Landslides in India kill dozens, as monsoon floodwaters trap over 1,000
- Officials said at least 47 were killed and over 30 missing after landslides in Maharashtra state, as monsoon rains hit western India
- Authorities are on alert as heavy downfalls cause flooding in tech hub Hyderabad, which has seen its biggest rainfall in 10 years
The dead were killed in three landslides in Raigad district in western Maharashtra state, said District Collector Nidhi Chaudhary. Many of those rescued were stranded on rooftops and even on top of buses on highways, she said.
State government official Sagar Pathak said in addition to the 47 dead, more than 30 people were missing after the landslides.
Chaudhary said the rains had slowed and water levels were coming down on Friday, making it easier for rescuers to reach the area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was anguished by the loss of lives.
“The situation in Maharashtra due to heavy rains is being closely monitored and assistance is being provided to the affected,” Modi tweeted.
Elsewhere in the region, a house collapsed on Friday after heavy rains in the Shivaji Nagar area in eastern Mumbai, killing two people and injuring eight others, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
In Ratnagiri district, 200 people were rescued from hilly areas on Thursday after the heavy rains, according to PTI.
In the coastal town of Chiplun, home to 70,000 people, more than half the area was flooded, the news agency reported.
B.N. Patil, district administrator of Ratnagiri, said he has sought the help of the army, coastguard and the National Disaster Response Force for rescue operations.
An Indian navy statement said it has deployed helicopters for evacuating stranded people and sent rescue teams with boats to the region.
At least 34 killed in landslide, wall collapse in India monsoon rain
Authorities on Friday sounded an alert in the southern state of Telangana with heavy rains causing flooding in Hyderabad, the state capital, and other low-lying areas.
Meteorologists said the 30cm (11.8 inches) of rain that has fallen so far this month in Hyderabad, known as one of India’s information technology hubs, is the most for July in 10 years. The flood gates of one of the main reservoirs, Osman Sagar, were opened for the first time in a decade to discharge excess water.
Disasters caused by landslides and flooding are common in India during the June-September monsoon season, when heavy rains weaken the foundations of structures that are often poorly built.
The monsoon is crucial for rain-fed crops planted during the season but the rains often cause extensive damage and kill scores of people each year.
“The frequency and intensity of heavy rains has increased,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in the western city of Pune.
He added that the warming Arabian Sea was driving more cyclones and more intense rainfall over short periods of time.
“Every year we need to be prepared on the west coast,” he said.