A major landslide devastated Mundakkai, a village in the Wayanad district of India’s southwest Kerala state, on the morning of 30 July. Three additional landslides across the district followed within three hours, affecting the villages of Chooralmala, Attamala as well as Mundakkai.
As of 7 August, the death toll surpassed 400 and 250 people were missing. The main bridge between Attamala and Chooralmala collapsed because of the landslide, hampering rescue efforts. To date, 53 state-run relief camps are sheltering 6,759 displaced persons, including 1,581 children, according to Wayanad Social Service Society (W.S.S.S.).
A social service branch of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Mananthavady, W.S.S.S. is on the ground ensuring that essential support services reach those most in need. Their teams of volunteers are distributing food, clothes, potable water and hygiene products in the relief camps. W.S.S.S. has also dispatched 30 trained counselors to help survivors process their trauma through psychological support.
The landslide destroyed two schools and four child-care centers, and washed away 368 houses. Five transformers were damaged or washed away, disrupting the power supply, according to W.S.S.S.
Excessive rain, severe flooding and landslides have devastated the region in the last decade or so, compelling the local church to respond. CNEWA’s network of donors and partners have rallied to support such responses. Click here to help rush emergency relief.
