Kerala's deadly landslides follow several recent rain-related disasters in several states

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The devastating landslides in Kerala's Wayanad on Tuesday, which killed at least 123 people and injured 128, trails several other such catastrophic incidents in the past decade.

In July alone, severe landslides resulting in many deaths struck Karnataka and some of the northeastern states, namely Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, although they did not cause extensive destruction like in Wayanad.

The incident in Wayanad comes nearly two weeks after a massive landslide on National Highway 66 in Shirur village of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka claimed the lives of eight people.

Following the landslide on July 16, three persons are still reported to be missing, including a lorry driver from Kerala.

When it comes to major landslides in the past 10 years, Uttarakhand has been the most devastated. More than 5,000 people were feared killed in the valley of Kedarnath, the temple town of Uttarakhand, following rain fury in 2013.

In 2014, in Malin village of Maharashtra in a landslide caused by incessant rainfall, more than 150 people were killed and a number of houses were destroyed.

In 2021, 31 missing people were declared dead in Taliye village in Maharashtra's Raigad district which was ravaged by a massive landslide in July due to heavy rains.

The Manipur landslide that occurred in 2022 killed over 40 people and injured scores of people following heavy rains that also impacted the state capital of Imphal.

Kerala too is no stranger to severe weather events that caused destruction to lives and properties. The state lost 483 people in the August 2018 floods, which was termed as the state's 'flood of the century'.

The calamity not only led to 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.