More than 100 dead in massive landslides in southern Indian state

Several landslides caused by heavy rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Tuesday killed more than a hundred people, injured dozens more and trapped many more under rubble.

The landslides devastated the hill villages of Wayanad district, including Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha.

Rescue efforts are ongoing but have been severely hampered by bad weather, so hundreds of people could still be trapped, officials said.

Health Minister Veena George said many areas were no longer accessible due to significant damage to infrastructure, including collapsed roads and a washed away bridge.

“We need to restore communication. Helicopters are also being deployed, but the weather is bad,” she told news agency ANI.

The extent of the disaster is not yet fully clear. Authorities confirmed at least 93 fatalities on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT). Local television station Asianet put the unofficial number at 107. About 116 people were hospitalized with injuries.

Videos from the scene showed rescue workers battling through rubble and uprooted trees as muddy water flowed through the remains of destroyed homes.

Authorities deployed helicopters to assist in rescue efforts and the Indian Army was also called in to build a temporary bridge after landslides destroyed a bridge connecting the affected area.

Further rain was expected in Kerala throughout Tuesday, and authorities closed schools in parts of the state.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy rains were recorded in the northern and central regions of Kerala state, where landslides are common, with Wayanad recording up to 28 cm (11 inches) of rain in the last 24 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his condolences and announced financial assistance of £1,900 to the families of the deceased and £475 to the injured.

“Rescue operations are currently underway to help all those affected. I have spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Shri @pinarayivijayan and assured him of all possible help from the Centre,” he posted on Twitter/X.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition and former MP from Wayanad, asked the Modi government in Parliament to increase compensation for the victims and spoke about the increase in landslides.

“Our country has seen a worrying increase in landslides in recent years,” Gandhi told Parliament.

“There is an urgent need to map landslide-prone areas and take remedial measures and an action plan to address the increasing frequency of natural disasters in this ecologically fragile region,” he said.

Landslides have also occurred in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh in recent weeks, while numerous regions in the north have been flooded.

Scientific assessments show that the climate crisis, fuelled by the burning of coal, oil and gas, is causing precipitation to become more erratic, with larger amounts of rain falling in short periods of time. The past 13 months have been the hottest on record on the planet, and Sunday was the hottest day on record.

At the same time, human activities – such as construction work in ecologically sensitive areas – make many mountain regions vulnerable to landslides.

“The monsoon patterns are becoming increasingly erratic and the amount of rainfall we are receiving in a short period of time has increased. As a result, we are seeing frequent landslides and floods along the Western Ghats,” Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, told the Associated Press.

Mr Koll also said that authorities need to monitor rapid construction activities in landslide areas.

“Landslides and flash floods often occur in regions where the impacts of both climate change and direct human intervention in the form of land use changes are clearly visible,” he said.