Date | 30 July 2024 |
---|---|
Time | 02:17–04:30 (IST) |
Location | Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Vellarimala villages in Meppadi Panchayat, Vythiri taluk, Wayanad district, Kerala, India |
Coordinates | 11°46′54.4″N 76°13′57.6″E / 11.781778°N 76.232667°E |
Type | Landslide and Flash flood |
Cause | Heavy rain |
Outcome | Loss of human lives and properties |
Deaths | 420 |
Non-fatal injuries | 397 |
Missing | 47 |
Property damage | ₹1,200 crore (US$140 million)[1][2][3][4] |
Displaced | 10,000 |
2024 Wayanad Landslide Report |
The 2024 Wayanad landslides were a series of landslides that occurred in Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Vellarimala villages in Meppadi panchayat, Vythiri taluk[5] in Wayanad district, Kerala, India in the early hours of 30 July 2024. The landslides were caused by heavy rains that caused hillsides to collapse, destroying the areas below. The disaster was one of the deadliest in Kerala's history, with reports of over 420 fatalities,[6][7] 397 injuries,[8] and 118 people missing.[7][8] Deforestation, seismic sensitivity, poor building construction, and global warming have been identified as possible causes for the landslides and fatalities.
Many government agencies such as the armed forces, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire and rescue services, and forest and wildlife authorities, as well as volunteers, launched a large-scale rescue mission to search for survivors.[9]
Revenue Minister K. Rajan said the region has incurred loss to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore.
Revenue Minister says the total loss caused by the calamity is ₹1,200 crore and the State will need at least ₹2,000 crore for the rehabilitation process
Revenue Minister K Rajan said the region has incurred a loss of Rs 1,200 crore and while Rs 2,000 crore was sought for rehabilitation alone.
Kerala has incurred a loss of ₹1,200 crore in the Wayanad landslides, the State government has told the Kerala High Court.
On 30.07.2024 at about 0217 hrs, due to incessant and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall,a major landslide incident occurred at Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Vellarimala Village,Meppadi Panchayat, Vythiri taluk in District Wayanad.
At the end of the week-long rescue operation, the search operations team recovered 231 bodies while 118 persons were declared missing. The unidentified bodies and body parts—including severed limbs and dismembered remains—were assigned specific numbers for future identification, and samples were taken for DNA testing. The 421 samples were then sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Kannur, where forensic experts began the task of matching names to the body parts recovered from the tragedy.
Following the incident, the authorities launched Fire and Rescue Services, Forest and Wildlife authorities, and the police, along with hundreds of volunteers and government officials rescued several stranded people in the surrounding forest area and mud-filled locations. On August 1, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said over 9,300 people were staying in 91 relief camps in Wayanad district.