Government declares Wayanad landslides a 'severe nature' disaster, announces aid process

NEW DELHI: Centre on Monday declared the devastating Wayanad landslides a disaster of "severe nature," after five months, acknowledging its significant impact. Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra welcomed the Centre's decision and said it is "step in the right direction."

"I am glad Amit Shah has finally taken the decision to declare the Wayanad tragedy as a “Disaster of Severe Nature”. This will greatly help those in need of rehabilitation and is definitely a step in the right direction," she wrote in a post on X.

"We will all be grateful if adequate funds for the same can also be allocated at the earliest," she added.

According to an official source, the Union home ministry informed the Kerala government that while initial financial aid comes from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), additional assistance through the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) follows assessments by an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

"However, keeping in view the intensity and magnitude of the Meppadi landslide disaster in Wayanad district, it has been considered by the IMCT as a disaster of severe nature for all practical purposes," the communication said.

This announcement from the Centre follows criticism from the state administration and parliamentary protests regarding the lack of financial support for Wayanad's landslide victims.

The catastrophic landslides on July 30 in Wayanad's Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas , caused by heavy rainfall, claimed over 200 lives, injured many, and displaced thousands of residents. This incident ranks among Kerala's most severe natural calamities.