Wayanad landslides: Death toll mounts to over 300, rescue ops continue for fourth day | Top highlights

The death toll in the Wayanad landslides has mounted to over 300 and the injured to 264, the Kerala health department said, as the rescue operations entered Day 4 on Friday, August 2. Since the landslides in Wayanad district, the rescue teams have recovered 130 body parts while contending with challenging conditions such as rain and muddy terrain. Two massive landslides hit Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, resulting in extensive destruction, numerous fatalities, and injuries to hundreds.

WAYANAD LANDSLIDES: KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Approximately 300 people are reportedly missing and the district administration had said that 9,328 people have been relocated to 91 relief camps in Wayanad.
• A total of 327 autopsies, including that of body parts that have been found, have been performed, the health department said.
• Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited landslide-hit spot in Wayanad on Thursday, August 1, where they met disaster survivors. Today, August 2, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi met the Meppadi Gram Panchayat delegation, understanding their concerns and needs in the wake of the devastating landslides in Wayanad.
• Congress has also promised to build more than 100 houses in Wayanad following the tragedy. “Kerala has not seen this type of tragedy in one area. Will raise it in Delhi,” Rahul Gandhi said.
• The gag order, issued by the Kerala government on August 1, directing the scientific community to restrain themselves from sharing their opinions and study reports with the media, has been withdrawn. In a statement, Kerala Chief Secretary V Venu said the order aimed to prevent statements that could be misinterpreted or misquoted.
• Brigadier Arjun Segan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre told ANI that a bridge was completed for vehicular movement. “This area where we are standing right now is Punchirimatta which is the source of landslide, beyond this, for another 500m there is habitation and then it is a forest area...this area was difficult to access,” he said.
• The Cl 24 Bailey Bridge – connecting Chooralmala with Mundakkai over the Iruvanipzha River – has also been constructed in record time to aid the rescue teams.
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest.
• The weather department has issued an orange alert in Wayanad district until Saturday. There will be clear skies too in between the rain spells.