“You can’t see it at first, but you can hear it. It sounds like a helicopter landing very close to you.”
This is how 28-year-old Rizwan MB explained a landslide. He experienced multiple such landslides as he and his family, including his younger sister who had delivered a baby just 45 days ago, walked for an entire day to find safety from the floodwaters.
By the time Rizwan, a salesman in a mobile in Madikeri, realised his house would be destroyed, the roads leading to Madikeri town from his house were damaged beyond salvaging. As a last resort, Rizwan and his family decided to trek through a forested area to reach a nearby town.
It was halfway through this trek through Devarakadu, a forest, that they encountered a massive landslide. Rizwan, now rehabilitated at private school in Moornadu more than 30km from his house, said:
When I saw it come down, I lost my courage. Holding my daughter Riza, I sat on the ground with my head down. My sister and her newborn were just behind us. I thought it was all over at that point.
The landslide, however, was just the beginning. By the end of the day, when Rizwan and his group 20 people reached the rescue camp, they had walked over 30km and encountered many more dramatic events.
The Beginning of the Tragedy
On 14 August, Rizwan took a photo of the mud-filled highway leading to Mangaluru – a one-off event, he thought. The news of the landslides in the other parts of the district was yet to reach him since all the cell phone towers were down.
By 16 August, however, water started accumulating behind his house and their relative’s house began developing cracks.
“That’s when my father said it’s not safe and we should leave the place. He said that if we survive, we could come back later for our house. We spoke to our relatives and started preparing to leave,” he said.
But before leaving, he encountered some rumours of deaths as well. He was told by some people that a father and son – Venkat and Pawan – living in the hill above the house had died in a landslide.
“We rushed to their house, leaving our preparation to check on them. When we reached, both were alive. We wasted a lot of time because of this fake news but we ended up asking them and some other neighbours to join us,” he said.
By 9am when they were left their houses, the group had gathered close to 45 people.
An Interminable Trek and a Landslide
The roads nearby were so damaged that the group couldn’t take their vehicles out. A plan was made to trek through a coffee estate and a forest to reach the other side. Among the group was Rizwan’s parents, wife, one-year-old daughter, sister and her 45-day-old infant.
They walked for half an hour through the coffee estate and entered the forest. In the coffee estate, there was enough space for two people to walk, but on entering the forest, there was barely enough space for even one person to move. But they pressed on, clearing a path as they went.
Midway through the walk, they heard a huge sound. Rizwan described it like the sound of a helicopter. “People with us shouted it was landslide, but I couldn’t see anything. The hill looked fine to me. But then it all came down, taking the trees along with it,” he said.
Rizwan thought that was the end of it. “When I saw it coming, I lost my courage. I held my daughter Riza and sat down,” narrated Rizwan at the rescue centre, holding his baby.
To their good fortune, the landslide stopped before it could do them any damage.
Shaken by the experience, they decided to go back and look for an alternative route.
A Messiah Who Helped, But Lost His House
Dropping the plan to walk through the forest, they decided to return to their village. On the main road, they came across a man, Palangappa, who said an area near his house was safe and they could go there.
“He asked us to wait near his house for a day and see if any rescue crews arrived. We were tired by then, so we thought it was good idea,” Rizwan said.
But out of the original team, only 20 people decided to take this walk to Palangappa’s house. “There were several leeches on us by then and we were not able to remove them. Also, to reach his house we had to cross a bridge, which was flooded. Many people were injured there. But we kept walking,” he added.
They stopped at a homestay on the way to get some hot water. While they were waiting there, Palangappa was informed that even his house had now been damaged.
Not Safe Yet
By the time they changed tack and began walking towards Belakku Male school, it was mid-afternoon, and the school was located another 10 kms away. They finally reached in the evening, and some of the young men at the school offered them food and water.
But even before they could settle down, news came that now even the school was in danger, and they would have to leave.
“We were really tired by then. But I didn’t want to risk my family’s life again. So, we decided to leave the place. To our luck this time, people from one of the relief camps in Moornadu came with their vehicles and we were taken to the camp,” he said.
‘We Don’t Know What Comes Next’
Shahina, Rizwan’s younger sister who had had a C-section just 45 days ago, is recovering from injuries sustained in the walk to the rescue centre in Moornadu. Her newborn is getting medical attention. Rizwan’s daughter Riza, who didn’t stop crying through the walk, has found new friends at the camp and is happier.
But Rizwan is uncertain of his future. “I don’t think we can go back to our house to check the damage anytime soon. I’m glad that we are alive, and the children are safe. We will begin again,” he said resolutely.
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