India floods: at least 25 dead after torrential rain triggered landslides in Kerala | India

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At least 25 people died in landslides and floods triggered by torrential rains in southwest India, officials said Sunday, as rescuers moved muddy wreckage in search of survivors, and the army moved emergency supplies.

Residents in parts of the coastal state of Kerala were isolated as the rains, which began to increase since late Friday, fell into rivers and inundated roads.

Officials told AFP that 11 bodies have been found so far in Idukki district and another 14 in Kottayam district, after the areas were hit by landslides and torrential rain.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday that thousands of people have been evacuated and at least 100 relief camps have been set up.

The Army, Navy and Air Force are assisting in flood relief and rescue operations. Officials could not say how many people were missing.

“This was my livelihood. A stunned man told Kerala news channel Manorama TV in Kottikal town of Kottayam, which was hit by a landslide.

Another woman from the town added: “The hill near us was cut off. There was a lot of damage and loss. The house is gone. The children are gone.”

A video clip spread on social media showed buses and cars submerged in flood waters.

A Kerala resident carries a dog amid the wreckage of his home after flash floods. Photo: Appu S Narayanan/AFP/Getty Images

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences and said the authorities were working to help those affected by the flood.

Heavy rains are expected to decrease on Monday due to a low pressure area over the southeast Arabian Sea and Kerala, the Indian Meteorological Department said.

In northern India, some states, including the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, are expected to see “heavy to very heavy rain” in the next two to three days, the Met Office said.

She added that the weather system in the north will be caused by the interaction of the low pressure area over Afghanistan and its surroundings with strong winds coming from the Bay of Bengal.

In 2018, nearly 500 people died in Kerala when it was devastated by the worst floods to hit the state in nearly a century.

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