It poured like never before that night. Nature cut a long, deep scar through Punchiri Mattam, Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala in Wayanad. Rainfall data read 200.2 mm at the nearest official rainfall recording station; Kalladi on July 29. On the fateful day it was 372.6 mm; twice the average rainfall of the district. Ceaseless showers triggered one of Kerala's worst natural disasters.

The first major landslide happened in the watershed of Punchiri Mattam hill at around 1.15 am. The residents woke up to consecutive sounds of rock rumbling and bursting, which were results of massive debris slide. In another 30 minutes, a bigger blast followed. Another one hit Mundakkai around 4 am. Two hamlets; Mundakkai and Chooralmala were razed.

The enormous debris flow ran through a distance of 8 km. Incessant shower and voluminous landslide material changed the course of the river Punnapuzha. The debris barrelled down gaining momentum. The river which was 20-40 m wide became 200-300 m wide, crashing into schools and houses nearby.

Scale of loss was felt upto Nilambur. Body parts were afloat the Chaliyar river in spate. Teams comprising government officials and volunteers retrieved bodies from the river for days.

A mass grave was prepared for the unidentified victims at Puthumala. The mortal remains were mostly body parts; each laid to rest with honour and a DNA number; the code to a name and identity. Every life lost on that night mattered. Kerala went to great lengths to give them a face and a name. DNA profiles were created out of 431 autopsy samples and 172 blood samples. Months long strenuous exercise shrank the number of unidentified victims from 138 to 32.