Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Wayanad landslide-affected area. Credit: Ahemadh Jewadh
Water shapes life in Kerala. Rivers, streams, wetlands and the forested slopes of the Western Ghats have long sustained communities, agriculture and ecosystems across the state. Yet the same water can become destructive when extreme rainfall meets vulnerable landscapes.
Earlier in July, a major debris slip near Meppady in Wayanad once again exposed this reality. Coming two years after the devastating landslides of Mundakkai and Chooralmala, the disaster renewed questions about how climate variability, land use change and infrastructure development are influencing risks in the Western Ghats.
At the same time, the documentary Wounded Hills, produced by The Hindu, offers a broader lens through which to understand such events. By examining Kerala’s floods and landslides alongside scientific evidence and community experiences, the film explores how environmental change, development pressures and extreme weather are becoming increasingly intertwined.
Together, the Wayanad disaster and the documentary provide an opportunity to reflect on a critical question: how can Kerala safeguard both people and ecosystems in a landscape where water is becoming increasingly unpredictable?
On 7 July 2026, intense monsoon rainfall triggered a major debris slip near Meppady in Kerala’s Wayanad district. Around 265 mm of rain fell within 24 hours, sending a large mass of mud, rock and debris downhill near the Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi.
The debris struck the entrance of the under construction Anakkampoyil Kalladi Meppadi tunnel road project, burying machinery, damaging buildings, sweeping vehicles into nearby rivers and resulting in the deaths of several workers.
For many residents, the event revived painful memories of the July 2024 landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala. The latest disaster occurred barely five kilometres from those earlier sites, highlighting the continuing vulnerability of the region's steep slopes during periods of intense rainfall.
The incident also renewed public discussion about the factors that contribute to such disasters, including rainfall intensity, landscape changes and development activities in ecologically sensitive areas.
The questions raised by the Wayanad disaster echo themes explored in Wounded Hills, a documentary that examines floods, landslides and environmental change in the Western Ghats.
Rather than viewing disasters as isolated events, the film places them within a broader context that includes climate change, land use change, governance challenges and ecological degradation.
Through interviews with scientists, community members and ecologist Madhav Gadgil, the documentary explores how multiple pressures can interact to increase disaster risks. It argues that understanding floods and landslides requires looking not only at rainfall but also at the condition of landscapes that absorb, store and regulate water.
The film's central message is that disasters often emerge from the interaction between natural processes and human interventions, rather than from a single cause.
The documentary opens with sweeping views of the Western Ghats, where forests, streams and rivers form one of India's most important ecological systems. Covering more than 129,000 square kilometres, the mountain range is recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot. It supports numerous endemic species, including the lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri tahr, while also sustaining major river systems that provide water to millions of people.
The film presents these landscapes not only as centres of biodiversity but also as critical water systems. Forests, wetlands and healthy slopes help regulate streamflow, support groundwater recharge and reduce flood risks. At the same time, the documentary highlights growing pressures on these ecosystems, creating concerns about their long-term resilience.
The Western Ghats play a vital role in shaping India's monsoon by intercepting moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea. According to scientists featured in the documentary, rainfall patterns are changing. While overall monsoon rainfall may be declining in some areas, extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent and intense.
Long dry periods are increasingly interrupted by short episodes of very heavy rain. Warmer temperatures in the Arabian Sea allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, which can then be released in concentrated downpours over Kerala and the Western Ghats.
The documentary emphasises that extreme rainfall alone does not fully explain disasters. The impacts become more severe when intense rain falls on landscapes already stressed by deforestation, slope modification, river alterations and poorly planned infrastructure. This interaction between climate and landscape vulnerability is a recurring theme throughout the film.
Rescue operation in the Wayanad landslide 2024 -White Guard Volunteers
The human dimension of these environmental changes is central to Wounded Hills. The documentary revisits the catastrophic floods of 2018, one of the worst disasters in Kerala's history. Hundreds of people lost their lives, millions were affected and vast areas were inundated. The film examines the extraordinary rainfall that fell across the catchments of major reservoirs, including Idukki, Kakki and Periyar.
It also documents the landslides that followed. One particularly moving account focuses on the Kavalappara landslide of August 2019. Survivors describe how a mountainside collapsed during the night, burying homes beneath mud and debris. One resident recalls leaving home earlier that evening, a decision that ultimately saved her life.
The documentary refers to the event as a "tsunami of mud". Hillsides were stripped bare, farmland was destroyed and entire communities were transformed. Similar stories emerge from Puthumala in Wayanad, where another deadly landslide claimed lives and devastated settlements.
Through interviews and images of the aftermath, the film highlights the long-lasting social and emotional impacts of such disasters. These accounts underscore that environmental degradation is not only an ecological concern but also a human one, affecting livelihoods, safety and well-being.
A prominent voice throughout the documentary is that of ecologist Madhav Gadgil. As chairperson of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel in 2011, Gadgil led efforts to identify environmentally sensitive areas and recommend stronger ecological safeguards.
The documentary notes that many of these recommendations faced opposition and were either diluted or not fully implemented. Through interviews, Gadgil argues that environmental regulations have often been weakened and that ecological concerns have not received adequate attention in decision-making processes.
The film presents these views alongside the broader debate surrounding development in the Western Ghats. Critics of the Gadgil Report have argued that some recommendations were difficult to implement in densely populated regions and that development requirements also need consideration. While the documentary primarily focuses on ecological concerns, it highlights the continuing challenge of balancing environmental protection with economic development.
Another major theme explored in the documentary is the impact of quarrying, mining and land use change on mountain ecosystems. According to the film, extensive quarrying may contribute to slope instability by altering geological structures and landscape conditions. Interviews describe how blasting activities can generate shockwaves that travel through rock formations.
The documentary also raises concerns about the number of quarries operating across Kerala and questions whether environmental oversight has kept pace with development. At the same time, the film examines changes in vegetation cover. It suggests that plantation landscapes, including rubber plantations, may not stabilise slopes in the same way as natural forests during periods of intense rainfall.
While scientists continue to debate the precise contribution of individual factors to specific landslides, the documentary emphasises that landscape modifications can influence how slopes respond to extreme weather.
Although Wounded Hills focuses on Kerala, many of its lessons are relevant across India. The documentary highlights the importance of viewing floods and landslides through a water systems perspective. Rivers, forests, wetlands, slopes and groundwater systems are interconnected. Changes in one part of the landscape can have consequences elsewhere.
Healthy ecosystems help regulate water flows, reduce flood peaks, stabilise slopes and support livelihoods. When these systems are degraded, communities become more vulnerable to extreme weather events. The Wayanad debris slip of July 2026 serves as a reminder that disaster risk is shaped by multiple interacting factors, including rainfall patterns, land use decisions and ecological conditions.
The documentary therefore argues for development approaches that consider environmental limits alongside economic objectives. It suggests that long-term resilience depends on maintaining the ecological systems that underpin water security and public safety.
The debris slip near Meppady and the themes explored in Wounded Hills point to a common reality: disasters in the Western Ghats cannot be understood through rainfall statistics alone.
Extreme weather is becoming an increasingly important part of Kerala's future. At the same time, the condition of forests, rivers, wetlands and hillsides will play a crucial role in determining how communities experience these events.
The documentary does not offer simple answers. Instead, it encourages reflection on how climate change, landscape transformation and development choices intersect. As Kerala continues to grapple with floods, landslides and changing rainfall patterns, that conversation is becoming more important than ever.
For a state whose people, ecosystems and economy remain deeply connected to water, the challenge is not only responding to disasters after they occur but also understanding the environmental processes that make landscapes more resilient before the next extreme rainfall event arrives.