MEPPADI, Aug 1: Whenever it rains very heavily in the hills of Wayanad in southern India, many people stay awake, recalling a 2019 landslide that killed about 20 people.
Last Monday too, housewife M Fathima said she and her extended family in Mundakkai village stayed awake as incessant rain poured down during the day and into the night.
"When the first landslide hit around 1 a.m., we were all awake," said Fathima, 52. "Everyone in the room was crying. It felt like death was imminent." At least one other landslide followed.
The family of about 20 people moved out early on Tuesday with other villagers who survived the two landslides, Fathima said. It was night, and houses were scattered so they were unaware that scores had died in the area.
Nearly 100 of the villagers, including children and pregnant women, trekked for miles through the devastation of debris, wet soil, large rocks and uneven terrain downhill, Fathima said.
— REUTERS
