More than 130 are dead in India as rains trigger floods and landslides. Authorities in Maharashtra, India’s westernmost state, reported that at least 136 people died when intense monsoon rains caused landslides and inundated low-lying areas, shutting off hundreds of communities.
A landslide in Taliye, 180 kilometers southeast of Mumbai’s financial capital, claimed the lives of at least 38 people, according to state government officials.
According to a representative from the state’s Disaster Management, Relief, and Rehabilitation department, there have been 27 reported deaths in the Satara district in the last 48 hours.
At least ten persons are believed to be trapped after a landslide in Ratnagiri district on Friday.
He stated that as of Saturday morning, apart from the 130 dead in India, more than 90,000 people had been evacuated from impacted areas to safety as torrential rains continued to wreak havoc.
As part of the rescue mission, the National Disaster Response Force, Indian Army, Coast Guards, Navy, Air Force, and state agencies have all been deployed.
Major damage has been reported in the three coastal districts of Raigad, Satara, and Ratnagiri, according to the spokesperson.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for six Maharashtra districts on Friday, predicting “very heavy” rainfall and advising residents to take precautions.
According to Reuters, the source indicated that the districts of Kolhapur and Sangli are still on high alert.
Over the course of 24 hours, parts of India’s west coast received up to 23 inches of rain, causing authorities to evacuate residents from high-risk areas as dams threatened to overflow.
“Unexpectedly heavy rainfall produced landslides in numerous locations and inundated rivers,” Maharashtra’s state government’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray told journalists.
“Rivers and dams are overflowing. We are being forced to release water from dams, and as a result, individuals living close river banks are being relocated to safer areas”, he stated.
According to state government officials, 59 people perished in nine additional landslides in various districts of Maharashtra, and another 15 were killed in accidents linked to the heavy rain.
Thousands of trucks were stranded on a national highway linking Mumbai with the southern technology hub of Bengaluru, with the road submerged in some places.
Hundreds of villages and towns were left with no electricity and drinking water.
Rivers were also overflowing in the adjacent southern states of Karnataka and Telangana, where officials were keeping an eye on the situation, according to government sources.
Every year, the seasonal monsoon rains which occur between June and September cause deaths and mass displacement across South Asia. However, they also provide over 70% of India’s rainfall, which is critical for farmers.
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