A loud rumble ...

dangerous in steep areas. If you are in an area prone to landslides, it is better to take precaution if you see any of these signs.

It is not to say, before last Wednesday, their lives were a fairytale. For them, every aspect of life was a bitter struggle. Born to the poorest of the poor in the estate sector, these villagers embraced sorrow and learned to smile through hardship. The beautiful surroundings and the wonderful climate in the hilly area, did little to lift the spirits of these weather- worn estate workers.

Yet, they had one solace in their meager lives – to have someone to care for and be loved by – someone to pin their hopes on and wake up to face another day. Within a matter of minutes, even this one and only comfort was snatched away by brutal force by, in this instance - enraged mother nature.

Last Wednesday, it was nature who turned against them. When the nightmare was finally over, not just the dead but even the living were buried alive in a river of unending sorrow. Their heart wrenching wails were echoed in the surrounding mountains.

Within four minutes that followed after 7.15 am on October 29, over 100 people, mostly elderly, young and pregnant were buried alive when an earth mound, a dislodged portion of a mountain slid down on a row of line houses in Haldummulla in Badulla. Only children in school and the elders in working places were saved.

This is the biggest human tragedy the country faced after it eradicated terrorism a five years ago.(The police spokesman on Friday revised the number of missing to 34.)

The landslide was triggered by heavy monsoonal rains, that rampaged the entire country during the past several days. The site had been a classified landslide prone area and evacuation warnings by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), the official state body, had been issued since 2005.

The people affected by Wednesday's tragedy are still in shock and grief. Could anyone erase their horrendous memory is an answer-less question, the memory of seeing their loved ones meeting such a dreadful end.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa upon visiting the site on Thursday ordered an investigation into why the estate workers were not re-located despite repeated warnings by the NBRO and if anyone is at fault for the tragic loss of lives.

It was said the Plantation company should share the responsibility of relocating these workers.

The Government District Secretariat had been building houses for these estate workers which belonged to Ampitikanda estate in Meeribedda. But the project is still in progress. Officials blamed that the people were using the alternative houses provided as well as their old line houses at the landslide site disrespecting the NBRO warning.

Amidst the chaos a seven- year- old boy in one of the two government shelters is crying for his nine- year- old elder sister pleading with people to find her. He saw her disappear beneath the earth as he ran away for dear life.

The siblings were walking to school early morning when disaster struck. His parents were fortunately saved as they had gone to work when it happened. “Please uncle find my sister. I love her so much,” he kept on muttering.

Two relief centres in Poonagala Tamil Vidyalaya and Koslanda Sri Ganesha Tamil Vidyalaya have been put up to accommodate the affected.

Military men and officials manning the centres found it overwhelming as people with the news of getting state and voluntary relief for landslide victims flocked into the camps in their hundreds.

Devi (32) who is working in Colombo had returned to her village in search of her mother and father. They are among the missing. With tears rolling down her face, she tried to describe her plight.

M.Sinnamma (32) was looking for her parents as well. She was living with her family in Talawakelle after her marriage 12 years ago. She cried uncontrollably pleading with officials to find her parents who disappeared under the mudslide.

Don't take political advantage - Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in Parliament

Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday condemning Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga's statement, requested the Opposition not to take political advantage of the catastrophic disaster at Meeriyabedda in Koslanda that affected more than 300 people.

He made this observation in Parliament yesterday in response to a statement made by Amaratunga, following the statement made by Minister Gunawardena on the Meeribedda disaster and the measures taken by the government in that regard.

The man in charge of one of the two milk collecting centres narrowly escaped death. As he described it "I was the last to be saved in the village. I helped to load the milk into the lorry and hurried inside to get a letter to be given to the driver. When I returned with the letter I saw the mountain coming down.”

“We ran down. The lorry driver also jumped out and ran with me. I forgot about the letter. But as if due to some good, the letter came to my mind.

If I did not remember it in the last minute, I would have been seated inside the collecting centre, waiting for the other lorry to come and be among the dead by now. “

Another woman in the camp was in absolute grief. She had lost her daughter. The daughter's entire family had been wiped out.

A child seated near her closed her ears with both the hands, as if to keep away the sadness.

amidst the tragedy there was yhappiness as well - another man however, had a story with a happy ending, He managed to rescue his wife who was about to disappear under the mounds of earth and she is being treated at the Koslanda Hospital. “I don't feel happy though. I saw many people who I have known my entire life disappear before my eyes.”

Over an 800 hundred strong military, police and STF force are struggling from day break to dusk to find survivors and what is left of the belongings of the estate workers of the Meeriyabedda division of the Koslanda Estate in Haldummulla, owned by Muskeliya Plantations.

