Rescue operations at the site of a landslide in Puthumala at Wayanad, Kerala. (Express photo)AROUND 8 PM Thursday, when Thankamani heard a booming sound, she knew the hill was coming down. Seconds later, mud, trees and boulders swept down along the two sides of her home. All night, she held on to her husband Velayudhan, as torrential rain pounded their village.
On Friday morning, she stepped out. The neighborhood of around a dozen homes had disappeared. The landslide had wiped out everything — except for her home, a small temple and a clump of arecanut trees in the centre. All around were layers of muddy, brown soil.
By Sunday, 50 people remained missing from Kavalappara in Kerala's Malappuram district, and 13 bodies had been retrieved by rescuers, including teams from National Disaster Response Force, Madras Regiment and state government, and local volunteers.
A scene from Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district. (India Navy)“Everyone thought we were dead. We didn't think we would survive, either. If we were dying anyway, I wanted us to go together. But God saved us,” said Thankamani, 49.
The rains appear to have eased but the official death toll from this month's floods in Kerala, mainly in the northern districts of Malappuram and Wayanad, has risen to 72. Officials said as many as 2.51 lakh people from 73,076 families have been shifted to relief camps.
“Everyone is helpless before this tragedy,'' said State Minister K T Jaleel, who is…
