Kerala floods 2026: Idukki mudslide survivor recalls moments before disaster

For Charukallel Thankaraj, a resident of Chemmannu, under the Elappara panchayat in Kerala’s Idukki, and his family, it had been an ordinary night sleeping in their house on a five-cent plot. Little did they know that they would be soon rendered homeless and have a narrow escape from a massive mudslide that struck their house around 4:45 a.m. on Saturday (August 1, 2026).

As torrential rain lashed the State that morning, the 65-year-old man from Odichukuthy Valavu near Chemmannu risked his life to save his family. In the attempt, he was trapped under the mud and debris of his home, before being rescued.

“When I woke up around 4:35 a.m. to use the bathroom, I heard a loud noise,” Mr. Thankaraj says. “I immediately called for my son, Ajith, who was sleeping in another room. When he opened the door, we saw a large amount of soil hitting our home. I told my son, his wife Bindu, my grandchildren, Sharon and Immanuel, and my wife Lisy to run outside immediately. As I pushed them out, a massive mudslide struck, trapping me under a bed. By then, the house was almost entirely buried in mud. I thought I was going to die.”

Mr. Thankaraj managed to reach his mobile phone and call his neighbours for help.

“When my neighbours arrived, one of them, Manoj, broke through a section of the wall and pulled me out,” he says. “Seconds after I got out, the remaining walls collapsed and were washed away. My only thought was saving my son and grandchildren.”

Charukallel Thankaraj’s house at Chemmannu in Idukki before the mudslide.
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Mr. Thankaraj adds that he had purchased the five-cent property and house in May 2024.

“I used to be a plantation worker at the Hailyburia Tea Estate in Elappara,” he says. “Our family lived in the estate’s layam (line houses), but after my retirement, we had to vacate and buy our own home. Now, a car, two two-wheelers, and our entire life savings have been washed away by the mudslide.”

Charukallel Thankaraj’s house and vehicles destroyed in the mudslide.
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He also recalls the moment the disaster began.

“I was first woken up by the loud barking of our pet dog, Rosy,” Mr. Thankaraj says. “She was tied near the carporch, trapped under the debris, and died. She did her best to warn us, but we couldn’t save her.”

Jayamon Jayakumar, the ward member for Chemmannu, confirmed that the area experienced a severe mudslide that destroyed the family’s house and property.

“We alerted revenue officials, and a team including the Peerumade tahsildar visited and inspected the site,” Mr. Jayakumar says. “The family cannot rebuild their lives without government intervention,” he adds.

Meanwhile, a rain gauge at the Tyford Tea Estate—a British-era estate near Elappara—recorded 384 mm of rainfall between Friday (July 31, 2026) morning and Saturday morning, confirming the intensity of the rainfall in the area. The gauge is part of the Idukki Rain Monitoring Project, an initiative run by the Kanjirapally-based Swaruma Charitable Society. The affected area in Elappara panchayat experienced extremely heavy rainfall during the early hours of Saturday.