Kerala has witnessed heavy rainfall during the last few weeks. Such intense rains, while not unusual in the state during monsoon, has brought widespread flood and landslides this year, in horrific repetition of what happened last year.
More than 100 people lost their lives across the state in August. Notably, nearly half of these casualties were reported from Malappuram district, where a deadly landslide took place. Villagers of Kavalappara, which is located at Pothukal panchayat near Nilambur town, are still struggling to cope with the nightmarish events that unfolded on August 8, when a portion of a huge hill of the Western Ghats collapsed on their village, burying more than 50 villagers alive. Search operations are still on and not all the bodies have been recovered yet.
On August 17, The Wire visited the village. While some villagers were cleaning their homes and wells, many others were still in shock. The Wire also visited a similar site in Wayanad district, where, at Meppadi panchayat, an entire village was shaken by a similar massive landslide.
These photographs portray the depth of the disaster.
Villagers at the site of landslide at Pathar. Here rocks, trees and mud, which fell when a portion of a nearby mountain collapsed, cover nearly everything, including houses and shops.A house hit by landslides, at Pothukal, Malappuram.A mosque destroyed after being hit by the landslides at Pothukal in Malappuram.A view of Kavalappara, in Pothukal panchayat. Here, more than 50 persons were buried alive following a hill collapse. Search operations were underway when The Wire visited on August 17.A house at Kavalappara in Pothukal. The landslide is seen in the background.This house at Puthumala was narrowly spared by the massive landslide that hit the village on August 8. Around 70 houses and other buildings were destroyed.A view of the Puthumala landslide site.Remains of the village at the Puthumala landslide site.Sulaiman stands in front of his house at Puthumala. He told The Wire that a minor landslide on August 7 forced the family to leave the house at midnight. This, however, saved them from the bigger landslide that hit the village on the next day.A view of Puthumala at Meppadi panchayat, where the deadly landslide took place on August 8. Officials and volunteers are involved in the search operation, are seen in the photo.The search operation to recover the missing bodies was underway at Puthumala when The Wire visited on August 18.Like last year, socio-political-religious groups as well as individuals have come forward to support those who are affected by floods and landslides. This photo shows the outside of a collection centre at Meppadi.Civilian volunteers are at work inside the collection centre at Meppadi.
Aswanth S.M. is a journalism student at N.M.S.M. Government College, Kalpetta, Kerala.
