Heard loud noise, houses vanished in seconds: Survivor recounts horror

Wayanad (Kerala), July 31
At 1.30 am on Tuesday, Jayan, a resident of the landslide-hit Chooralmala in Kerala, woke up hearing a loud noise. As he rushed outside his house, he saw flood waters gushing just outside his house and saw people rushing to their terraces, screaming out for help.
Most of the houses in the area vanished within seconds, with no signs of life left around. The slush and boulder-filled waters crushed the buildings with people inside. An area that was once full of life suddenly became a river, with slush and debris strewn all around.
Everyone who managed to stay safe was crying out loud, calling the names of their dear ones.
Jayan knew that his wife’s relatives, who lived in the most affected areas, were missing. “Eleven members from my wife’s family are missing. We identified the body of a child that was recovered from Chaliyar river in Nilambur in Malappuram district as one of my relative’s. We have only got three dead bodies so far and the remaining are still missing,” a teary-eyed Jayan said. Many, like Jayan, are wandering in the area, rushing to the rescuers as they pull bodies out and hopefully waiting to have the last glance of their dear ones who have been swept away in the flash floods. — PTI