Multiple landslides triggered by heavy raindrops in southern India have killed 49 people, and many others who are feared to have been trapped under the debris.
Officials disclosed that adverse weather conditions were also hindering rescue operations.
The landslides hit hilly villages in Kerala state’s Wayanad district in the early hours of Tuesday and destroyed many houses and a bridge. Authorities have yet to determine the full scope of the disaster.
Rescuers were working to pull out people stuck under mud and debris, but their efforts were hampered due to blocked roads and unstable terrain.
Press Secretary to the Kerala chief minister, PM Manoj said the landslides had killed at least 49 people so far.
Television visuals showed rescue workers making their way through mud and uprooted trees to reach stranded people with vehicles swept off the roads.
Helicopters had been dispatched to help with rescue efforts and troops from the Indian army deployed to build a temporary bridge after landslides destroyed the main bridge linking the affected area.
“We are trying every way to rescue our people,” state Health Minister Veena George said.
In a post on social media platform X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “distressed by the landslides in parts of Wayanad,” a hilly district.
The Indian Meteorological Department said the state has had heavy rainfall over its northern and central regions, with Wayanad district recording up to 28 centimeters (11 inches) of rain in the last 24 hours.
“Monsoon patterns are increasingly erratic and the quantum of rainfall that we receive in a short spell of time has increased. As a result, we see frequent instances of landslides and floods along the Western Ghats,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Koll also said authorities must check on rapid construction activities happening over landslide areas.
“Often landslides and flashfloods occur over regions where the impact of both climate change and direct human intervention in terms of land use changes are evident,” he said.
A 2013 report by a federal government-appointed committee said that 37% of the total area of the Western Ghats mountains should be declared as an eco-sensitive area and proposed restrictions on any form of construction.
The report’s recommendations have not been implemented so far because state governments and residents opposed it.
India regularly has severe floods during the monsoon season, which runs between June and September and brings most of South Asia’s annual rainfall.
The rains are crucial for rain-fed crops planted during the season, but often cause extensive damage.
Scientists say monsoons are becoming more erratic because of climate change and global warming.
“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” Modi wrote. He announced compensation of $2,388 to the victims’ families.
India’s weather department has issued an alert for Kerala due to continuous heavy rains, leading to widespread disruptions and the closure of schools in some areas on Tuesday.
The devastating floods of 2018 in the area claimed nearly 500 lives.
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