More information about the Pettimudi landslide in Rajmala, Kerala

A few days ago I wrote about the large landslide at Rajmala in Kerala, India late in the evening of 6 August 2020.  In the last few days more information has become available about the disaster.

An interesting image of the landslide is the one below, which was posted on the Inquest website, although the original source appears to be Mathrubhumi.com:

The Pettimudi landslide in Kerala, India. Image from Mathrubhumi.com via The Inquest

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The image shows that this was a large, long runout channelised debris flow that has followed an existing drainage line.  The landslide appears to originate high on the slope in the forest. The tweet below, which uses an image from the photographer Sebinster Francis, is a clear illustration of the length of the flow:

Death took this route at Pettimudi pic.twitter.com/dgKY83KvID

— Jisha Surya (@jishasurya) August 11, 2020

Loyal reader Sekhar has kindly provided some more detailed information about the landslide, which travelled about 2 km prior to striking the workers accommodation.  The location of the landslide is 10.161, 77.011:-

Google Earth image of the location of the Pettimudi landslide in Kerala, India. The marker is the location of the workers accommodation. The landslide travelled down the clearly visible drainage line to the north of the accommodation.

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At the time of the landslide there were 78 people located in the workers’ accommodation.  Twelve people were rescued, suggesting an ultimate death toll from this event of 66 people.  Not all of the victims have been recovered as yet. Note the tea plantations on the lower slopes; these were tended by the workers who were killed.

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Quickslide 1: A landslide that might have caused the Stonehaven train accident

Yesterday additional drone footage emerged of the site of the Stonehaven train crash.  This clearly shows a landslide on the tracks.  It seems highly likely that this was the cause of the accixent:

Drone footage taken today shows a clear landslide close by the bridge – at left here. Obviously not confirmed this is what it hit, but given the bridge parapet has been wiped out it would fit.

via https://t.co/j632VrTWQx pic.twitter.com/ltRzEZr1r3

— Shore Leave (@Canocola) August 13, 2020

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Quickslide 2: Another series of deadly landslides in Nepal

The terrible cost of landslides from the 2020 monsoon in Nepal continues.  Overnight several events have been reported, including a large slide at Lidi in Sindhupalchok district, that destroyed a number of houses.  It is unclear as to how many people are missing, but some reports suggest up to 35 people:

Jugal landslide update: 35 missing, 27 houses buried in Lidi landslide | https://t.co/XtPdUv7nEe#Khabarhub #Sindhupalchowk #Landslide

— Khabarhub English (@Khabarhub_Eng) August 14, 2020