Landslides early Tuesday morning in the southern Indian state of Kerala have killed at least 10 people and likely buried hundreds more, authorities said.
At least 10 deaths have been confirmed, a Wayanad district official told AFP, requesting anonymity and not being authorized to speak to the media.
“Hundreds of people are potentially trapped,” the military said in a statement, adding that about 225 soldiers had been deployed to the site to assist with 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 his “prayers are with the injured.”
He also assured the Kerala Chief Minister of “all possible help” to deal with the situation.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who represented Wayanad district in parliament during the previous term, said he was “deeply distressed” by the disaster.
“I hope that all those trapped will be quickly brought to safety,” he added.
New precipitation 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 brigade teams and state security forces were taking part in search and rescue operations alongside the army, warned that further rainfall and strong winds are expected later today.
Monsoons that hit South Asia from June to September provide respite from the summer heat and are essential for replenishing water supplies.
But they also lead to floods and landslides, causing material damage and many deaths, the number of which has increased in recent years, particularly due to climate change, experts say.
Dams, deforestation and development projects in India are also factors in the worsening of the human toll.
Intense monsoon storms had already hit the country earlier this month, flooding parts of the megacity of Mumbai, while lightning killed at least 10 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 lost their lives in the state’s worst floods in over a century.