Wayanad landslides LIVE updates: Over 5,500 people rescued, 160 bodies recovered

Kerala CM Vijayan said that over 200 people were admitted to hospitals and 5,592 people were rescued from the landslides-ravaged areas of the high-range district.

Indian Air Force personnel conduct search and rescue operation following landslides triggered by heavy rain in the hilly areas of Wayanad district on July 31, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

District authorities in Kerala’s landslide-struck Wayanad on July 31 started collecting data to determine the number of people missing following the massive tragedy, as rescue operations resumed to trace persons suspected to be trapped. Helicopters will be used to airlift injured persons from the affected areas. 

Wayanad landslides updates from July 30, 2024

Read | What causes landslides? Can we predict them to save lives?

Members of several families have reported that their loved ones remain untraced. In Wayanad, 45 relief camps have been established, accommodating 3,069 people. Meanwhile, various rescue agencies resumed their operations early in the morning to trace people suspected to be trapped in the tragedy, which has killed at least 150 people and left 197 injured.

Watch | Several dead and hundreds feared trapped in a massive landslide in Wayanad

The Kerala Government has declared a state of mourning on July 30 and 31. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 as compensation for the injured. The Kerala Government has opened two control rooms to attend to distress calls from citizens 

• JULY31,202418:00

  Centre assures all possible assistance for Kerala

  “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously monitoring the situation in Kerala’s Wayanad district in the aftermath of the landslides and all possible help is being extended to the state by the Centre,” the government told the Rajya Sabha today.

  Replying to the Calling Attention Motion on the Wayanad landslide tragedy, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said: “I am stating with sadness, that whatever information has been made available so far, rescue workers have taken out 133 bodies so far. The casualties may rise further.”

  “Today itself a sum of ₹145 crore has been disbursed from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to the Kerala government and there is a balance sum of Rs 394 crore in the SDRF,” Mr. Rai said.

  - PTI

• JULY31,202417:45

  Rahaul, Priyanka to visit landslides-hit Wayanad on Thursday

  Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit landslides-hit Wayanad on August 1 and meet several families affected by the natural calamity, sources said.

  The former MP of Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi were scheduled to visit Wayanad Wednesday morning but they put off the visit as authorities informed them that they would not be able to land due to incessant rain and adverse weather conditions.