompted the authorities to raise two shutters by four feet each in a phased manner. If the current pattern of heavy rainfall and inflow persists, additional shutter openings may be necessary to ensure safe water management, they said.

A landslide in Vilangad-Malayangad in rural Kozhikode has resulted in the collapse of a crucial bridge, leaving 12 families isolated in the area. No casualties have been reported. The disaster has also caused damage to four houses located on the riverbank. Authorities are working to assess the situation and provide necessary assistance to those affected.

Due to heavy rainfall and rising water levels in rivers, the district Collector Snehil Kumar Singh has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in Kozhikode district, including professional colleges on Tuesday. Anganwadis in the district will also remain closed. However, previously scheduled exams will take place as planned.

The landslip that hit Meppadi, Mundakkal Town and Chooralmala in Wayanad has claimed 12 persons, including a child, so far. Officials said they feared the death count could rise. Health Minister Veena George said the government had rushed more health workers, medicine and surgical equipment to the Vythiri, Mananthawadi, Kalpetta and Meppadi government hospitals.

- G. Anand

In the heavy rains, the Edyar-Kannavam River overflowed breaching the banks and inundating several areas including Edyar Akare, Poozhiyod, Kannavam Town, Chundail, Idumba, Chemmaram, and Vattoli, in Kannur. The forest department has also reported a landslip inside the forest near Chembukavu. 

The sudden flooding has displaced numerous residents and submerged many homes. In Kannavam Town, a local shop was completely destroyed by the rising waters. The water has also flooded the forest office. Additionally, a tree fell on Cheruvanchery Road, exacerbating the situation by disrupting both traffic and electricity connections in the area. Emergency services are on high alert as efforts to provide relief and restore normalcy are underway.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheeshan has cancelled his programmes and is headed to the disaster site, his office informed on Tuesday.

- G. Anand

The State Government has received information that at least 100 persons, including women and children, fled cascading mud and stones in the wee hours of Tuesday at Mundakkayi and sought refuge in Tree Valley resort in Mundakayi. 

The resort owner, Younous, told Malayalam television news channels over the telephone that several were injured and the refugees urgently needed medicines and food. He said the landslip had covered a large swath of the locality, and several families remained trapped. Mr> Yonous said the landslip had cut off the locality from the rest of the district.

- G. Anand

A 250-member team comprising the Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence, and NDRF are actively engaged in rescue operations at the landslip in Wayanad. More NDRF teams were on their way to the disaster site, the CMO said.

The Indian Air Force is rushing two helicopters from the Sulur Air Base in Coimbatore to aid the Kerala Government’s rescue operations in the landslide-hit Wayanad district. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Office said the aircraft include an MI 17 helicopter and an Advanced Light Helicopter capable of ferrying rescue personnel to massive mud slip in the hilly Mepadin locality. 

Mr. Vijayan has dispatched several Ministers to the locality to coordinate rescue operations. NDRF teams are already on the spot, working with local rescuers, police and fire and rescue department personnel. 

The government has restricted traffic movement along the Thamarassery route in the district, fearing that the heavy rains might trigger more landslips. Chief Secretary Dr. V. Venu refused to hazard a guess on the number of causalities at the current juncture. He said a column of the Indian Army was headed to Wayanad from Kannur.

- G. Anand

In a video message, UDF MLA T Siddique said district authorities were drawing up plans to airlift people from the Mundakkai area. “Currently, we have no complete information about those missing and dead in the landslides. Many areas have been cut off. NDRF personnel are trying to reach those places.” he said.

According to a weather update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the central and northern districts of Kerala can expect isolated heavy rainfall today.

Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts are on yellow alert for isolated heavy rainfall (7-11 cm in 24 hours). Other districts can expect light to moderate rain.

CM Vijayan said that in the wake of the landslides and other rain-related disasters in Wayanad district, the Health Department — National Health Mission — has opened a control room. Those in need of emergency assistance can contact authorities through these two numbers — 9656938689 and 8086010833 — the statement said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that all government agencies have joined the search and rescue operations in the wake of massive landslides that struck various hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district, leaving hundreds feared to be trapped.

The operations will be coordinated, and State Ministers will reach the hilly district to lead the rescue activities, Chief Minister Vijayan said in a statement issued by his office.

PTI