Nearly 1,000 people have been rescued after landslides in the hills of Wayanad district in India’s Kerala state, authorities said Wednesday, with at least 165 people dead and many still missing.
CHOORALMALA, India – Military officials in one of India’s most attractive tourist destinations continue their search-and-rescue efforts after more than 165 people were killed in landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rain.
Authorities in the state of Kerala report nearly 1,000 people have been saved from the hillside communities, along with the tea and cardamom plantations in Wayanad district. However, 225 individuals are still unaccounted for in what is being described as the most severe disaster in the state since the devastating floods in 2018, Reuters reports.
The death toll is expected to rise as the complete scope of the disaster is revealed after landslides of mud, water and rolling rocks happened early Tuesday, submerging or carrying away villagers while they were sleeping.
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An aerial view shows the site of a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Chooralmala village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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An aerial view shows the site of a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Chooralmala village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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An aerial view shows the site of a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Chooralmala village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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An aerial view shows the site of a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Chooralmala village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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An aerial view shows people crossing a temporary bridge at the site of a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Chooralmala village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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A general view shows a landslide on July 31, 2024 in Mundakkai village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
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Rescue personnel look for survivors through debris as an Indian Air Force helicopter flies overhead at the site of the landslide on July 31, 2024 in Mundakkai village, India. (Abhishek Chinnappa)
Drone footage filmed Wednesday showed soldiers and rescuers working amid rain and muddy slush.
Drone footage filmed Wednesday shows soldiers and rescuers working through slush and rocks under steady rain, looking for survivors and searching for bodies in the hills of India’s Kerala state, a day after more than 165 people were killed in monsoon landslides.
Video shared by the Southern Command Indian Army on X also showed emergency workers in Wayanad transporting materials from an aircraft and constructing a bridge over flooded waters.
Kerala’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, called the situation “an unprecedented and painful disaster.”
“Rescue operations in Wayanad are continuing at full scale,” he said. “Efforts are being made to evacuate as many people as possible from the disaster area, and necessary medical treatment is being provided to those who have been rescued.”
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) reports an extensive 8 inches of rainfall was recorded within a 24-hour duration Monday. This was combined with powerful wind gusts exceeding 30 mph Tuesday. Similar amounts of heavy rainfall were set to impact Wayanad district Wednesday.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “distressed” by the news of the landslides.
“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” he wrote on X.
The India Meteorological Department said several states in the region of the country remained under red and orange alerts, with more “extremely heavy rainfall” forecast.