107 people have been killed and hundreds missing after landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Dozens of people were injured and hundreds more were washed into the Chalilayar River. The monsoon, which runs through South Asia from June to September, provides a respite from the height of the summer heat, and the rains it brings are said to be essential for replenishing water supplies.
However, it also often causes floods and landslides, which lead to large-scale destruction and high casualties. In recent years, the intensity of this phenomenon has increased significantly, which experts attribute to the effects of climate change.
One column of Territorial Army has reached the mishap site at 12:30 PM#IndianArmy's two relief columns with a strength of approx 200 individuals are underway to #Waynad.
Additional efforts based on the request of State government also being mobilized.… pic.twitter.com/P6QY5INHUh
— Southern Command INDIAN ARMY (@IaSouthern) July 30, 2024
Territorial Army team reached the spot at 12:30 pm. Two teams of Indian Army, around 200 personnel, are being sent to #Waynad. Additional forces are also being mobilized as requested by the state government. Assets are being moved from Madras, Bangalore Engineer Teams by road and Delhi Cantonment by air. Two additional columns from Bengaluru and Trivandrum. Control room is being set up at Calicut under the command of a Para Regimental Centre to monitor all relief operations.
Dams, deforestation and various development projects are also seen as factors worsening the situation and increasing the death toll. In Kerala, at least 25 people have died in floods and landslides in 2021, while in 2018, the state's worst floods in a century killed nearly 500 people.
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