India: Death toll from landslides in India’s Kerala state rises to 166
The death toll from a series of landslides in Kerala has risen to 166 and almost 200 people are still missing as the southern Indian state reels from one of its worst disasters in years. Hundreds of homes were swept away and crushed by two huge consecutive landslides in the hilly district of Wayanad in the middle of the night on Tuesday. The landslides occurred after the steep terrain was hit by five times the normal amount of rain, with some regions reporting more than 300mm (1ft) of rainfall within 24 hours. Entire villages were submerged in mud as the large volume of rain caused the Eruvazhanji River to overflow and change course, gushing through places where hundreds of people were asleep in their homes. Several tea and cardamom plantations were also devastated. Hundreds of workers took part in the rescue operation on Wednesday, pulling bodies from the mud and debris, but it was hampered by adverse weather conditions and access difficulties after key roads and bridges were washed away in the disaster. At the end of the second day of rescue efforts, about 190 people were still missing or unidentified, children among them, and fears were fading for their survival. Follow link to read rest of story