At least ten dead and injured in landslides in India

Photo: Anupam Nath Associated Press Monsoons that sweep across South Asia from June to September provide a respite from the summer heat and are essential for replenishing water supplies. But they also lead to flooding and landslides.

Agence France-Presse in Bangalore

Published at 1:00

• Asia

Landslides early Tuesday morning in the southern Indian state of Kerala killed at least ten people and possibly buried hundreds, authorities said.

At least ten deaths have been confirmed, a Wayanad district official told AFP who, not having the right to speak to the media, requested the 'anonymity.

“Hundreds of people are potentially trapped,” the army said in a statement, specifying that around 225 soldiers were deployed on site to participate to search and rescue efforts for survivors.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded on social media platform X, writing that his “thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones” and that his “prayers are with the injured.”

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He also assured the chief minister of Kerala of “all possible help” to deal with the situation.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who represented the Wayanad district in the previous term in parliament, said he was “deeply distressed” by the disaster.

“I hope all those trapped are quickly brought to safety,” he added.

New rainfall expected

Several people injured in the disaster have already been taken to a district hospital for treatment.

Kerala's disaster management agency, which said fire teams and state security forces were taking part in search and rescue operations alongside the army, warned that further rainfall and winds violent events are expected during the day.

The monsoons that hit South Asia from June to September offer a respite from the summer heat and are essential for replenishing water reserves.

But they also lead to floods and landslides, causing material damage and numerous deaths, the quantity of which has increased in recent years particularly due to climate change, experts say.

Dams, deforestation or development projects in India are also factors aggravating the human toll.

Intense monsoon storms had already battered the country earlier this month. Parts of the megacity of Mumbai were flooded, while lightning killed at least ten people in the northeastern state of Bihar.

In Kerala, at least 25 people were killed in floods and landslides in 2021. In 2018, nearly 500 others died in the state’s worst floods in more than a century.