Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 30 (PTI) Massive landslides triggered by heavy rains in Kerala’s hill district of Wayanad that claimed the lives of at least 93 people on Tuesday has brought back nightmares of the biggest natural calamities that have hit the state in the past.
Kerala lost 483 people in the August 2018 floods, which was termed as the state’s ‘flood of the century’.
The devastating calamity not only led to the 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.
A total of 57,000 hectare of agricultural crops was destroyed, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan pointed out that the approximate estimate of the loss was higher than the annual budget outlay of the state.
Visuals of Indian Air Force helicopters in 2018 airlifting pregnant women are still fresh in the minds of Keralites, who expressed their gratitude to the Indian Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and other agencies that worked tirelessly to rescue the flood-affected victims.
The 2018 floods also raised questions about the need for environment-friendly construction while rebuilding flood-ravaged Kerala.
According to the Kerala government, one-sixth of the state’s total population was directly affected by the deluge and related incidents.
As the state was getting back on its feet, slowly rebuilding itself after the devastating floods of 2018, another disaster struck in 2019 when a landslide at Puthumala in Wayanad, around 10 km from the presently affected areas, killed 17 people.
Again in October 2021, incessant rainfall led to landslides, killing 35 people in Idukki and Kottayam districts of the state.
According to data shared by the India Meteorological Department, heavy rainfall and flood-related incidents in 2021 claimed the lives of 53 people in Kerala.
Exactly a year later, in August 2022, landslides and flash floods in the state triggered by heavy rains killed 18 people, damaging hundreds of properties and displacing thousands of persons to relief camps, according to the state government.
Over 5,000 people were relocated from disaster-hit and disaster-prone areas of the state to 178 relief camps in the 2022 rain-related incidents.
Kerala has recorded the highest number of landslides, with 2,239 out of 3,782 landslides in the country occurring there between 2015 and 2022, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences. PTI AMP KH ANE
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.