Landslide kills 6, rain plays havoc in Kerala

At least six persons, including three children, were killed and nine were feared missing in a landslide that hit a mountainous village in Kozhikode district in the wee hours of Thursday even as heavy rains continued to pound northern Kerala for the sixth consecutive day. The death toll in this year’s southwestern monsoon stood at 29 as on Thursday. Heavy rains and strong winds had started pounding the State a week ago.

Three houses were washed away in the gushing mud and water and two were buried under mud, rocks and uprooted trees in the landslip that hit Karinchola in Kattippara Panchayat in Kozhikode district at about 5.00 am on Thursday. Those who were killed belonged to these two houses and those gone missing were feared to have been trapped in them. Search for the missing had to be stopped late evening due to lack of light and heavy rains.

Incessant heavy rains triggered over a dozen landslides on Thursday in the north Kerala districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Palakkad districts. Five of these landslides had occurred in the mountainous eastern reaches of Kozhikode district. Scores houses were damaged, many of them totally destroyed, and hundreds of acres of farmlands were inundated.

Almost all rivers in northern Kerala were overflowing inundating roads and residential areas and the Thiruvambady region in eastern Kozhikode where all the six landslides in the district occurred remained virtually cut off. Hundreds of people were shifted to relief camps even as authorities issued red alert across the region in the context of the continuing heavy downpour.

Traffic along many important roads in Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Malappuram districts have totally been stalled or suspended due to flood waters from swollen rivers and landslips. The inter-State road through Makkuttom in Kannur, where a landslide had occurred the other day, would remain closed till July 12, the authorities said.

A 55-year-old man was killed near Kodungallur in Thrissur after being trapped under an uprooted tree. The body of Hamzah, a fishermen hailing from Tanur, Malappuram, who had gone missing off the coast of Ponnani the other day, was found on Thursday. As many as 23 persons had been killed in rain-related incidents till Wednesday in the State since June 8.

Panic has increased across the monsoon-ravaged State with the India Meteorology Department warning that heavy rains could continue for another 48 hours.

The agency also advised fishermen to avoid venturing into sea off the Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep coasts because of the possibility of strong winds with speeds up to 40 kmph which could gust to 50 kmph.

The horrific landslide in Karinchola occurred when the people were asleep in their houses. Suresh, one of the residents of the area, said, “I heard a big sound. There was no time to think. I ran away with my family.” Suresh’s house, crops and the domestic animals he had been rearing were washed away in the mud and water rushed down the hill by the landslip.

Apart from Karinchola, mountainous villages Kakkayam, Pulloorampara, Chamal and Venappara also were hit by landslides on Thursday. According to Revenue officials, the landslides had caused injuries to many people, damages to dozens of houses and extensive crop and farmland losses, the volume of which was yet to be assessed.

Landslides also occurred at Kadappara, Pothemcode and Mannennakkayam near Mangalam in Palakkad district and at West Chathalloor near Edavanna in Malappuram district. Announcement by the authorities that the shutters of the Kakkayam dam in Kozhikode and Mangalam dam in Palakkad worsened the panic and anxiety of people in the monsoon-ravaged villages.

Rescue workers shifted to safety over 50 people who were hit by a landslide at Valarikkunnu in Vellamunda in Wayanad district. Three members of a family were injured when tons of mud fell on their house at Lakkidi, Wayanad. A similar incident was reported from Sixth Mile, Pozhuthana in the same district.

A 48-member team of the National Disaster Response Force was leading the rescue operations in the landslip-hit Kozhikode areas in which the police, Fire and Rescue Force and local residents were active. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued emergency instructions to the Chief Secretary and respective district collectors to step up the rescue and relief operations.

The mountainous areas of Thrissur district in central Kerala continued to be pounded by heavy downpour for the fourth consecutive day, Thursday. As all the six shutters in the Peringalkuthu dam in the district were lifted due to rising water levels, the river Chalakudy downstream was flowing above the danger line and authorities issued alert to the people living on its banks.