Landslides in India caused by heavy monsoon rains have resulted in the death of 45 people, with 250 others being rescued from a landscape covered in mud and debris, officials stated on Tuesday.
The state of Kerala on the southern coast has been hit hard by continuous heavy rains, making relief efforts difficult due to blocked roads in the affected Wayanad district.
District official D.R. Meghasree confirmed that 45 individuals lost their lives and another 116 were receiving medical treatment at hospitals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and well-wishes for those injured in a message on the social media platform X.
Images released by the National Disaster Response Force show rescue teams wading through mud to search for survivors and evacuate bodies from the area.
Homes were covered in brown sludge, with cars, metal sheets, and other debris strewn around the disaster site due to the force of the landslides.
Over 200 soldiers from India’s army have been deployed to the area to assist local security forces and firefighters in search and rescue operations.
Kerala state excise minister M.B. Rajesh reported that over 250 people have been rescued so far, as per The Hindu newspaper.
The families of the victims will receive a compensation payment equivalent to $2,400 (200,000 rupees), as announced by Modi’s office.
More rainfall and strong winds are predicted in Kerala on Tuesday, according to the state’s disaster management agency.
– ‘Alarming rise in landslides’ –
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who previously represented Wayanad in parliament, described the devastation as “heartbreaking” during a parliamentary session.
He emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive action plan to address the increasing instances of natural disasters in the country.
The monsoon rains from June to September provide relief from the summer heat and are crucial for replenishing water sources, agricultural activities, and the livelihoods of millions in South Asia.
However, they also bring destruction in the form of landslides and floods, amplified by climate change, deforestation, and development projects.
Recent intense monsoon storms in India led to flooding in Mumbai and lightning strikes in Bihar that claimed at least 10 lives.
In 2018, nearly 500 people lost their lives in floods in Kerala, the worst in almost a century for the state.
One of India’s most severe landslides occurred in 1998, when heavy monsoon rains triggered a rockfall that buried the village of Malpa in the Himalayas, resulting in the deaths of at least 220 individuals.
ash/gle/mtp
