Kerala: At least 93 people die in Wayanad landslides triggered by heavy rains in southern India

At least 93 people have died in a series of landslides triggered by heavy rains in southern India, Kerala’s chief minister has said.

More than 100 others have been injured and over 3,000 people have been relocated to relief camps, Pinarayi Vijayan added.

The state’s health minister Veena George said many more are likely to have been carried away in the overflowing Chaliyar river, according to the Indian Express.

The landslides hit hilly villages in the Wayanad district in the Western Ghats mountain range in the state of Kerala after midnight on Tuesday, destroying many houses and a bridge, and leaving the area unreachable by road.

Hillsides gave way following torrential rainfall on Monday, causing torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders.

State officials said at least 250 people had been rescued.

TV stations showed footage of rescue workers battling their way through rocks and uprooted trees to reach those stranded as muddy water gushed through the affected area, home to around 350 families of workers on tea and cardamom estates.

Those efforts included pulling out people stuck under mud and debris, but rescue teams were hampered by blocked roads, unstable terrain and the collapse of a bridge linking Wayanad to Chooralmala, the nearest town.

One man was seen struggling to free himself after being stuck in chest-high mud for hours, until rescue workers finally reached him.

Two Indian Air Force helicopters have been mobilised and the Indian army has been called in to build a temporary bridge to replace the one destroyed by floodwaters, state forest minister AK Saseendran said, adding: “The situation is serious. The government has pressed all agencies into rescue.”

Local man Rashid Padikkalparamban, who has helped the relief efforts, said there were at least three landslides in the area starting around midnight which washed away the bridge.

He said: “Many people who were working in the estates and staying in makeshift tents inside are feared trapped or missing.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X he was “distressed by the landslides”, adding: “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured.”

He announced compensation of more than £1,850 to the victims’ families.

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Kerala is prone to heavy rain and flooding, and nearly 500 people were killed in one of the worst floods in 2018.

India’s weather department has put Kerala on alert as the state has been lashed by incessant rain and more is forecast through Tuesday.

India regularly has severe floods during the monsoon season, which runs between June and September.

Scientists say monsoons are becoming more erratic because of climate change and global warming.