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Kerala State Disaster Management Authority Secretary Sekar Kuriakose said on Tuesday that the rescue of lives in the landslides that hit the Meppadi area of Kerala's Wayanad is coordinated and they have sufficient forces.
The Kerala Revenue Minister's office informed that the death toll has increased to 84 in the Wayanad landslide incident and a total of 116 injuries have been reported so far. Kuriakose informed that 10 teams of fire and rescue, 200 civil defence volunteers, and 3 teams of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) will operate and they have also requested a fourth team. "The rescue is coordinated and we have sufficient forces. NDRF was prepositioned... 10 teams of fire and rescue, 200 civil defence volunteers...3 teams of NDRF will operate and we have requested the 4th team, two teams of Defence security cops, and one Navy river crossing team. We have also requested an engineering task force from the army. We have aircraft ready to move these troops," he said. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has declared official mourning in the state on Tuesday and Wednesday after 84 people lost their lives in a landslide incident in Wayanad. Earlier, the Indian Army column reached the landslide site at Chooralmala by noon. Using ropes, soldiers are being ferried across the river, which is in spate, to assist and carry out rescue efforts in Ward No. 10 of Chooralmala. Kerala Forest Minister Saseendran reached the affected area to assess the damage and coordinate immediate response measures. State Minister Ramachandran Kadannappalli is expected to join the efforts on the ground. In addition, a delegation of state ministers of Revenue, Public Works, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Departments are travelling by air from Thiruvananthapuram and are expected to reach the site soon, as per the Kerala chief minister's office. An Indian Navy team from the Ezhimala Naval Base in Kannur is being sent to the district in Kerala to assist in the rescue operations at Chooralmala, which was hit by landslides on Tuesday morning, following torrential rains. The Navy team is being dispatched, at the request of Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan, who sought the help of the Navy's River Crossing team, according to the Chief Minister's Office. The Army and Air Force have also been mobilised for the rescue operations in the area, which have been hampered as a main bridge has collapsed in the town of Chooralmala. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for eight districts in the state for heavy rainfall. A red alert has been issued for the Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod districts. An orange alert has been issued for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts for today. (ANI)
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