'Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable.'
'People were asleep when they heard a loud noise and then a huge deluge of water accompanied with boulders and trees hit their homes.' 'Locals say around 400 houses have totally vanished in the landslide and floods.'
The death toll included over 450 from intense heat wave last summer, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday termed as 'baseless', Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government did not heed the Centre's warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.
The survivors, one with broken limbs and the other with torn clothes and bruises, were crying out for help when Rahman reached the spot.
The clarification came amid a demand, including from Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, that the landslide tragedy in Kerala's Wayanad be declared a national disaster.
He told flood affected people at Meppadi and Kaithapoil that as their representative, he has spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi "to ask for help for this region from the state and Central governments."
IAF pilots and crew dodged low hanging clouds, mist covered hills, steep valleys and landed on broken landing grounds to rescue civilians in Wayanad. In one mission, they had to descend vertically to get close to the survivors. IAF flew over 80 missions, saving lives and giving hope. This is how they did it.
'Till 10 pm last night, we rescued 70 people, after which we had to stop because of bad weather and rain.'
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
The Centre has issued a fifth draft notification to declare over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including 13 villages in Kerala's landslide-hit Wayanad, Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), inviting suggestions and objections within 60 days.
"The death toll has gone up to 24. The search operations are still going on. However, rains have started. "Despite that, our officials, and the NDRF are engaged in search and rescue operations," Idukki District Collector H Dineshan said.
'The global climate system doesn't look at where the carbon dioxide is coming from. 'It may be emitted by the US, but it will not remain above the US alone but covers the whole world.'
'It was a war-like situation, but instead of enemy fire, we fought against the vagaries of nature,' says Major Seeta Shelke.
'The last three decades were the era of D, where D stands for deforestation, destruction, degradation, disaster, damages, diseases, difficulties... and finally it leads to death.'
Questions that the state had come to recognise over time but consistently delayed treating seriously because doing so requires an overhaul of perspective and lifestyle, notes Shyam G Menon.
The incident is said to have occurred in the wee hours when a huge mound of earth fell on the 'row houses' and two children and five women were among the deceased, most of whom were plantation workers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
The picturesque landscape of Pettimudi was flattened into a rough patch of boulders and mud with parts of asbestos and tin sheets seen scattered around.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has warned about the possibilities of landslides in the hilly areas already hit by extremely heavy rainfall in the past few days and directed people living in the region and government authorities to be vigilant.
Gandhi said he was "waiting with open arms".
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Meanwhile, flight operations from the Kochi international airport will resume at 12 noon on Sunday, an airport official said.
Residents in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra continue to struggle as floods leave them in a watery hell.
One man was killed and two others injured in Thrissur district on Tuesday after an uprooted tree fell on them in heavy rains and strong winds.
Authorities have sounded red alert in three districts of Kerala on May 14 and five districts on May 15, indicating the possibility of extremely heavy rains under the influence of a low pressure area over the Arabian Sea.
As the low-pressure area in the south-eastern Arabian Sea intensified into a severe depression on Friday, heavy rains lashed many parts of Kerala and huge tidal waves started hitting low-lying coastal areas.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had informed that as per the preliminary report, the total damage due to floods in the state is estimated to be worth Rs 8,316 crore.
The minister, who made an aerial survey of badly affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts, said the rains and floods had caused 'massive damage' to the farm sector and infrastructure like roads and power.
The tea sector may see a crop loss of 50 per cent (around Rs150 crore) while the damages owing to landslides washing away a 100-acre plantation in Wayanad are yet to be accounted for.
Villages are flooded, roads have washed away and railway tracks have submerged under the rising waters.
For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Thursday.
The district administration in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad has declared a holiday for educational institutions on Tuesday to cope up with the situation.
Nearly four lakh people have been affected across seven districts of Assam.
Shutters of at least 22 reservoirs in the state have been opened to drain out excess water.
All educational institutions in Shimla and Kullu districts will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rains continue to lash the state, district officials said.
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