Expert Geologist and Professor of Geology of Peradeniya University Kapila Dahanayake

Sri Lankan tea estates, which are old landslide deposits consist of fertile soil but are unstable for construction, to build houses or drains. I have been informed that the tea estates are old landslide deposits.

When water percolates into the soil in such land, soil becomes unstable. The key to prevent landslides is to control rain water. Plantation sector employees, especially officers must be educated about landslides and how to minimise risks.

Old landslide grounds are fertile. That is why such land, stabilised landslide deposits, have been used to grow tea by British planters. If the land is stabilized by having step drains there is less risk. Mostly the landslides occur on abandoned tea estates not on the estates which are well maintained.

I gather that this site was an abandoned tea estate. This means the water is not controlled. A drain system may not be functioning. A controlled landslide means controlling rain water. Water should not be allowed to remain long. It will cause the land to become destabilised and trigger movement. There should have been deep drains on this site. Any construction on such land has to be done scientifically.

This could be the biggest landslide in recent history that claimed so many lives. The large rumbling noise had been the moment the cracks got dislodged from the mountain. The fractures have deposits of clay. During heavy rain, these increase in volume and at a certain point the cracks break open. Finally the rock plain separates making a huge noise. The noise depends on the size of the soil mass.Once the noise is heard there won't be any time for people to run for shelter. By then it will be too late.

By Friday more heavy machinery was called in to turn the soil with as minimum disturbance as possible to avoid further mayhem.

A Disaster Management Centre spokesperson by the third day of the rescue effort said it was difficult to expect any survivors under the mudslide. DMC Assistant Director Sarath Lal said people may be up to fifty feet below the surface.

Three Army sniffer dogs resumed from where the humans could not continue, to locate the places where people were buried some 30- 50 feet under the soil. Even by Friday the weather did not help rescue workers, there was intermittent heavy rain and the possibility of more landslides were expected.

Mothers, children, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters lost their loved ones. There were countless stories, all causing unbearable and excruciating heartache.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed officials to oversee the welfare of the children until a special arrangement is in place and the National Child Protection Authority Chairperson Anoma Dissanayake was in the camps visiting the children on Thursday.

Initial reports indicated 75 children had been orphaned by the tragedy but the figures were subject for verification. Many children were in their school clothes at the time of the incident.

The roofs of some of the houses were visible over the brown earth mound and a house in the extreme left corner of the area had miraculously survived the disaster along with its dwellers.

In addition to 66 line houses that went under the earth, a kovil which was on top of the mountain had disappeared without a trace. Soldiers recovered the kovil's till box while combing the hilly area.

Two boutiques, a communication centre, where the villagers held small ceremonies and two milk collecting centres were among others that got completely destroyed in the landslide.

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) ‘NBRO has investigated the past instabilities occurring in this site in May 2005 and in November 2011. On both occasions the NBRO had recommended resettlement of the residents in the said line quarters. Even though they have been allocated alternate land, residents had been using their dwellings in the Koslanda Estate also.

In 2009, with the support of the Disaster Management Centre and the Red Cross, the NBRO had conducted an awareness program to educate communities in the area of the prevailing landslide risk in their neighbourhood.’

"We have already released Rs.2.5 million to the Government Agent. Another Rs five million has been earmarked to provide relief to the affected people. We are already giving the people in camps three cooked meals and other facilities. Many volunteers are supplying the displaced people with basic amenities like clothes and other utensils.

After the incident it has been a difficult task to get a proper count of people who were actually living in those line houses including the number of children. According to the latest data, the number of deaths could be less than 100. Many outsiders are flooding the temporary shelters in the hope of receiving the relief goods. They claim that the areas they reside are also prone to landslides. We have a new task of verifying their claims. This has prevented us from getting a true count of the people and children affected. At the moment relief officers are doing a head count and individual interviews.

We took a decision at the Cabinet yesterday to allow any foreign assistance if they are forthcoming voluntarily but not to make an official plea for outside assistance. A number of countries have come forward to assist the landslide victims. For the moment we feel the extent of damage is not beyond Government's capacity to handle.

We have the resources to assist and compensate the victims together with the Plantation Company to whom these workers belong.

Reconstruction of houses in a safe land will be done by the Government. A total of 66 houses have been completely damaged due to the mudslide.

The people in the camps will also be looked after with food and other basic needs until their return to homes.

The Government assistance will also cover funeral expenses of those who killed in the disaster. Looking after the orphaned will be a long-am term responsibility. But this will be directly monitored by the Government.

The President during his trip to the disaster site on Thursday instructed the officials to look after the orphans and ensure that they will not fall prey to the evil-minded, calling for a mechanism that will ensure them a secure future.