Over 40 People Who Went Missing In Wayanad Landslide Still Untraced As Kerala Battles Deluge

The death toll in the ongoing rains and flooding in Kerala for the past three days have risen to 44 on Saturday. More than one lakh people across the state have been displaced in the past three days in the flood and have been moved to some 1002 temporary relief camps.

BCCL

This comes as the most part of the state continues to experience heavy to very heavy rains forcing authorities to issue red alerts in seven districts. Widespread landslides have been reported in many parts of the state, triggering fears of more fatalities.

Meanwhile, the fate of some 40 people who went missing after their village was washed away by a landslide on Wednesday evening is still unclear. The tribal hamlet in Meppadi has been buried under the mud for days now.

AFP

So far nine people have been confirmed dead in the mishap. The search and rescue operations in Meppadi had to be suspended multiple times due to the hostile weather. The army rescue team which is in Wayanad has not been able to reach the disaster spot yet.

REUTERS

There are more troubles for Wayanad, which is one of the worst-hit in the rains so far. The Banasura Sagar Dam which has filled to its storage capacity will be opened later in the day. This is likely to further worsen the situation in the area.

In other districts like Palakkad and Kozhikode, the rain situation has eased as there were no overnight rains. Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi who had earlier delayed his visit has announced that he will be coming to his constituency on Sunday.

BCCL

Meanwhile, the chance of the Cochin International Airport resuming operations on Sunday is increasingly looking unlikely as the runway is still submerged. Efforts to drain the water from the runways has not made much progress as a nearby river continues to overflow. Ernakulam has experienced fewer rains in the past few hours, giving hope that the situation could improve further.

As of now, all the flights to and from Cochin have been diverted to other airports. The story of rail traffic is no different. A number of trains have either been cancelled or diverted due to flooding in the railway tracks.

BCCL

In Idukki, the situation has improved in the past 24 hours and water has been receding in places including Munnar which was one of the first cities to be flooded.

The heavy rains have also ravaged the power supplies and communication in many parts of the state, effectively cutting of many in the remote areas.

Kerala is battling an unprecedented flood, exactly a year after it went through the 'flood of the century' in 2018, which had left more than 400 people dead.