Landslides in Kerala, India, at least 65 dead

Indian Army, Navy and Air Force personnel and helicopters joined the search and rescue effort on Tuesday as a persistent downpour devastated entire villages in the hilly area. The office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the “entire government machinery” was involved in monitoring and coordinating the rescue effort.

Amal Kabeer, a plainclothes officer with the Kerala police, said the death toll was expected to rise.

Pictures and videos circulated on social media showing submerged railway tracks, highways blocked by boulders and demolished cars stuck in uprooted trees, while muddy rainwater flowed steadily through the towns and villages of Wayanad, normally a hub of tourism in the region.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X that he was “saddened by the landslides in parts of Wayanad. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and my prayers are with the injured.”

Latheef PS, 36, a teacher from Wayanad who is volunteering in the search and rescue operation, told The Washington Post in a telephone interview that it was difficult to find people because bodies had been swept away by the floodwaters for up to 10 miles. He lives near the flood site and said his house was also under water.

“We have been trying to rescue people and recover bodies since the morning. But it is not easy,” he said.

Latheef said more than 200 houses were washed away by the landslides and there is no way to say how many people are missing. The area around Wayanad is known for its tea plantations, and many workers live in small settlements on the tea-growing lands. “Most of these workers could not escape because it happened suddenly. Their houses are gone,” Latheef said.

“If we do not manage to locate the people by the evening, the death toll will rise significantly,” he added.

The disaster – which struck a state where devastating landslides and floods killed over 400 people and forced more than a million to evacuate in 2018 – prompted opposition politicians in India to warn of the growing risks posed by landslides.

“Our country has seen an alarming increase in landslides in recent years. What is needed now is a comprehensive action plan to counter the increasing frequency of natural disasters in our ecologically fragile regions,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in parliament on Tuesday.

Gandhi also demanded that the compensation announced by the Indian government – $2,400 for the families of the victims and $600 for those injured in the floods and landslides – be increased and expedited.

Floods are not uncommon during the southwest monsoon season in Kerala, which usually lasts from June to September.

Tuesday’s rain washed away many bridges, cutting off smaller towns and villages from the state highway network and complicating rescue efforts, local media reported. According to the Hindu State government minister Krishnankutty Rajan told the newspaper that authorities were trying to airlift stranded villagers and build another bridge to reach Mundakkai village, where many people were believed to be stranded.

The Indian Meteorological Department said that Wayanad and three adjoining districts in Kerala are expected to experience persistent rains on Tuesday.

Shams Irfan contributed to this report.