Kerala requests Centre to declare Wayanad landslide a national disaster

Kerala government requests national disaster declaration for catastrophic landslide in Wayanad, with over 200 missing and 221 dead.

The Kerala government has requested the Centre to declare the catastrophic landslide that devastated at least three villages in Vythiri taluk in the Wayanad district on July 30 a national disaster. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thrissur on August 4 that the severity of the destruction wrought by the massive earthfall had few parallels in recent times in the country. 

Mr. Vijayan said the repercussions of the landslide, triggered by heavy rain, were yet to subside. Kerala was still in a state of shock. The government has placed the official death toll at 221. It could rise further as more than 200 people were missing, and rescue workers were retrieving more bodies and dismembered body parts from the mud and debris-covered disaster zone.

At least 9,000 persons displaced by the natural disaster have sought refuge in government-run relief camps in Wayanad. 

Speaking to reporters after touring the disaster zone on Sunday, Mr. Gopi, actor and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) MP from Thrissur, said the Centre had to adhere to several modalities before making any declaration. 

He said the Central government was weighing the legality of the State government’s demand to declare the landslide a natural disaster. Mr. Gopi said the Centre had sought a report from the Kerala government. He urged the State to request the Central government to release more assistance for the people of Wayanad.