India landslides death toll passes 150 as rescuers search through mud, debris for many missing

Heavy rain in one of India’s most attractive tourist destinations collapsed hillsides and triggered torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders in the worst disaster in the state since deadly floods in 2018.

Most of the 350 families living in the area surrounded by tea and cardamom estates were caught unaware by the landslides early on Tuesday morning.

At least 151 people died and 187 were still missing, the state chief minister’s spokesman, P.M. Manoj, told Reuters by phone.

Television visuals showed many houses destroyed and trees uprooted, as rescuers were pulled by ropes across muddy streams of water.

The government was considering making a portable, prefabricated Bailey bridge to connect the affected area, after the main bridge to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, K. Rajan, the state revenue minister told Asianet TV.

After a day of extremely heavy rainfall that hampered rescue operations, the weather department expects some respite on Wednesday, although the area is likely to receive rain through the day.

Kerala’s disaster agency said more rain and strong winds were forecast for Thursday with the likelihood of “damage to unsafe structures” elsewhere in the state.

Monsoon rains across the region from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies.

They are vital for agriculture and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people.

But they also bring destruction in the form of landslides and floods.

The number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years, and experts say climate change is exacerbating the problem.

Damming, deforestation and development projects in India have also