DREAMS IN DEBRIS

LANDSLIDE HAVOC 125 dead and over 100 missing in hilly Wayanad; two-day mourning in Kerala; distress calls from stranded and trapped

- Shankar Raj

In a replay of the August 2018 floods that claimed over 500 lives in south and central Kerala, massive landslides wreaked havoc in the picturesque Wayanad district in north Kerala leaving at least 125 people, including children, dead and over 100 missing.

Several villages vanished without trace as the landslides struck at lam when many were asleep.

The landslides left a trail of destruction, even as the water bodies kept changing their paths resulting in more destruction. Huge boulders rolled down the hills and hindered the path of rescue workers.

Chooralmala, Mundakkai, Attamala, and Noolpuzha villages were the worst areas hit and cut off by the landslides. Mundakkai town was completely swept away.

Only 50 bodies had been identified when late night reports trickled in and rescue workers could only salvage mutilated body parts in many areas of Meppadi. At least 17 bodies, swept away by the gushing water, were recovered several kilometres away from the Chaliyar River in Malappuram.

According to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 18 bodies have been handed over to the families. DNA tests are being conducted on the unidentifiable remains.