As Wayanad woke up to heavy downpour on Tuesday, three back-to-back massive landslides swept away much of Chooralmala village, destroying roads and bridges and sending bodies floating in the rivers.

The rescue personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), fire brigade and police said they were unaware of the full extent of the damage caused by the landslides.

Three landslides struck the area between 2am and 6am, after which a section of Chooralmala town including shops and vehicles was destroyed.

Authorities have confirmed that 45 people have died and hundreds are feared trapped. Local residents say that more than 200 houses in Chooralmala village were washed away in the landslides, Onmanorama reports.

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Meanwhile, the collapse of the bridge over the Iruvazhinji River has hindered the rescue operation in Mundakkai as it was the only bridge connecting Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages. 

Officials have also confirmed that minor landslides continue in the upper hills of the Wayanad district. The Chaliyar River’ss water level is said to have crossed the danger mark due to runoff from the Meppadi landslides.

A team of Indian Army from Wellington, Coonoor has been roped in Wayanad to assist with the rescue operation and construct a bridge to reach Mundakkai.

According to data from the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, which monitors weather patterns in the region, more than 300 mm of rain was recorded at many locations along the Western Ghats in the past 24 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the Kerala government of all possible assistance from the Centre Leader of the Opposition and former Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, said he will speak to Union ministers to request all possible assistance for Wayanad.

Television visuals showed relief personnel making their way through rocks and uprooted trees as muddy water gushed through, with many houses destroyed.

Relief efforts were ongoing on Tuesday, and two helicopters of the Indian Air Force have been mobilised, the Kerala chief minister’s office said in a statement.

Kerala is prone to heavy rain and flooding, with nearly 400 people killed in one of the worst floods in 2018.