The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
Reports are emerging from India this morning that a significant rainfall-induced landslide disaster has occurred in Wayanad in Kerala, in the southwest of the country. At the time of writing, reports are quite confused, but reputable newspapers indicate that there have been at least 36 fatalities. The events are sufficiently serious to warrant a statement by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.
There are videos of the impact of some of the landslides on social media. For example, this tweet appears to show channelised debris flows:-
But there have also been landslides along the road network, which are hindering rescue operations:-
Wayanad is a district in the northeast of Kerala, centred on [11.7037, 76.0833]. With an area of about 900 km2, this is area has peaks that extend to 2,100 metres. I have frequently recorded fatal landslides in this district over the years. Kerala bears the brunt of the SW monsoon, with frequent periods of very intense rainfall.
One area that has reportedly been very seriously affected is Meppadi. The image below is from Google Earth, showing the topography of this part of Wayanad:-
It is not difficult to imagine how extreme rainfall could trigger channelised debris flows and mudflows in this area.
According to a report in the Deccan Herald, three villages that have been particularly badly affected are Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala. These are located in the area of [11.4892, 76.1727], shown below:-
It will be many more hours before the full scale of the landslide disaster in Wayanad becomes clear, but one can only hope that the reports that hundreds might be missing prove to be erroneous.
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