A series of landslides occurred in Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Vellarimala villages in Meppadi panchayat, Vythiri taluk 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 onto the areas below. The disaster was one of the deadliest in Kerala's history, with reports of 420 fatalities, 397 injuries, and 118 people missing. 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.
Background
Wayanad is at risk of landslides during monsoon seasons. Located in the Western Ghats mountain range, its hills consist of faulted and eroded mountain edges of the Deccan Plateau. Geological evidence suggests that this region was shaped during the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. As a result of this breakup, the Deccan Plateau was formed from basalt rocks, leading to the rise of the Western Ghats. Geophysical data indicates that the mountainous area of Wayanad emerged along the west coast of India during the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous periods when India separated from the African continent. The Iruvanjippuzha and Chaliyar rivers, both originating in the Western Ghats, flow westward towards the Arabian Sea due to the steep gradient from east to west. Numerous smaller streams drain the region into these rivers, often carrying a substantial volume of water during the monsoon months. According to Meppadi government disaster mitigation documents prepared in 2020, the villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Puthumala, Attamala, Vellithodu, Thrikkaippatta, and Kottatharavayal are highly sensitive to landslides and flash floods.
The villages of Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Vellarimala are located on hilly terrain and farmland used for tea and coffee plantations, such as Harrisons Malayalam Limited. They border the Nilambur forests and the Chaliyar river. Residents of these villages are primarily agricultural workers who have lived in the area for generations. Most of the residents are plantation workers and raise animals.
Incident
The Western Ghats in Kerala experienced heavy rains, accumulating 204.5 mm (8.05 in) of rainfall during the first 24 hours and 372.6 mm (14.67 in) in the following 24 hours before the event. Due to the heavy rainfall, residents of Punjirimattom, Attamala, and Mundakkai were relocated to relief camps by local authorities starting on 29 July 2024. Despite an alert issued by the district administration, many residents in the Chooralmala area chose to remain in their homes, as the area was not classified as landslide-prone. Around 02:17 IST (20:47 UTC), a landslide struck near the origin of the Punnappuzha river (one of the tributaries of Chaliyar), between the villages of Punjirimattom and Mundakkai, sweeping away both villages. This was followed by a second landslide at approximately 04:10 IST (22:40 UTC) in nearby Chooralmala, which diverted the Iruvanjippuzha river, causing flash floods that washed away the entire Chooralmala village. The collapse of the only bridge connecting the settlements left approximately 400 families stranded in Mundakkai and Attamala.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) on the Wayanad landslides prepared by the Geological Survey of India, the velocity of the debris flow was 57 m/s (190 ft/s). The debris flow originated as a debris slide at an elevation of 1,544 metres (5,066 ft), then followed the river's path, carrying tons of rock and soil mixed with water, forming a slurry that devastated everything in its path. The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a subsidiary of the Indian Space Research Organisation, analyzed satellite imagery and released their findings on 1 August 2024. The images revealed that approximately 86,000 m2 (930,000 sq ft) of land had moved down the hill.
Aftermath
Loss of human lives
Over 420 people were killed and 397 people were injured, making these landslides the deadliest in Kerala's history. Seventeen entire families died. Most of the victims were tea and cardamom estate workers, asleep when the landslides struck. More than 118 people remain unaccounted for. Among the survivors, at least five children lost both parents, while six others lost one parent in the disaster. The landslides led to the mixing of muddy water and debris with the Chaliyar river, in which over 200 bodies or body parts were found.
Property and commercial loss
More than 1,555 houses and other buildings including schools, a dispensary, the panchayat bhawan, the electricity board office, and 136 community buildings were damaged. Additionally, 290 shops, 124 km (77 mi) of electricity infrastructure, two transformers, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) of rural roads, and three bridges were affected. The landslides also devastated a total of 600 ha (1,500 acres) of land, including 310 ha (770 acres) of farmland. After the landslides, business institutions including hundreds of shops in Chooralmala and Mundakkai were shut down by officials, citing danger of additional landslides. According to Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, these restrictions cost more than ₹25 crore (US$2.7 million) to the business community in the impacted areas. Harrisons Malayalam lost 10 ha (25 acres) of tea estate, which cultivates an estimated 230 tonnes of tea produce worth ₹3.5 crore (US$370,000); forty-one estate employees and forty-eight of their family members were either missing or dead.
Loss of wildlife and livestock
The Wayanad Animal Husbandry Department reported that nearly 150 cattle and 75 goats perished in the disaster. Wildlife activists noted a relatively low number of wild animal deaths, despite large swathes of forests being flattened by the landslides, because of their heightened alertness to natural disasters. Among the deceased wild animals were two tigers, a sambar deer and its calf, and eight wild elephants, including four from the Periyar Tiger Reserve and two each from the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the Malayattoor forests. The Animal Husbandry Department also reported that 14 out of the 40 dairy farmers in the Chooralmala Dairy Cooperative Society were believed to be among the disaster victims, causing a drop of 12,420 litres (2,730 imp gal; 3,280 US gal) in milk production in Wayanad, and resulting in a shortage of milk supplies across Kerala. Additionally, large amounts of fodder grass used to feed domesticated livestock was destroyed.
