Kerala landslides: Vijayan urges people to come together like in 2018 to rebuild destroyed lives

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday put out an appeal while speaking of the trail of destruction and despair left behind by the landslides in Wayanad district that killed 93 people and injured 128. He urged people to come together to rebuild destroyed lives and livelihoods, like they did in 2018 when floods ravaged the state. Vijayan said that while many people were offering help, more was needed to rebuild the affected areas and lives, and urged everyone to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. Vijayan said that as the initial landslide occurred around 2 am and the next one at around 4.10 am, villagers — including children — in Mundakai, Chooralmala and Attamala areas of Wayanad were caught off-guard as they were asleep. As a result many were swept away or trapped under debris, leading to the huge loss of life with hundreds still missing, the CM said at a press conference held here in the evening. He said that of the 93 bodies recovered, 34 were identified and of them 18 were handed over to family members. The CM also said that 16 bodies were recovered from the Chaliyar river at Pothukal village in the neighbouring district of Malappuram. Besides that, the body parts of persons washed away were also recovered by search-and-rescue teams, he said.