The Hindu Times: Wayanad landslides a highly probable ‘grey rhino’ event ignored despite visible warning signs, says study September 12, 2025
Excerpt: “A study conducted on the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides by a People’s Scientific Study Committee established by Transition Studies and the Western Ghats Samrakshana Samiti finds that the landslide was a ‘grey rhino event’, a highly probable, high-impact event which was ignored despite visible warning signs. This report, independently compiled by a diverse team of experts after a 10-month study, investigates the disaster’s causes and offers actionable recommendations to prevent future tragedies.”
The article continues: “One of the key findings of the report is that the Western Ghats face increasing risks from landslides due to unchecked development and environmental degradation. The report identifies specific geological, climatic, and human-induced factors contributing to the disaster.”
Rajeev KR in The Times of India: Mundakkai tragedy was a grey rhino crisis: report September 13, 2005
Excerpt: “…[T]he recommendations of the govt-appointed expert committee must be implemented…. It said Mappadi panchayat should prepare a landslide emergency response plan, oversee development responsibly and manage land use decisions. It asked IMD to give hyper-local weather forecasts in landslide-prone areas.”
Read full article at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/mundakkai-tragedy-was-a-grey-rhino-crisis-report/articleshow/123858679.cms
India’s Down to Earth reports: ‘Grey rhino’ in the Western Ghats: Kerala ignored warnings before Wayanad’s deadly landslide, says new report
Excerpt: “On the night of July 30, 2024, the hills of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Punchirimattom in Meppadi Gram Panchayat of Kerala’s Wayanad district gave way with a roar that was heard for miles. These environmentally fragile hamlets, perched on the steep slopes of the Western Ghats, were buried in mud and rock, leaving behind a silence broken only by elephants straying into what was once human habitation. Official reports from August this year confirm the staggering toll: 231 bodies and 212 body parts recovered, with 119 people still missing.”
Nearly a year after the catastrophic landslides in Kerala, a new report takes the government to task: “In Wayanad, the grey rhino was charging for years. The state knew the risks but looked away.
The landmark report, Sliding Earth, Scattered Lives, was released on September 13, 2025, by a People’s Scientific Study Committee of eminent scientists convened by Transition Studies and the Western Ghats Samrakshana Samiti. “For 10 months, they investigated the causes and aftermath of the tragedy, piecing together rainfall data, land-use changes, and institutional responses,” KA Shaji wrote. “Their findings are unambiguous: the Wayanad landslide was not an unavoidable act of nature, but a direct consequence of reckless human interference with fragile ecosystems and the failure of governments to act on known risks.”
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