Rescue operations
Extrication efforts
First week
Due to continuous heavy rains and the risk of further landslides, search operations could not begin until later in the day on 30 July, when numerous rescuers from various groups were deployed. The Indian Army established a command-and-control center in Kozhikode district to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations on 31 July. Over 4,000 people were rescued and more than 10,000 were relocated to 93 disaster relief camps in Wayanad. As a precaution, schools and colleges were closed in 10 out of 14 districts in Kerala. On 1 August, 144 army personnel from the Madras Engineer Group's Engineer Task Force constructed a temporary 190-foot-long (58 m) Bailey bridge within 31 hours. This bridge connected the Chooralmala village with Mundakkai over the Iruvanjippuzha River. The Kerala government also established 45 relief camps in Wayanad, providing shelter to over 4,000 people, while the state health department set up a control room to offer emergency assistance. Kerala's health minister, Veena George, stated that at least 1,500 rescue personnel, including forensic surgeons, were deployed.
On 2 August, the Indian Air Force deployed Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, drones, and a specialized team of subsoil evacuation and rescue monitoring experts from Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad. Rescue teams were divided across six zones (Attamala, Aaranmala, Mundakkai, Punjirimattom, Vellarmala village road, GVHSS Vellarmala), as well as areas downstream of the Chaliyar river. All police stations along the Chaliyar river were involved in the rescue efforts, assisted by regional expert swimmers. During the rescue operation in Mundakkai village, advanced radar detected signs of breathing beneath the soil; by evening, it was determined that these were more likely from animals rather than trapped humans. On 3 August, rescue operations resumed using advanced radar equipment and dog squads to locate buried victims. Authorities later reported that 341 autopsies had been completed, with 148 bodies identified. An aerial survey of the affected areas was conducted by Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan and Army Station Commander M. P. Salil in order to assess the damage and carry out rescue operations.
Second week
There were increased rescue measures in the disaster-struck areas of Wayanad on 4 August. Advanced radar, drones, and heavy machinery, including earth movers and cranes were used to find survivors or buried remains. Odisha Police K9 unit Storm, known for his sniffing abilities in harsh conditions and proven past record, was also involved in the rescue operation. The rescue operations were aided by numerous experienced volunteers. Most of the rescue efforts were diverted to the Cheliyar River, which flows through Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad, because of an increased possibility of remains to be found in the river. Eight unclaimed bodies were buried in Puthumala. The search for missing people entered its seventh day on 5 August, with the resumption of search operations at the Chaliyar River. DNA samples from unidentified bodies were collected, to be later matched with family members. Traffic restrictions were put in place on the temporary bridge connecting Chooralmala and Mundakkai, allowing only rescuers to cross. In Puthumala, 31 unclaimed bodies and over 158 body parts were buried after interfaith prayers, each grave was marked with a DNA sample number. A large number of ambulances and more cadaver dogs were deployed in the search and rescue operations. Buried Object Detection Systems were used to find deeply-buried bodies. A special drive was initiated in the remote areas between Soochipara Falls and Pothukallu with the help of twelve army rescuers, dog squads, and forest department officials to find victims in Meppadi on 6 August. Teams were formed, each including one panchayath ward member of the Grama Panchayath, to assess the structural integrity of residential buildings. The Kerala government initiated a search operation in the Arabian Sea and sought the aid of the Navy and Coast Guard. The local authorities reported that 53 children had either died or were missing in the landslides. Rescue operations started in the Sunrise Valley area on 7 August. Kerala police registered 62 cases of spreading misinformation about misuse of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund and arrested 15.
Search operations continued on 8 August. Search teams were delivered to inaccessible areas along the Chaliyar river with Air Force helicopters, and the use of heavy machines and K9 dog squads in Chooralmala and Mundakkai continued. The Indian Army withdrew partially from search operations and handed over further activities to the NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), firefighters, and the Kerala police. A small contingent remained in the area to maintain the temporary bridge and to assist with search operations. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested that volunteers avoid sending provisions, clothes, vegetables or confectionery to the disaster zone, instead to provide financial contributions for rehabilitation as nearly 400 truckloads of relief materials was in surplus. The State government began to allow survivors and next-of-kin of the missing or dead to take part in the final search operation between 06:00 and 11:00 IST on 9 August, along with disaster management authorities and medical teams. The Indian Army's K-9 Dog Squad also ended their search and rescue operations and exited Wayanad's landslide zone. A holiday was declared for all schools and colleges in the affected area after a booming sound caused anxiety among the locals. The state government initiated massive waste management efforts, and cleared over 150 tonnes of waste. Three dead bodies and one body part was found and then airlifted from near Kanthanpara Waterfalls. More than 700 documents such as revenue certificates, land ownership certificates, ration cards, and house ownership documents were distributed to affected families.