Massive landslides sparked by torrential rains swept away homes in hilly areas of southern India’s Kerala state on Tuesday, killing at least 158 people and leaving dozens more missing, state officials and police said Wednesday. More than 100 people were injured and admitted to regional hospitals.
The landslides struck several areas in Kerala’s Wayanad district early Tuesday morning, catching people off guard or as they slept.
Videos broadcast on Indian news networks showed houses, cars and even roads swept away by torrents of muddy flood water as rescue workers tried to bring people to safety. Hundreds of Indian army, air force and disaster response members were assisting in the rescue work, but several areas were cut off as many regional roads and a key bridge in the area were washed away by the floods.
Ongoing bad weather was also complicating the rescue efforts. India’s national weather office was predicting more rain for the rest of Tuesday.
Kerala Police said more than 200 people were still believed to be missing on Wednesday.
“We fear hundreds of people are trapped inside the villages,” resident Raghavan Arunamala told the Reuters news agency the previous day.
