At least 25 people have died in landslides and flooding after torrential rains in southwest India, authorities said on Sunday.
Rescuers continued to search for survivors in the muddy debris, while the army airlifted relief supplies.
In the coastal state of Kerala, many residents were cut off from the world by the rains, which began to intensify on Friday evening, swelling rivers and flooding roads.
Eleven bodies have so far been found in Idukki district, and 14 others in Kottayam district, both affected by landslides and flash floods, officials told AFP. Thousands of people have been evacuated and at least 100 humanitarian camps set up, Kerala head of government Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday.
The army, navy and air force take part in relief operations. Officials interviewed could not say how many people were missing.
“It was my livelihood. It was all washed away, ”
a desperate man told Manorama TV news channel in the landslide-hit town of Koottickal in Kerala.
“The hill collapsed near us. There was a lot of damage and vicrimes. The house is gone. The children are missing, ”
said a resident of Koottickal. A video posted on social media showed buses and cars swamped by the waves.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter and assured that the authorities were coming to the aid of those affected by the flood.
India's meteorological department said torrential rains are expected to ease on Monday, but in northern India, some states, including the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, are expected to experience
"heavy to very heavy rains. strong ”
in the next two to three days.
In 2018, nearly 500 people were killed in Kerala, which was ravaged by the worst flooding in nearly a century.
