Wayanad Landslide Highlights: Death toll mounts to 167; CM Vijayan junks Amit Shah’s claim, says no red alert sounded before disaster

The construction of a Bailey bridge to connect the landslide-hit areas, where several people are believed to be stranded, alongside the deployment of sniffer dogs and over 1,000 rescuers from Central and state emergency response teams conducting massive search operations, constitutes one of the largest rescue efforts in the Wayanad, devastated by a deadly calamity.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the coordinated and extensive rescue operations by the NDRF, Army, and other agencies ensured that over 1,500 people were saved from the landslide-hit areas of Wayanad district, where as many as 167 people died and 191 are still missing.

Vijayan said the scenes in the Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas of the district were devastating. "These areas have been completely destroyed," he said.

He also said that efforts to rescue as many people as possible from the disaster zone are progressing well. (PTI)

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, currently in his home state Kerala to oversee rescue efforts and treatment of the injured, on Wednesday announced that he will donate a month's salary to disaster relief activities in landslide-hit Wayanad, according to sources in the Raj Bhavan.

Bose expressed solidarity of the people of Bengal with the victims of the calamity in Wayanad during his visit to the affected areas. He visited the landslide-hit places, relief camps, hospitals, and mortuaries, interacting with the victims and the next of kin of those killed in Tuesday's disaster.

The Governor on Wednesday coordinated with members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, and other agencies involved in the rescue operations.

Local officials briefed Bose on the ongoing relief efforts, seeking his advice and requesting him to convey their sentiments to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. (PTI)

View district-wise weather prediction for Kerala for the next week

Airtel offers free mobile data, unlimited calls and other measures for the communities affected by the landslide in Wayanad.

The CPI(M) Politburo on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the victims of the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad and called for donations to help in the relief work.

"The devastating landslide disaster in Wayanad has claimed almost 200 lives, injured hundreds and led to a huge loss in property. The LDF (Left Democratic Front) government in Kerala is striving its utmost to rush relief and help in the rehabilitation of families. The CPI(M) and mass organisations in Kerala are also involved in relief work," it said in a statement.

"It is essential to express solidarity with the affected families in Kerala in their hour of distress and to extend our support in the relief efforts," it added.

The CPI(M) said a special fund -- the Wayanad Relief Fund -- was being set up at the CPI(M) Central Committee Office in Delhi and appealed for donations.

The fund's bank details will be publicly announced shortly. (PTI)

Visuals from Wayanad's Chooralmala where the search and rescue operations are underway.

Holiday has been declared for educational institutions in 7 districts in Kerala tomorrow as 167 bodies have been recovered while 200 persons have sustained injuries after a series of landslides struck the hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district. 191 people are still missing and over 1,500 people were rescued from landslides-hit areas, informed Kerala CM Vijayan.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday expressed sadness over the devastation caused by massive landslides in Wayanad in Kerala.

According to authorities, 158 people have died and 191 are still missing following a series of landslides on Tuesday.

In a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Dalai Lama, who is in New York at present recovering after surgery, conveyed his condolences over the loss of lives.

He expressed "his sadness about the loss of life, injuries, devastation of property, and the general hardship so many people are facing as a result of massive landslides in the Wayanad region of Kerala", the Office of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala said on Wednesday.

"I offer my condolences to you," he wrote, "and send my prayers to the families who have lost loved ones and to everyone affected by this disaster". (PTI)

167 bodies have been recovered while 200 persons have sustained injuries after a series of landslides struck the hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district. 191 people are still missing and over 1,500 people were rescued from landslides-hit areas, informed Kerala CM Vijayan.

NDRF rescue operation continue as 158 bodies have been recovered while 200 persons have sustained injuries after a series of landslides struck the hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad. 191 people are still missing and over 1,500 people were rescued from landslides-hit areas.

China on Wednesday expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the landslides at Wayanad in Kerala and wished the injured speedy recovery.

As many as 158 people, including 18 children, have died and over 200 others injured in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district a day ago, with the numbers expected to rise as rescuers unearth debris.

"We would like to express our deep condolences to the victims, sincere sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured, and wish the injured a speedy recovery," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing answering a question.

He said there were no reports so far of casualties of Chinese citizens in the tragedy. (PTI)

On rescue operation in Kerala's Wayanad, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh says, "Our assets including helicopters are deployed in Wayanad. Yesterday, due to the weather flying was affected. Today, the operation is on."

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit landslides-hit Wayanad on Thursday and meet several families affected by the natural calamity, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were scheduled to visit Wayanad Wednesday morning but they put off the visit as authorities informed them that they would not be able to land due to incessant rain and adverse weather conditions.

Congress sources said the two leaders would visit relief camps at the Government Higher Secondary School and St Joseph UP School, Meppadi. They would also visit Dr Moopen's Medical College, Meppadi.

The devastating series of landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district has claimed 158 lives and injured over 200, with the toll expected to rise as rescuers search through the debris, official sources said. (PTI)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday refuted Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government was warned as early as July 23 regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.

Vijayan said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had only issued an orange alert in the district ahead of the landslides. However, the district received over 500 millimeters of rainfall, which was extremely higher than what was predicted by the IMD.

"A red alert was issued for the district only after the landslides hit there on Tuesday morning," Vijayan said at a press conference here.

The CM also said that this was not the time for "blame game" and that he was not taking Shah's remarks in an adversarial manner.

Earlier in the day, Shah, in the Rajya Sabha, claimed that the Kerala government did not heed to the early warning and also did not get alerted even by the arrival of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) battalions in the state.

