4. GOD’S drOWNed COUNTRY

God’s own country was yet again under distress as an impact of heavy rainfall that came pouring down on the 8th of August, 2019. Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur and Kasargod districts were worst affected. Around 125 people died and 17 people went missing in the landslides that occurred in Malappuram and Wayanad, which also wiped out two villages. A team of experts from Hyderabad started their search on the bodies that were buried under the mounds of the earth. They will be using radar technology which is Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to locate the dead bodies. In Malappuram a total of 60 people lost their lives and 11 went missing whereas, in Wayanad 14 people died and five people are missing. Malappuram suffered the maximum number of deaths. Around 1,789 houses have been completely destroyed due to the landslides and more than one lakh people were evacuated and taken to the relief camps. Kochi airport was shut for three days because of water logging. The state government will be offering Rs four lakh to families of the deceased and a compensation of Rs 10,000 for immediate assistance to about three lakh victims. Ten dams were opened due to the rise in water level including – Maniyar dam (Pathanamthitta), Kundala dam (Munnar), Malankara dam (Thodupuzha, Idukki), Peringalkuthu dam (Thrissur), Mangalam dam (Palakkad) and Kanjirapuzha dam (Palakkad), Kakkayam dam (Kozhikode), Kallarkutty dam (Idukki), Pambla dam (Idukki) and Walayar dam. The train services were also disrupted due to flooding and trees falling on rail tracks and around 15 lakh power lines were damaged. More than one lakh volunteers from different organizations have come together to start the process of cleaning the affected areas. Now, since the rains have subsided, people have started returning to their homes from the relief camps. However, it will take some time for the flood-hit areas in the state to completely recover from the destruction caused by the rains.