CHOORALMALA : Three days after a massive landslide wreaked death and devastation at Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad, the rescue workers and volunteers kept digging mounds of slush, removing huge boulders and trees in search of missing persons. As time passed, the task looked tough and unending as mud had accumulated to a height of 10 feet on either side of the river.
In a big relief to the rescue team, construction of the Bailey bridge connecting Mundakkai to the outside world was completed by the Army on Thursday evening. The rescue team moved five excavators to Mundakkai which helped expedite the search. Around 90% of the houses in Mundakkai are obliterated and are filled with mud and boulders to a height of 10 feet. Rescue workers are cautiously removing the debris, searching for people trapped underneath.
Incessant rain is hampering the operation and rescue workers have to wade through the mud to move ahead. They test the ground using a spade before each step to check whether it is marshy. Open wells and septic tanks are filled with mud, adding to the risk. The water level in the river rises suddenly sometimes and incessant rain increases the threat of more landslides.
Ajesh Kanakathu, who has brought four excavators for search at Chooralmala, says the river was just 20m wide when he cleared the debris after the 2018 floods.
“It has now widened to 500m and changed course. I was part of the rescue operation at Kuthumala. But the one at Mundakkai is ten times bigger. We are now removing the mud on the compound of two houses at Chooralmala searching for three missing people. There are three wells in the area and the excavator often sinks in mud, “ he said.
At the relief camp in Meppadi Government HSS, survivors narrate horrendous tales. Most of them are yet to recover from the shock. The health department has arranged counsellors to help them cope with the trauma. Many of them have lost their loved ones and the houses they built using their life’s earnings. They stare at an uncertain future as they have lost their livelihood, be it a shop, an autorickshaw or a taxi car. They are afraid of returning to the village as memories of the fateful night still haunt them. They wait near the helpdesk at the relief camp, impatiently, for news of their missing relatives.
The family of Abdul Manzoor, a tea estate worker at Mundakkai, was sleeping in their house in the estate lane when a huge tree crashed into the house and the walls collapsed. Manzoor woke up when the bricks and roof tiles fell on him. His wife Fausiya saw water gushing into the house. She immediately woke up her daughter Fida Fathima who ran up the hill on their backyard. By then, the house collapsed and Manzoor’s son Mohammed Shamil was trapped under the debris. Manzoor called his neighbour for help and together, they rescued Shamil. He had swallowed the muddy water and has developed pneumonia.
“The roar of the river was horrifying. While climbing the hill, we saw a tree crashing into the house of another neighbour Sirajudeen. He died in front of our eyes. We rescued his wife Saira Banu and mother Khaleeja who were sinking in the mud. A child from another house was being carried by the flood waters. We saved her too. Her parents are lost, and she has suffered severe injuries,” said Fida.
“We took refuge at a workers’ quarters nearby. Around 4 am there was a second landslide. The sound was thunderous. We thought the entire area will sink and ran to the upper region of the tea estate. At 5.30 am, we went to the estate bungalow where many survivors had taken refuge. By evening, we were helped in crossing the river through the temporary bridge,” she said.
The eyes of Asmabi and Fathima, two elderly women from Chooralmala, widened with fear as they narrated their trauma.
“I was woken up by an unusual sound. I peeked through the window and saw water all around the house. I woke my son and husband up and we ran to the terrace. At the time we heard screams coming from Fatima’s house. My son went and rescued her,” said Asmabi.
Fathima said: “I heard a roaring sound and was looking through the window when it crashed and mud started gushing in. I was thrown away by the force of the water and got caught between the almirah and the cot. Within minutes, the water rose up to my neck and I struggled to breath. Hearing my screams, my son Muhammad Ali and Asmabi’s son Niyas saved me,” she said.
Both families took refuge on the terrace of Asmabi’s house when the second landslide happened. The water level rose and a coconut tree fell on the house, they said, adding that they stood clutching the tree till morning. Only later did they realise that the house had partially collapsed and tilted. In the morning, rescue workers saved them.
“Fathima and I worked as housemaids in Saudi Arabia for 18 years and built the house using our lifetime earnings. There is no trace of Fathima’s house, while mine is completely damaged. My son Niyas had a jeep that he drove as a taxi to earn a living. It is lost. Fathima’s son had an autorickshaw. That too has been swept away,” said Asmabi.
Jinesh of Chooralmala was also sleeping when disaster struck. “I woke up upon hearing the huge sound and saw water devouring the steps of my house. I woke my parents up and we ran out. At the time, a woman from the neighbourhood, drenched in mud, came to us and said all her family members got washed away,” said Jinesh. “We ran to a house on the other side of the road. My father Vijayakumar fell in a well that was filled with mud. He started drowning but we managed to pull him out. We ran up the hill and spent the night in an estate,” he said.
The family of Thankaraj of Chooralmala lost six members, including his granddaughter. While the bodies of three – Vijesh, Kausalya and one-year-old Diya – were recovered from the compound, three others, Avanthika, Saraswathy and Dasan remain missing. There is no trace if the house where they lived. Thankaraj managed to escape as he was at his house in Vadavuchal.
seeking refuge
Relief camps: 9
Families in camps: 578
Total number of people in camps: 2,328
Men: 859
Women: 903
Children: 564
Pregnant women: 2
