WAYANAD LANDSLIDES

Over 2,000 counselling sessions held for survivors as Wayanad awaits day six of search mission

The Health Department is operating 24-hour counselling sessions in the 17 relief camps in the Meppadi panchayat in Wayanad to address the emotional issues faced by the survivors of the deadly July 30 landslides that have left over 350 dead and more than 200 missing.

According to officials, more than 2,000 psychosocial counselling sessions and 402 group counselling sessions have been conducted for survivors from the disaster-struck zones of Mundakkai and Chooralmala.

According to Muhammed Basheer, a volunteer at the St Joseph’s Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Meppadi, some survivors lost all their children in the landslide, while there are children who lost both parents and there are also lone survivors.
“So it is essential to address their issues round the clock as most of them are still in the grip of the shock. Most of them had a narrow escape from the landslide and had seen the death of many of their kith and kin and neighbours,” Basheer said.

218 bodies identified
The Wayanad district administration has completed the formality of identifying 218 bodies as day five of the search mission on the site of the deadly landslides in Wayanad ended late on Saturday evening.

Among the deceased, who have been identified, 188 were adults, including 98 men and 90 women. The relatives of the deceased also identified 30 children. To date, 152 bodies have been handed over to relatives. Besides, the health department handed over 62 bodies and 87 body parts to the district administration for performing a public burial.

With 18 more bodies recovered on the day, the unofficial death toll crossed 350. As per official data, post-mortem were conducted on 217 bodies and 143 body parts. The search team looked for survivors in the debris of devastated villages at Poonchirimattom, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. The mission will resume on Sunday.