Wayanad Landslides Toll Crosses 360 As Rescue Ops Enter Day 6, Kerala Govt Announces Township For Survivors

Rescuers are using radars, drones, and heavy machinery to locate an estimated 206 missing people. Kerala government is providing free rations and plans to establish new township for displaced victims.

Search operations entered the sixth consecutive day in disaster-hit Kerala's Wayanad on Sunday, with rescuers racing against time to find survivors from the debris of landslides that have killed over 360 people. With around 206 people still missing, deep search radars, drones, heavy machinery and cadaver dogs have been deployed to locate survivors or deceased, believed to be trapped beneath the huge debris in the landslide-ravaged villages. 

Nearly 1,300 personnel from various forces -- including the NDRF, K-9 Dog Squad, Army, Special Operation Group, Madras Engineering Group, Police, Fire Force, Forest Department, Navy, and Coast Guard -- deployed in the disaster-struck areas, have stepped up their efforts to find people or their remains.

The death toll has touched 366 after Wayanad’s four villages were washed away by nature’s fury on Tuesday morning, according to a report by IANS.

Kerala Landslides: Top Points

• Residents of landslide-devastated villages, who were forced to flee their homes, have reported thefts from their abandoned properties, prompting police to increase night patrols. The displaced residents said that thieves are taking advantage of the state's biggest humanitarian crisis to steal valuables, as per a report by NDTV.


• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the search and rescue operations have entered their final stages. He said there was difficulty in identifying the dead bodies and parts recovered from the Chaliyar River. The Kerala government also announced free ration to the people of Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad district, which were hit by the devastating landslide on July 30. Vijayan said Education Minister R Bindu will also visit Wayanad to ensure children's education is not disrupted. 


• The Vijayan-led state government has also announced plans to establish a new township to rehabilitate displaced victims. The CM said the state has received offers from the Congress party and the Karnataka government to build 100 houses each for rehabilitating those who have lost everything in the disaster. He said similar offers to build houses have been made by others too. "The government plans a comprehensive rehabilitation process for the survivors, aiming for swift completion. A new, safer area will be identified for constructing a township," the Chief Minister said referring to the rehabilitation efforts, according to a PTI report. 


• Amidst the help coming from various quarters for rehabilitating people, a similar effort was also made by the Animal Welfare Department of the state for the domestic animals, including livestock, who were rendered homeless and ownerless in the disaster. As per a PTI report, the department on Saturday decided to hand over the domestic animals to dairy farmers in the vicinity of the landslide-hit areas who are willing to take them.


• Meanwhile, the issue of making donations to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) created a ripple within the Congress after senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala announced that he would donate his one month's salary, which he draws as an MLA to the CM's funds.


• The announcement reportedly drew a sharp reaction from his party colleague and KPCC chief K Sudhakaran, who, on Saturday, expressed displeasure by saying that there was no need to give money to the funds managed by the CPI(M)-led Left government. Sudhakaran's statement comes amidst online smear campaigns discouraging people from sending funds to the CMDRF. The police have lodged 39 FIRs till Friday in connection with the smear campaigns against the CM's Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district.