CHOORALMALA: Siju Chacko Adimaril, a farmer, and his family in Chooralmala are yet to recover from the trauma of the landslide that has devastated the area.
"The sound we heard around 2am on Tuesday was deafening. It was many times higher than the explosion we hear from quarries," said Siju, one of the few people fortunate enough to have survived the fury of the massive landslide.
They are now staying at a relief camp in Meppadi.
"Along with my wife and 10-year-old son, I ran out of the house on hearing the noise. My wife is convalescing from a surgery. We walked through the mud in the darkness. We don’t even know how we reached a safe place," he said.
His son is a student of the Vellarmala Government Vocational HSS, which has suffered heavy damage.
"The tiny rivulet here has been transformed into a big river and has reached the doorstep of my house. Strangely, I found the carcass of a huge deer on my doorstep. The origin of the landslide might be deep inside the forest and the carcass might have been washed away in the water," Siju said.
There was another family residing close to his house, he went on to add.
"A couple was living there... their children are studying elsewhere. I don’t know where they are now. Around 250 persons were living in the area and I know them well," said an anxious Siju, who was frantically searching for his dear and near.
Siju is constructing a new house at Meppadi and was staying in the old house at Chooralmala for the time being.
"It appears like a nightmare to us. We never imagined such a thing would happen to us. I and my family are experiencing some problems with our ears, which could be the fallout of the deafening sound," he said.