IMPACT AND INCIDENCE OF WAYANAD LANDSLIDES.

The multiple landslides that occurred due to heavy and incessant rains in the early hours of July 30th 2024 in Wayanad district of Kerala had  devastated places like Punjirimattom,Mundakkai,Chooramala,Attamala,Meppadi and Kunhome.Mundakkai Chooramala Settlements of Vellarimala village in Meppadi Panchayat had fully vanished ,transforming the landscape of rolling hills into horrifying tragedy.ISRO's remote sensing satellite images indicated that 86000 square meters of land had slipped out of place. The landslide also plunged into the Iruvazhinjipuzha a tributary of Chaliar river surged with heavy rain,raging and bursting  river banks along with heavy muds,debris, bodies and gushing water.Even though  thunderous sound of flood waters woke up many when the first landslide occurred around 1.00 a m but many could not manage to escape. On the other hand unfortunately many people who were sleeping the landslide washed away their bodies. It was found that many bodies went through steep waterfalls of Kanthanpura,Soochippara and Meenmutti at the downstream of Chaliar river in Munderi.The heartbreaking and harrowing experiences of  the victims of Wayanad landslide are narrated by many reports.Several bodies and body  parts were brought to G hospital for post mortem and identification and many volunteers were  assisting in the identification process ,even  it required  DNA  test as well. Unfortunately most of the bodies brought were either mutilated or disfigured which make the identification a laborious task both for family members and health workers .Many victims  lost their families including -parents missing children, chilldren missing parents and witnessing loss of either close relatives,friends and neighbors aggravating  the distress further. The unofficial death toll in the tragedy crossed 400. Some survivors desperately struggled to identify the locations where their  houses previously stood, and after identifying the location,quite distressingly they could not  retrieve any valuables from the  heap of mud and slush accumulated there.

On  that fateful night the tale of a grandmother  was depicted how she  with her grand child was forced to take shelter before a wild tusker. The grandmother pleaded for mercy in front of the wild tuscker and to her surprise  the tuscker  not only remained calm and submissive but also she noticed  tears were  rolling  from his eyes. Another grand mother who is attending her only grand daughter that survived from the total 7 members of her  family and got admitted in the hospital along  with other survivors found it extremely difficult to inform the truth about missing of her parents to the child. It is heartening to note that even lactating mothers from other districts offered feeding  to surviving infants. On the other hand surviving children and other lone members left in many families require urgent counseling and support .Domestic dogs were  seen sniffing around the debris of houses for  their masters and later looking up to the sky, screaming, grumbling and  barking as though showing their protests to God. On 9th August mild tremors accompanied by a rumbling sound in Wayanad district made people very much scared and desperate. According to Geology Department it may be due the possibility of soil piping or underground tunnels operatting due to subsurface erosion. Whereas according to Earth Sciences Department " frictional energy could have generated sounds with shaking in the area due to the movement land masses,which is a natural phenomenon in landslide prone zones ".Search and rescue operations in the landslide hit areas with wholehearted cooperation and coordination with the army, police, political parties, NGOs etc.were very efficient. Data showed that huge quantity of relief materials were pouring to relief centers from Kerala Tamil Nadu and other places which already exceeded more than 20 fold of their requirements. Indian Army Utilised  both cadaver dogs and Airforce Force helicopters to drop special search teams to reach inaccessible areas along the Chaliyar river and deploying more rescuers, heavy machines and K9 dog squads  did dedicated service to Wayanad.After reaching the disater zone the army immediately constructed a 190-foot Bailey Bridge for speeding up rescue and relief operations.In fact all stakeholders in Wayanad were very much impressed by the devotion and sincerity of the military personnel that  despite the grief strucken people and other participants from different places gathered in Wayanad together did grant  an emotional and touching farewell to the Indian Army as rescue operations almost concluded. After  that Prime Minister arrived in Wayanad on 10th Aug 2024  above 1200 NDRF army was deployed along with over 100 ambulances,doctors, and other medical staff  for medical support and treatment. 

Devastating landslides that took around 400 lives unofficially so far, missing hundreds and left thousands homeless in Wayanad naturally brings up the role of climate change and impact of natural fury and human interventions to examine critically over such calamities. Kerala the small strip of ribbon like land's peculiar terrain with high land,midland,and coastal areas where highlands largely is vulnerable to landslides and Coastal areas are prone to intrusion of sea waters and flooding both pose frequent threats to the  geographical and physical sustainability of the state.The occurrence of climate change had added further to the vulnerability of the state.Generally the Southeast Arabian sea is becoming warmer,causing atmospheric instability in Kerala. With climate change the rain bearing belt with deep clouds is extending  further southward  remain as the main reason behind such heavy rainfall that witnessed in Wayanad as on July 31st 2024.Union Home Minister and Minister for Environment and Forest alleged that not only Kerala Government failed to  heed weather warnings but also the disaster was due to illegal habitation and illegal mining. But the fact remains that neither proper weather warnings were given promptly in time nor there was "illegal occupiers" in this area. The landslide primarily occurred due to torrential rain in the region which is prone to landslides According to the  Geographical Survey India the crown of the landslide falls within high susceptibility zone always prone to landslides.It may be noted here that the surrounding areas in this valley witnessed landslides in 2018, 2019,2020 and 2021.All the areas in Chaliyar river basin are techtonically active zones indicating the presence of weaker zones in the upper reaches. Despite all these risks factors like high fertility and flatness of land always attracted people to settle there.

Way back in 2011 the Committe headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil identified 18 ecologically sensitive areas in  Kerala including Meppadi in Wayanad where the river's course triggered landslide because of  the presence  of  a facture zone- a weakened area where water can seep.As per the promise made by  the Prime Minister and houses offered to be constructed by many groups and individuals and trends in the flow of donations to Chief Minister's Relief and Rehabilitation fund it appears that financing may not be a problem. However the proposed township should primarily be built in an area not prone to landslides and other fragilities.Governments should meticulously plan and chalk out comprehensive policy regarding cultivation, housing, tourism and other livelihood  activities in the prospective or designated rehabilitation area. Each household must be facilitated with any income earning or livelihood opportunities as well.Finally a high level Committee should be constituted comprising   of experts and scientists from all important technical fields including scientists,engineers  farmers, builders,people representatives etc .The suggestions and recommendations of both Madhav Gadgil report and Kasturirangan report can be effectively utilised in this task.