Editor's Pick | Wayanad toll crosses 200; row erupts over disaster warning

The death toll in the landslides that devastated the Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas near Meppadi in Wayanad district of Kerala crossed 200 as the search and rescue operations gained momentum on Wednesday, Revenue Department officials said. Personnel of the Army, Defence Security Corps, National Disaster Response Force, Forest Department and Fire and Rescue Service picked through the debris strewn across the affected areas with the help of volunteers and rescue equipment, including earthmovers. Searing visuals of bodies being pulled out of the rubble, people desperately searching for their loved ones and terrified survivors recounting their ordeal filled television screens and social media platforms. A total of 174 bodies and 61 body parts were retrieved by Wednesday evening; 191 persons were missing. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 1,592 persons were rescued from the ravaged sites in two days and moved to various hospitals. Ninety-nine persons were undergoing treatment, the rest were shifted to relief camps. The heavy layer of slush and the slippery terrain adversely affected the progress of the search on Wednesday. A makeshift bridge, constructed by soldiers, to cross the river for rescue operations, was submerged in rainwater by evening. Meanwhile, the Army has started building a 190-metre Bailey bridge across the Punna river, a tributary of the Chaliyar river, to connect the affected areas. The bridge would have a carrying capacity of 20 tonnes and the construction will be completed by Friday evening. Kerala and Karnataka sub-area General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major-General V.T. Mathew, who was coordinating the Army’s rescue operations, said 100 more soldiers and three sniffer dogs would soon join the rescue operations at Chooralmala. The district administration is considering the feasibility of modern techniques such as ground mapping and use of the ground penetrating radar to retrieve bodies buried deep in the debris. The Centre and the Kerala government crossed swords over advance weather warnings for the State and the disaster response. In Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Kerala government did not gauge the severity of the situation accurately despite the Centre despatching nine National Disaster Response Force teams to the State on July 23. “Had those blaming the [Central] government read the warnings, the situation would have been different,” he said. The Chief Minister took issue with Mr. Shah’s statement, asserting that the Centre despatched the NDRF teams at the State government’s behest, given the intensifying monsoon, and not on its own volition. The State government moved an NDRF unit to Wayanad well in advance, he said. Answering a Calling Attention Motion in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Shah said the Centre issued the first warning on July 23 and repeated it on the next three days. Citing the examples of Odisha and Gujarat where “zero-casualty disaster management” was done, he asked why the Kerala government did not evacuate people from the vulnerable areas. “…I would like to specify that on July 23, the Kerala government was given an early warning by the Central government,” the Home Minister said. “On July 26, it [Kerala] was informed that there will be heavy rainfall of more than 20 centimetres, there is a possibility of a landslide, there could be a rush of mud and people could even die by getting buried beneath it,” he said. Three CPI(M) MPs in Rajya Sabha from Kerala — John Brittas, A.A. Rahim and V. Sivadasan — later approached Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar requesting him to direct Mr. Shah to clarify his statement. Separately, Mr. Sivadasan moved a privilege notice with the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General alleging Mr. Shah has misled the Upper House. In Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Vijayan said the forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Central Water Commission were wide off the mark. “None of the agencies had issued a red alert for Wayanad ahead of the July 30 landslides,” he said. “The rainfall far exceeded the initial warning. However, the agencies issued a red alert at 6 a.m. [on July 30] after the disaster struck,” he said. Wayanad was among several places in Kerala that had been featured high on a national-level database created by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2023 based on exposure to landslides in terms of “key socio-economic parameters”. Among 147 districts in 17 States and two Union Territories, Wayanad is ranked 13th, while Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode are ranked third, fifth, seventh and 10th, respectively, in the Landslide Atlas of India prepared by the National Remote Sensing Centre, one of the ISRO centres, in February 2023. “The vulnerability of the inhabitants and households is more significant in the Western Ghats due to the very high population and household density, especially in Kerala, even when fewer landslides exist than in the Himalayan regions,” the document said. It further noted that the “steep escarpments of the Western Ghats record occurrences of landslides, but however, these are primarily controlled by the soil cover on the slopes.” In an editorial, The Hindu noted that the monsoons have been producing more short bursts of intense rain, resulting in some soil types becoming easier to dislodge while quarrying. It pointed out that “linear infrastructure development, construction activities, and monocropping have compromised ecosystems’ ability to cope with changing natural conditions.” For these reasons, “patterns of land use must not change and the State must restore denuded flora and rehabilitate people in these areas to ensure they have other opportunities for their welfare.” The Hindu’s Editorials Unnatural disaster: On the Wayanad landslides Problem power: On small modular reactor plan The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Who is the mayor of Delhi? Satbir Singh Shelly Oberoi Aruna Asaf Ali Aaley Mohammad Iqbal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 01 August 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 01 August 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Wayanad toll crosses 200; row erupts over disaster warning [The death toll in the landslides that devastated the Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas near Meppadi in Wayanad district of Kerala crossed 200]( the search and rescue operations gained momentum on Wednesday, Revenue Department officials said. Personnel of the Army, Defence Security Corps, National Disaster Response Force, Forest Department and Fire and Rescue Service picked through the debris strewn across the affected areas with the help of volunteers and rescue equipment, including earthmovers. Searing visuals of bodies being pulled out of the rubble, people desperately searching for their loved ones and terrified survivors recounting their ordeal filled television screens and social media platforms. A total of 174 bodies and 61 body parts were retrieved by Wednesday evening; 191 persons were missing. