Over 300 people have died as a result of Tuesday’s devastating landslides in Wayanad. Rescuers are working quickly to find any survivors who may still be buried beneath the rubble or inside collapsed structures. Thus far, landslides caused by intense rainfall in Wayanad’s hilly regions have claimed the lives of 308 individuals.
In addition to expanding rescue efforts, which are now in their fourth day, a drone-based radar will be used to locate the survivors.
Rescue efforts were hindered by a number of issues, including hazardous terrain caused by destroyed roads and bridges, a lack of heavy equipment, and difficulty clearing mud and uprooted trees that fell on houses and other buildings, resulting in over 200 injuries.
The searches in the impacted areas were being carried out by a joint team consisting of the Indian Army, NDRF, Coast Guard, and Indian Navy. Each team will consist of one employee from the forest department and three villagers.
To conduct the rescue operations, forty teams of rescue professionals will divide the search areas into six zones. Attamala and Aaranmala make up the first zone. The second zone is Mundakkai; the third zone is Punjirimattam; the fourth zone is Vellarmala Village Road; the fifth zone is GVHSS Vellarmala; the sixth zone is downstream of the Chaliyar River.
Along with residents who are proficient swimmers, eight police stations along the river will send officers to assist with the searches.
Four individuals, two men and two women, were discovered by the Indian Army to be trapped at Padavetti Kunnu in Wayanad. A helicopter was used to evacuate them. One of the women who was saved, though, is having problems with her limb and is getting the care she needs.
The Indian Army built the Bailey Bridge, which collapsed owing to landslides, and up to 25 ambulances will traverse it in record time to Mundakkai.
In addition to deploying its C-130 aircraft from the Hindon airfield in Ghaziabad for the rescue efforts, the Indian Air Force will also transport sophisticated drone equipment and a team of experts to Wayanad to monitor the subsurface evacuation and conduct survivor searches.
Authorities from the Coast Guard, Navy, and Forest Department will scour the banks of the Chaliyar River and other areas where the bodies might have washed up.
Today, four more dogs from Tamil Nadu will be transported to Wayanad to accompany the six other dogs that are currently participating in the rescue efforts.
Congressmen Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with party leaders on Friday to discuss relief efforts after arriving in Wayanad to supervise the rescue efforts. They also attended a briefing by the district administration and met a delegation from Meppadi Gramme Panchayat.
The Gandhi siblings will visit the forest offices in Mundakkai and Chooralmala today after seeing the victims of the landslip on Thursday. Both these places were heavily damaged due to the landslides.
US President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the families of those who perished in the Wayanad landslides and commended the rescuers for their bravery and dedication in the face of difficulties in the recovery process.
The Army and other officials rescued almost 1,000 people, although over 200 individuals were injured. As the rescue efforts continue, it is anticipated that the number of fatalities will increase.
Wayanad and a number of other districts are expected to receive further rain during the next few days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). For the districts of Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargod, a red alert for heavy rain has been issued.
