WAYANAD: Chest-deep in water, he wanted to fold his hands and pray. But he couldn't afford to move a muscle. Any sudden movement and Jewel Maria - his four-year-old daughter perched on his weary shoulders - could slip away. She wasn't the only one he had to worry about. Huddled together nearby were his parents, wife and two sons.
It was pitch dark. The power lines had snapped long ago. As seconds turned to minutes and hours, the water level rose dangerously and the current got stronger than ever.
When help finally arrived, five long hours had passed.
The ordeal of the family of Shaju Ambarayil, a farmer from Madakkunnu who had to stand in the gushing waters for five hours, reflects the agony of flood victims.
Madakkunnu is a remote hamlet near Padinjarathura, off the Kalpetta-Mananthavady Road, where Ambarayil, 42, lives with his father Thomas, 67, mother Mary, 65, wife Lissy, 38, sons Donald, 17, Gerald, 14 and Jewel Maria.
The relentless rain, the gushing waters from the dams and landslides. The fury of the floods have swallowed Wayanad. The district, which reported 47 per cent deficiency in rain last year, has been ravaged by a deadly deluge this year. The district has received 15.38 per cent more rainfall till date after the onset of monsoon.
In the early hours of Monday, the shutters of Banasura Sagar dam were opened, resulting in a flash flood.
"I returned from work at 10 pm and was reading till 11 pm," recalled Ambarayil. "I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen as it was raining heavily and the water level in the nearby stream was rising at an alarming rate. We shifted our important belongings to the cattle shed, which was located on higher ground."
"Around 3 am, a portion of our house came crashing down. When we woke up, our house was marooned. We frantically waded through the gushing water to the cattle shed. By the time, the water had risen to waist level in our courtyard. It kept rising. We climbed on to the cow barn and stood there for five hours. As the water current was strong, I had to carry my daughter on my shoulders," said Ambarayil, his voice shaking while recounting the trauma.
Ambarayil had a pig farm located 100 metres away. There were 85 pigs in the farm of which 63 were lost as the gushing waters swept away the farm. His bike and Maruti van were buried in mud. There were landslides in Vythiri and Kurichiar Mala, which triggered flash floods. As the shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam were also opened, the water level rose suddenly, inundating low-lying areas.
"We couldn't step out of the cattle shed and I contacted the Fire and Rescue Service. But they were unable to reach our village as the area was cut off. Finally, a friend arrived in a country boat and saved us around 7.30 am," he said.
For now, the rescued family has been accommodated at the house of Ambarayil's friend Thekkilakkattil Aji.