On Tuesday morning, two major landslides struck the Mundakkai and Chooramala areas of Vellarimala village in Meppadi Panchayat, Wayanad. These landslides destroyed several homes, uprooted trees, and caused water bodies to overflow, complicating rescue efforts. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in isolated areas of Kerala on July 31 and August 1. The first landslide occurred at 2 a.m. on July 30, followed by another at 4:10 a.m., causing severe damage to homes and livelihoods. Many areas, including Meppadi, Mundakkai, and Chooramala, are now cut off, with roads washed away. The Vellarmala GVH School was entirely buried.
On Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a meeting to speed up rescue operations at the landslide site in Chooralmala, Wayanad. The meeting at the Kerala SDMA office discussed working with central agencies and forces to improve the efforts.
The death toll from the Wayanad landslide rose to 143 on Wednesday, with several people injured and trapped, according to the State Health Department. Relief and rescue operations continue in Chooralmala, Wayanad, following the landslide that occurred yesterday. The disaster caused extensive damage, uprooting trees, damaging houses and roads, and swelling water bodies, which hindered rescue efforts. Additionally, on Tuesday, the national flag was flown at half-mast at the Kerala Legislative Assembly as the state observed a two-day mourning period for the victims.
On Tuesday, Union Minister George Kurian arrived in Wayanad to assess the ongoing relief operations. He spoke with senior officials from the NDRF, CRPF, and the Army and visited a relief camp in Kalpetta at 11 p.m. In a post on X, Kurian wrote, “Reached Wayanad hit by a massive landslide and took stock of relief ops. Interacted with senior officials of NDRF, CRPF, and Army officials. Visited a relief camp at Kalpetta at 11 p.m.”
NDRF Commander Akhilesh Kumar mentioned that his team rescued injured victims from Mundakkai village the previous day. He expressed concerns that some victims might still be trapped in collapsed buildings. He reported that by 10 p.m. last night, they had rescued 70 people but had to halt operations due to bad weather and rain. Kumar noted that because multiple teams were working, they could not provide an exact death toll, only the number of bodies their team had recovered. He added that people had been given shelter in a resort and a mosque on the other side of the river, and warned that continued rainfall could trigger another landslide.
