Can Wayanad Tragedy Be Declared A National Disaster? Here's A Look At Facts

Of late, there has been a spike in demands to declare the Wayanad landslides a national disaster. Several Opposition leaders, including Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, have voiced their demands.

At least 226 people died and many remain unaccounted for after landslides hit the region on July 30 in what is seen as one of the biggest natural disasters to have impacted the southern state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kerala on Saturday to visit the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad district.

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi took to X and thanked PM Modi for taking stock of the affected areas.

Can Wayanad Tragedy Be Called a Natural Disaster?

However, can the disastrous landslides be declared a ‘natural disaster’? According to a 2013 Lok Sabha reply by the then Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran, “there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster.”

The reply stated, “The Government of India adjudges a calamity of severe nature on a case-to-case basis taking into account inter-alia the intensity and magnitude of the calamity, level of relief assistance, the capacity of the State Government to tackle the problem, the alternatives and flexibility available within the plan to provide succour and relief etc.

“The priority is immediate relief and response assistance in the context of a natural calamity. As such there is no fixed prescribed norms. However, for calamity of a ‘severe nature’, additional assistance is also considered from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after following the established procedure,” it added.

He also stated that state governments concerned were primarily responsible for undertaking necessary rescue and relief measures in the wake of natural disasters.

Centre’s rescue efforts

The central government took immediate measures following the landslide tragedy in Kerala’s Wayanad as it deployed more than 1,200 personnel from NDRF, Army, Air Force, Navy, fire services and civil defence among others for rescue and relief operations at the incident site, official sources said on Saturday.

More than 100 ambulances along with doctors and other staff were deployed for medical support and treatment, they added as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Wayanad to take stock of the relief and rehabilitation work and meet survivors.

The Indian Army, the sources said, erected a 190-foot Bailey bridge in Wayanad which was crucial in facilitating the movement of heavy machinery and ambulances.

The bridge was completed in 71 hours, significantly enhancing rescue operations by allowing heavy vehicles and machinery to be mobilised to rescue around 200 people who were stranded due to damage to a bridge.

Till now, 30 people have been rescued and 520 evacuated, and 112 bodies recovered by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescue teams, they said.

The sources added that an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been constituted by the central government to visit the affected areas.

The Centre has always lent a helping hand to Kerala through timely provision of funds to meet the challenge of disaster, the sources said. This year, the Kerala National Disaster Response Force (SDRF) account had around Rs 395 crore on April 1. The first instalment of the central share of SDRF for the ongoing year of over Rs 145.60 crore was released in advance on July 31, they said.

In the last five years, around Rs 1,200 crore has been released by the Modi government as the Centre’s share in SDRF out of the total State Disaster Response Fund of Rs 1,780 crore.

In addition to this, the government has also released Rs 445 crore for the State Disaster Mitigation Fund in the last five years, they added.