IDUKKI: Driving past rockfalls to escape the landslides, surviving the Kokkayar disaster was nothing short of a miracle for Anish KV, his wife and two children.
“On Saturday morning onwards heavy rains were triggering landslips and we decided to escape from the area. Even as my wife Merina and children Alan (11) and Abin (8) rushed to the car a landslip occurred and we saw rolling stones, and slush tumbling down the hill. It destroyed our house and I drove the vehicle just before the rocks hit us. As we moved ahead a little, the rains triggered another mudslide and the debris flows engulfed our vehicle,” says Anish (41), a resident of Vadakkemala under Kokkayar panchayat in Idukki.
For the whole family, including the children, the narrow escape has been a horrifying experience that has left an indelible mark on their minds.
"We were trapped in the car and I called police for help but they were helpless as they were also trapped in various locations hit by the series of the mudslips that had occurred in the region. We just sat in the car thinking it is all over. Fortunately, our ward member Daniel reached the spot. Seeing our destroyed house he was terrified but I kept honking the horn and he heard us. He managed to reach our vehicle. He helped us to come out of the vehicle and we waded through the chest-high slush for about three and a half hours and reached Vembly, which would have taken just about 15 minutes on a normal day,” says Anish, who is still in a relief camp with his wife and children.
Though Anish says he has recovered, in the case of the children, the lingering fear from the traumatic event is yet to fade.
"They suddenly wake up in the middle of their sleep and cry. The doctors who visited the camp provided counselling and gave some medicines. As part of counseling a doctor asked the children to draw a picture. Abin drew a picture of the landslide that had come hurtling down at us. The doctors said the incident has caused serious trauma to the children and that they needed extended counselling," says Anish.
The landslide has destroyed my home, washed away all my properties. We don’t know where to go from here, he says.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr C J John said post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are prevalent among landslide victims, especially children. "Exposure to direct or present threat of serious injury can cause serious psychological problems to the children. The disabling anxiety disorder can be overcome by psychological counselling and treatment."
As per primary estimates by Kokkayar panchayat officials, over 275 major and smaller landslides took place in the region on October 16.