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 1,592 persons were rescued from the ravaged sites in two days and moved to various hospitals. Ninety-nine persons were undergoing treatment, the rest were shifted to relief camps. The heavy layer of slush and the slippery terrain adversely affected the progress of the search on Wednesday. A makeshift bridge, constructed by soldiers, to cross the river for rescue operations, was submerged in rainwater by evening. Meanwhile, the Army has started building a 190-metre Bailey bridge across the Punna river, a tributary of the Chaliyar river, to connect the affected areas. The bridge would have a carrying capacity of 20 tonnes and the construction will be completed by Friday evening. Kerala and Karnataka sub-area General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major-General V.T. Mathew, who was coordinating the Army’s rescue operations, said 100 more soldiers and three sniffer dogs would soon join the rescue operations at Chooralmala. The district administration is considering the feasibility of modern techniques such as ground mapping and use of the ground penetrating radar to retrieve bodies buried deep in the debris. [The Centre and the Kerala government crossed swords over advance weather warnings for the State and the disaster response](. In Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Kerala government did not gauge the severity of the situation accurately despite the Centre despatching nine National Disaster Response Force teams to the State on July 23. “Had those blaming the [Central] government read the warnings, the situation would have been different,” he said. The Chief Minister took issue with Mr. Shah’s statement, asserting that the Centre despatched the NDRF teams at the State government’s behest, given the intensifying monsoon, and not on its own volition. The State government moved an NDRF unit to Wayanad well in advance, he said. Answering a Calling Attention Motion in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Shah said the Centre issued the first warning on July 23 and repeated it on the next three days. Citing the examples of Odisha and Gujarat where “zero-casualty disaster management” was done, he asked why the Kerala government did not evacuate people from the vulnerable areas. “…I would like to specify that on July 23, the Kerala government was given an early warning by the Central government,” the Home Minister said. “On July 26, it [Kerala] was informed that there will be heavy rainfall of more than 20 centimetres, there is a possibility of a landslide, there could be a rush of mud and people could even die by getting buried beneath it,” he said. Three CPI(M) MPs in Rajya Sabha from Kerala — John Brittas, A.A. Rahim and V. Sivadasan — later approached Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar requesting him to direct Mr. Shah to clarify his statement. Separately, Mr. Sivadasan moved a privilege notice with the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General alleging Mr. Shah has misled the Upper House. In Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Vijayan said the forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Central Water Commission were wide off the mark. “None of the agencies had issued a red alert for Wayanad ahead of the July 30 landslides,” he said. “The rainfall far exceeded the initial warning. However, the agencies issued a red alert at 6 a.m. [on July 30] after the disaster struck,” he said. [Wayanad was among several places in Kerala that had been featured high on a national-level database created by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2023 based on exposure to landslides in terms of “key socio-economic parameters”](. Among 147 districts in 17 States and two Union Territories, Wayanad is ranked 13th, while Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode are ranked third, fifth, seventh and 10th, respectively, in the Landslide Atlas of India prepared by the National Remote Sensing Centre, one of the ISRO centres, in February 2023. “The vulnerability of the inhabitants and households is more significant in the Western Ghats due to the very high population and household density, especially in Kerala, even when fewer landslides exist than in the Himalayan regions,” the document said. It further noted that the “steep escarpments of the Western Ghats record occurrences of landslides, but however, these are primarily controlled by the soil cover on the slopes.” In an [editorial]( The Hindu noted that the monsoons have been producing more short bursts of intense rain, resulting in some soil types becoming easier to dislodge while quarrying. It pointed out that “linear infrastructure development, construction activities, and monocropping have compromised ecosystems’ ability to cope with changing natural conditions.” For these reasons, “patterns of land use must not change and the State must restore denuded flora and rehabilitate people in these areas to ensure they have other opportunities for their welfare.” The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Unnatural disaster: On the Wayanad landslides]( [Arrow][Problem power: On small modular reactor planÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Who is the mayor of Delhi? - Satbir Singh - Shelly Oberoi - Aruna Asaf Ali - Aaley Mohammad Iqbal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[RSS has all the right to participate in developmental journey: Dhankhar] RSS has all the right to participate in developmental journey: Dhankhar]( [[ISIL-K seeks to recruit lone actors through India-based handlers: U.N. report] ISIL-K seeks to recruit lone actors through India-based handlers: U.N. report]( [[Delhi coaching centre deaths: Court rejects bail pleas of SUV driver, basement co-owners] Delhi coaching centre deaths: Court rejects bail pleas of SUV driver, basement co-owners]( [[Delhi rains: Two drown in Ghazipur; schools closed on August 1] Delhi rains: Two drown in Ghazipur; schools closed on August 1]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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