Indian army, navy and air force personnel and helicopters joined the search and rescue efforts Tuesday amid a continuous downpour that destroyed whole villages in the hilly district. The office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the “entire government machinery” was involved in overseeing and coordinating rescue operations.
Amal Kabeer, a civil officer with the Kerala Police, said the death toll is expected to rise.
Images and videos circulating on social media showed submerged railway lines, highways blocked by boulders and mangled cars stuck in uprooted trees as muddy rainwater steadily flowed through the towns and villages of Wayanad, which is ordinarily a hub for tourism in the region.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “distressed by the landslides in parts of Wayanad,” adding on X: “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured.”
Latheef P.S., 36, a teacher in Wayanad who is volunteering with the search and rescue operation, told The Washington Post in a phone interview that finding people was “difficult” because bodies were carried up to 10 miles away by floodwater. He lives near the flood site and said his home is also underwater.
“Since morning we are trying to rescue people and help retrieve bodies. But it is not easy,” he said.
Latheef said more than 200 houses were washed away in the landslides and that there was no way to know how many people are missing. The area around Wayanad is known for its tea plantations, with many workers living in small settlements constructed on the tea-producing hills. “Most of these workers couldn’t get out to save themselves as it happened suddenly. Their houses are gone,” said Latheef.
“If we are not able to locate people by evening, the death toll will rise significantly,” he added.
The disaster — which hit a state where devastating landslides and floods in 2018 killed over 400 people and forced more than a million to evacuate — prompted warnings from opposition politicians in India about the rising risks from landslides.
“Our country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in recent years. The need of the hour is a comprehensive action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities in our ecologically fragile regions,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday in Parliament.
Gandhi also demanded that the compensation announced by the Indian government — $2,400 each for the families of the victims and $600 for those injured in the floods and landslides — be increased and expedited.
Floods are not uncommon during Kerala’s southwest monsoon season, which typically lasts from June to September.
Tuesday’s rain washed away many bridges, cutting off smaller towns and villages from the state highway network and complicating rescue operations, local media reported. According to the Hindu newspaper, state government minister Krishnankutty Rajan said authorities were trying to airlift stranded villagers and rig another bridge to reach the village of Mundakkai, where many were feared to be stuck.
The India Meteorological Department said rains are expected to continue Tuesday in Wayanad, as well as in three adjacent districts in Kerala.
Shams Irfan contributed to this report.
