Amid horrific accounts coming in from Kerala’s Wayanad where massive landslides killed 158, tragedy struck this family when there was a possibility that they could have stayed away from all the destruction.
This family in Chooralmala moved to their relative’s house fearing floods, but 11 members went missing after the landslides hit the area. Rescue teams pulled the bodies of a two-year-old and two others from the debris and identified them while eight others are yet to be placed.
A family member, Prabosh, said the residents in the area suspected there was something amiss when more than the usual number of rocks accumulated in the river days before the landslide. The landslides in this rural district of Kerala have levelled houses and buried lives, leaving traumatised survivors staring at an uncertain future with their loved ones gone.
The death toll in the landslides, which happened in the early hours of July 30, has reached 158 with hundreds injured as intense search and rescue operations by the military continue.
Speaking to PTI, Pranjeesh, a survivor from Mundakkai, said he heard a loud noise and the landslide occurred four times. “Around 12.40 am, the landslide occurred. We heard a huge sound. Three members of my family were lost in the landslide that passed right in front of my house. Now, we are in a camp and safe. We are eight people. My mother’s sister and her family were left behind,” he said.
Prasanna, another Chooralmala resident, 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,” said the woman, who is in her late 40s.
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,” she said.
Several persons and family members who were rescued were hospitalised. Most of the people seeking shelter in the camps are from Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
There are five more relief camps 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.
According to a senior army official, disaster response teams have rescued at least 1,000 people. Four columns from the Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre in Kannur and 122 TA Battalion are conducting combined rescue operations along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state rescue teams.
(With PTI inputs)
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