At least 18 people have died in Kerala, India’s southernmost state, as torrential rains swept across communities and swamped roadways.
According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), rescuers retrieved the dead in two of the worst-affected districts, Kottayam and Idukki, where heavy rains created catastrophic landslides.
The Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force have sent personnel to assist with rescue attempts, since numerous people are still missing.
When the severe rains started on Saturday, television footage showed people swimming into chest-deep water to save passengers from a bus that had been nearly buried by the floods that had flooded the roads.
Even as the heavy rains have receded, the state’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, encouraged residents to exercise utmost caution on Sunday. He stated that over a hundred relief camps had been established.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with the chief minister and that officials were striving to save people who had been displaced. In a tweet, he wrote, “I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being.”
Kerala was devastated by floods in 2018, when strong rains during the monsoon season killed 223 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
