MADIKERI: Ever since the recent natural calamity hit Kodagu, villagers in affected places have been talking about strange sounds from the ground and splitting of the earth which spread mud all over the place.“Others find it unbelievable but we have suffered. We’re alive because of Kaveramma (the diety),” said planter Kokkalera Cariappa of Hebbattageri-Karnangeri. “I went to my plantation daily in a jeep, only to see the vast area under water. There are no answers to questions about the sounds during landslides. I’ve never seen such a natural disaster,” he added.Residents of other villagers confirmed springs burst forth with a strange sound and water covered vast areas, damaging buildings and flooding farm lands. Western Ghats Vimochana Committee convener Kalachanda Ravi Thammaiah said: “There was a strange, loud sound and all the villagers rushed out of their homes. Within minutes, houses started collapsing and a landslide covered women and children in mud. Youths quickly pulled them out and jeeps carried them to safer places. The Kodagu deputy commissioner sent excavators and they helped in the rescue operation.”The NDRF team was able to find dead bodies with the cooperation of villagers, local police and some activists who know every nook and corner of the area. Many relatives of the victims said they heard a loud sound before the landslides. Meanwhile, people in Karike village were worried when they heard water flowing beneath the earth near a house.A team of the state natural disaster management institute and geologists visited the place. They said but for one house, there’s no danger to the village. The inmates of that house were evacuated as a precautionary measure, said scientists. They said due to incessant rain this year, the flow of water has changed direction and asked villagers not to panic.Seismograph installedScientists of the National Geophysical Research Institute installed a seismograph at Kodagu’s Navodaya School on Tuesday. Senior scientist Ragahavan confirmed there were light tremors which couldn’t be recorded on the Richter scale.He said instances of sound and water burst will have to be studied. More scientists will visit the area.ANOTHER BODY RETRIEVEDA25-member team, comprising personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Garuda and Kodagu police dogs’ squad, on Wednesday retrieved the body of Gilbert Mendoza, 54, who was buried in a landslide at Katakeri on August 16. Gilbert is survived by wife Rita and sons Akshay and Ajay.The operation commenced in the morning, but the body of Gilbert was found only towards evening after an intense search. An earlier attempt to trace his body had failed.Locals claimed Gilbert was attempting to rescue his cattle during the calamity when he was struck by the landslide. While his family survived, they have lost their house and property.

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