The death toll from the devastating landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad district has risen to 158.
Many are still missing.
Massive multiple landslides occurred after unprecedented rainfall of 572 millimetres over 48 hours in India’s most attractive destinations, triggering torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders in the worst disaster in the state since deadly floods in 2018.
As rescue efforts intensified on Wednesday, survivors have recalled their harrowing experiences.
Survivors recall the horror
A driver from Chooralmala in Wayanad named Sudarshan had been anticipating disaster because of the continuous downpours for the past few days. It had now become a reality.
He woke up at around 1.30 to the sound of gushing water. He couldn’t move since there was no power, his jeep had crashed into the drawing room, the ground floor had been devastated by large boulders and logs, and there were heaps of slush all around him. He, along with his mother, Bhavani, a cancer survivor, rushed to the terrace.
Sudarshan told The Indian Express, “My only thought at that moment was to save my mother. There was nowhere else to go. I couldn’t find my phone, couldn’t call anyone for help. Soon after we went up, the second landslide struck near the Chooralmala school, close to our home.”
Sudarshan and his mother were rescued in the morning and they are now at his sister’s residence in Pulpalli. The duo witnessed more devastation around themselves. “Eleven members of a family that lived nearby are missing. The bodies of two of them have been recovered. There is no information about others.”
He said that his house is “no longer inhabitable.” “More than that, we have lost several of our neighbours. I have lost my source of income, my jeep. My mother’s medicines and prescriptions are all lost. We have to start from the beginning. At least, we are lucky that we are still able to live,” he added.
Notably, Sudarshan also helped several of his neighbours.
“When the rain subsided a bit, some of our neighbours, who saw us on top of the terrace, came out and asked me to rescue them. I got them onto our terrace using a ladder. There were around 21 people on our terrace when the rescuers came,” he told the newspaper.
An elderly man from the same village, was quoted by Mathrubhumi, as saying, “The walls and roof collapsed. Everything fell on top of us. The house was inundated with water. There was a tremendous noise. I couldn’t find my wife, daughters, or the girl. We were trapped inside the house for hours.”
“I stayed huddled in a corner throughout the night. That’s how I survived. I lay in the mud until daylight. In the morning rescuers arrived. All my documents and possessions were destroyed. I don’t need anything as long as I’m alive,” he added.
Also read: From Army to dog squad, how rescue operations are in full swing
The miraculous escape
Seeing the heavy downpour on Monday, Chooralmala resident Ponnayyan left his house with his wife Jisha and two sons to spend a night at his lottery shop.
“Yesterday, a huge tree fell down near the house. This made me leave home and we decided to stay at our lottery shop for the night. Before sleeping, I called a few neighbours to share my anxiety about the incessant rain, but none of us expected the tragedy that would ensue,” he said, as per another report by The Indian Express.
At the shop, when Ponnayyan tried to lift the shutter, muddy water started gushing inside. “I downed the shutters and then climbed up to the roof, removed a few roof tiles and looked outside. The nearby river had started flowing into the town, sweeping away everything and uprooting trees. There was no power, and I cried loudly for help, but there was nobody in the vicinity,” he said.
According to him, his family was able to reach higher ground when the water level had decreased for a while before it struck again. He stated that much of the village was buried and many people were killed in the second severe landslide, which occurred at roughly four in the morning.
“My neighbour Sudarsan is still missing. He was at a house that is now covered in mud and debris. Rescue workers managed to save his son, but they could not find Sudarsan as earthmovers could not be brought near the house,” he told the newspaper.
Dilraj, another resident, escaped the landslide but lost some of his relatives.
“A few of my relatives had moved to another house after the first landslide. However, they lost their lives in the second one, which was more devastating,” he said.
Also read: What makes Kerala so vulnerable to such disasters?
Families frantically search for their dear ones
Many families barely escaped the catastrophic landslide, but several others remained mute spectators as they witnessed their loved ones being washed away.
Prasanna, from Chooralmala, was in tears when she recounted her experience. The woman witnessed her sister and her family being swept away by the muddy water.
“I could only help my father. I carried him and ran towards the forest. I couldn’t help my sister. I couldn’t save her. Two of the children ran outside and got washed away. I could hear them screaming. Our house got washed away,” Prasanna, in her late 40s, recounted the ordeal, according to PTI.
The children who witnessed the devastating event are unable to sleep, haunted by the traumatic experience, Prasanna said. They wake up in the middle of the night, fearing a recurrence of the landslides.
“In no time, water started gushing into our house and all six of us, including my 98-year-old mother-in-law, managed to rush out of the house. In no time, our house was almost reduced to rubbles,” Thankachan narrated to the priest of the St Sebastian Church at Chooralmala where the family took shelter, according to Deccan Herald.
Padmavathi, who is in her 80s, lost her daughter-in-law and is unsure who will care for her.
“She left me alone. Who will take care of me now. I am all alone,” a sobbing Padmavathi said.
Another woman tearfully shared that her relative called her at night, saying they were trying to escape the area with their toddler. “She called me in the night and said they were trying to escape. They had a toddler with them. After that, they were unreachable on the phone,” she said. The family remains untraceable.
Heartbreaking scenes of landslide survivors desperately looking for their family members amid the dead and injured were also seen in the district’s hospitals.
The St. Sebastian Church’s priest, Father Jibin Vatuvalathil, informed Deccan Herald that he arrived at the church at around two in the morning after receiving a call.
Several of these survivors are staying in one of the camps, St. Joseph High School in Meppadi.
There are five more relief camps organised in Wayanad, which include schools, churches, anganwadis and other available resources. Authorities also mentioned that as more persons are rescued, additional relief camps will be organised.
Catch all live updates from the Wayanad landslides
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The tragedy
Hundreds of rescue workers searched through mud and debris from multiple landslides that have killed at least 158 people in Kerala’s Wayanad on Wednesday, police said.
The first landslide occurred at 2 am on Tuesday, followed by another two hours later. Several areas, including Meppadi, Mundakkai and Chooralmala, were isolated, and roads were washed away causing immense damage to homes, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“Efforts to locate missing persons continue with all available resources,” their statement said.
Mundakka is in an area highly prone to disasters. However, the gushing soil, gravel, and rock reached the town of Chooralmala, six kilometres (3.7 miles) away.
Vijayan said more than 3,000 people have been moved to relief camps. The government is ensuring food delivery and essential items to the relief camps.
Authorities sent vehicles carrying 20,000 litres of drinking water to the disaster area. Temporary hospitals are being set up, the statement said on Tuesday night.
Local media reported that most of the victims were tea estate workers. Television footage showed rescue workers making their way through mud and uprooted trees to reach those who had been stranded. Vehicles swept off the roads were seen stuck in a swollen river. Local TV news channels also aired phone calls from stranded people asking for help.
Authorities mobilised helicopters to help with rescue efforts and the Indian army was roped in to build a temporary bridge.
“We are trying every way to rescue our people,” state Health Minister Veena George said.
With inputs from agencies
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Wayanad landslides: How some villagers miraculously escaped the disaster that killed more than 150
