Kerala’s deadly landslides follow several recent rain-related disasters

The devastating landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tuesday, which killed at least 123 people and injured 128, trails several other such catastrophic incidents in the past decade.In July alone, severe landslides resulting in many deaths struck Karnataka and some of the northeastern states, namely Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, although they did not cause extensive destruction like in Wayanad.The incident in Wayanad comes nearly two weeks after a massive landslide on National Highway 66 in Shirur village of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka claimed the lives of eight people.Following the landslide on July 16, three persons are still reported to be missing, including a lorry driver from Kerala.When it comes to major landslides in the past 10 years, Uttarakhand has been the most devastated. More than 5,000 people were feared killed in the valley of Kedarnath, the temple town of Uttarakhand, following rain fury in 2013.In 2014, in Malin village of Maharashtra in a landslide caused by incessant rainfall, more than 150 people were killed and a number of houses were destroyed.In 2021, 31 missing people were declared dead in Taliye village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district which was ravaged by a massive landslide in July due to heavy rains.The Manipur landslide that occurred in 2022 killed over 40 people and injured scores of people following heavy rains that also impacted the state capital of Imphal.Kerala too is no stranger to severe weather events that caused destruction to lives and properties. The state lost 483 people in the August 2018 floods, which was termed as the state’s ‘flood of the century’.The calamity not only led to loss of lives but also destroyed property and livelihoods. Its impact was such that the Centre declared the 2018 floods a “calamity of severe nature”.Over 14.50 lakh people belonging to 3.91 lakh families were rehabilitated in relief camps.