Kerala rains: DDMA’s timely intervention saves lives in Vilangad in Kozhikode
Casualty has been restricted to one as most residents were shifted to safety in advance
Timely action by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) was integral in avoiding casualties in rain related-disasters in Kozhikode district this year.
Executing the newly published Disaster Management plan, the DDMA had evacuated people from two high-risk villages in the district, including Vilangad, as a result of which, the casualty in the recent landslip in the village has been restricted to one. Mathew, a rescue worker, was the only person who lost his life in the Vilangad landslip. Several houses disappeared, but residents are all safe.
“During the monsoon season, we usually have several deaths as people fall into the swollen rivers or into floodwater. But the casualties are minimal this year, as we could issue timely warnings and shift many people to safety,” S. Sajith, Deputy Collector in charge of Disaster Management, told The Hindu here on Friday.
There are 22 villages in Kozhikode district that have been identified as high-risk areas, with regard to landslips. A study conducted by the Geological Survey of India in 2019, following the major landslips in Karincholamala and Kannappankundu in 2018, had identified Kodiyathur, Kumaranellur and Madavur in Kozhikode taluk, Koorachundu and Avidanellur in Koyilandy taluk, Kavilumpara, Maruthonkara, Vanimel, Vilangad, Kayakkodi, Thinur and Onchiyam in Vadakara taluk, Puthuppadi, Kodenchery, Thiruvambady, Kanthalad, Kattippara, Koodathai, Kizhakkodath, Koodaranhi, Sivapuram and Panangad in Thamarassery taluk as high-risk areas. Koorachundu and Vilangad have been identified as the riskiest of them.
Over 2,000 return home from relief camps in Kozhikode 
The disaster management plan being executed at present has also drawn inputs from the study. Based on the plan, warnings were issued in these 22 areas and people have been relocated from two high-risk areas.
The DDMA is also trying to update the plan by incorporating inputs from local people who have shared their anxieties in the aftermath of the landslip that hit Vilangad a couple of days ago.
Mr. Sajith said that the information gathered have been forwarded to the Geological Survey of India, to be included in its studies.
The Disaster Management Plan in effect at present clearly admonishes any sort of mining or quarrying in the high-risk areas. It bans use of extremely powerful explosives in the quarries, as the ecologically fragile landscape will not be able to bear the tremors. The local people have been advised to consider the possibilities of a disaster while designing and constructing buildings. Cutting down trees on the slopes have also been admonished.
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