Shah said an early warning was sent to the state seven days ahead of the July 30 landslide. Another warning was given on July 24 also. (PTI)

Kerala CM Vijayan informed today that 191 people are still missing and over 1,500 people were rescued from landslides-hit areas of Wayanad. More than 8,000 people relocated to 82 camps in Wayanad district.

According to the district administration, the numbers of those who died are expected to increase even more and hundreds are feared to be buried under the debris. assive landslides triggered by torrential rains struck Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday, killing several people, including women and children. (PTI)

Jayan, a resident of the landslide-hit Chooralmala in Kerala, was fast asleep in his house on July 29 night. The calm and serene residential location in Wayanad's Chooralmala was reverberating with the thumping sounds of the torrential rains outside.

At 1.30 am on Tuesday, Jayan woke up hearing a loud noise. As he rushed outside his house, he saw flood waters gushing just outside his house and saw people rushing to their terraces, screaming out for help.

"11 members from my wife's family are missing. We identified the body of a child that was recovered from Chaliyar river in Nilambur in Malappuram district as one of my relative's. We have only got three dead bodies so far and the remaining are still missing," a teary-eyed Jayan said.

Many, like Jayan, are wandering in the area, rushing to the rescuers as they pull bodies out, and hopefully waiting to have the last glance of their dear ones who have been swept away in the flash floods. (PTI)

Military personnel on Wednesday intensified search and rescue operations in Kerala's Wayanad district, where landslides have claimed more than 100 lives, with the Army saying that it has recovered around 70 bodies and rescued nearly 1,000 people so far.

Extremely heavy rain triggered the landslides in the hilly areas of Wayanad early Tuesday, leaving at least 156 people dead and more than 200 injured.

Four columns from the Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre, Kannur, and 122 TA Battalion are conducting combined rescue operations along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state rescue teams, a senior Army official said.

Two Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) columns, including two medical teams, were airlifted from Trivandrum to Kozhikode by AN32 and C-130 aircraft. They arrived at Kozhikode airport late Tuesday night and stayed overnight, the Army said. Brig Arjun Seagan, Commandant of the PARA Regiment Training Centre, arrived with his team late Tuesday night. They conducted a reconnaissance of a potential bridge site and established a control centre for coordinating the Army's HADR efforts, supported by the commandant of the DSC Centre, they said.

A Navy spokesperson here said that on a request from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), the Kochi-based Southern Naval Command (SNC) dispatched a disaster relief team comprising 68 personnel from INS Zamorin at Ezhimala to the landslide-hit site on Tuesday. With PTI inputs

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of Kannadigas who died in landslides in neighbouring Kerala.

According to government sources, at least six people from the state are feared dead in Monday's landslide.

"The death toll in Wayanad landslide continues to rise. This is a very deadly tragedy, the fact that Kannadigas lost their lives in this tragedy made it even more painful," the CM said in a post on ‘X'.

“The deceased Kannadigas will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each. I pray that the soul of the deceased may rest in peace,” he said.

According to him, already two senior IAS officers of the state, National Disaster Response Force team and army teams are engaged in rescue work in Wayanad. (PTI)

On July 23, the Union government issued an early warning of rainfall and potential landslides to the Kerala government. Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha that nine NDRF teams were dispatched on the same day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issues an 'Orange' alert for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts on Wednesday.

'Yellow' alert for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, and Palakkad.

No rain warnings for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.

Wayanad is reeling from a devastating landslide that struck on July 30, claiming the lives of at least 156 people while they were asleep. Unanticipated heavy rains caused hillsides to collapse, unleashing torrents of mud, water, and boulders in a catastrophic deluge.

Food materials including drinking water (Around 250 Kg - 100 packets) provided by the Kozhikode Dist Admin dropped/distributed in the affected areas of Chooralmala and Mundakkai by Indian Air Force Helicopters... (Air Force team members are Group Captain Prasanth, Wing Commander Nagesh and Wing Commander Jaissmon)

This morning, soldiers from the 122 Infantry Battalion recovered two additional bodies from the debris in Mundakkai village. The bodies have been transferred to the Civil Hospitals. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to rescue stranded individuals from two resorts in Mundakkai.

NDRF and other emergency service personnel deployed in Wayanad resumed the search operations on Wednesday.

A couple from Karnataka who were working in a tea estate near Wayanad, Kerala, were among the deceased in the massive landslides that rattled the district on Tuesday.

The deceased identified as Rathnamma, 45, and her husband Rajendra, 55, are residents of Nagavalli village in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar taluk, authorities said.

Over 150 people have been killed in the devastating multiple landslides that struck the hilly areas after torrential rains triggered torrents of mud and water that swept through tea estates and villages. Continue reading...

During the CPP meeting on Wednesday, Congress leaders expressed their deepest sympathies to the families affected by the recent landslides in Wayanad. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated, "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragic event."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday, "We all have taken Wayanad situation seriously. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will visit there. Workers of our party are also helping in the ongoing rehabilitation work. It is a national disaster, and everyone should work together. I said this issue in Rajya Sabha yesterday and the Chairman (Rajya Sabha) and JP Nadda, from the government side, also promised that no stone will be left unturned for relief and rescue of people in Wayanad."

Kerala Health Minister Veena George was involved in an accident near Manjeri here on Wednesday morning while she was travelling to the landslide-hit Wayanad district to coordinate the rescue operations there.

According to police, the accident occurred around 7.10 am when the minister's vehicle reportedly hit a two-wheeler.

The minister was taken to the government medical college in Manjeri, police said, adding that her condition was not serious.

More details of the accident are awaited. (PTI)