Over 100 Killed After Landslides Devastate India Tea Estates

WAYANAD, INDIA –Landslides, induced by relentless monsoon rains, ravaged tea plantations in India, claiming the lives of at least 108 individuals on Tuesday, while rescuers managed to save 250 others from the engulfing mud and debris.

Torrential downpours have relentlessly pummeled the southern coastal state of Kerala, obstructing roads leading to the disaster zone in Wayanad district and complicating rescue operations.

"This catastrophe has resulted in the loss of 108 lives," stated Kerala's Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan. "This is one of the worst natural calamities Kerala has ever witnessed."

An additional 128 people have been hospitalized following their rescue.

"My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured," Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed on social media platform X.

Wayanad, renowned for its tea estates that span its hilly terrain and depend on a large workforce of casual laborers for planting and harvesting, was struck by two successive landslides before dawn, catching many inhabitants in their sleep.

Images released by the National Disaster Response Force depicted rescue crews wading through thick mud to search for survivors, carrying bodies on stretchers from the devastated area. Homes were encrusted with brown sludge, while the force of the landslide scattered cars, corrugated iron, and other debris across the disaster site.

India's army has dispatched more than 200 soldiers to assist state security forces and fire crews in search-and-rescue missions.

Modi's office announced that families of the deceased would receive a compensation payment of $2,400 (200,000 rupees).

Vijayan reported that over 3,000 people are currently sheltering in emergency relief camps throughout Wayanad district. More rainfall and strong winds continued to batter Kerala on Tuesday, prompting Vijayan to urge the public to remain vigilant and heed warnings of potential future disasters.

"Everyone should be willing to follow the instructions given by authorities and not ignore them," he added.

Alarming Rise in Landslides

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who previously represented Wayanad in parliament, described the devastation as heartbreaking.

"Our country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in recent years," he stated. "The need of the hour is a comprehensive action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities."

Monsoon rains, occurring from June to September, are crucial for replenishing water supplies and vital for agriculture, sustaining the livelihoods of millions of farmers and ensuring food security for nearly two billion people in South Asia. However, these rains also bring destruction through landslides and floods.

The frequency of fatal floods and landslides has surged in recent years, with experts attributing this increase to climate change.

"The number of extremely heavy rainfall days has increased," noted Kartiki Negi of the Indian environment think tank Climate Trends. "The atmosphere is quite disturbed. Thus, we see more and more extreme events these days."

Human activities such as damming, deforestation, and development projects in India have exacerbated the toll on communities.

Intense monsoon storms this month have battered India, flooding parts of Mumbai and causing lightning strikes in Bihar that killed at least 10 people.

In 2018, nearly 500 people perished in Kerala during the worst flooding to hit the state in almost a century.

India's deadliest landslide in recent decades occurred in 1998, when heavy monsoon rains triggered rockfalls that killed at least 220 people and buried the tiny village of Malpa in the Himalayas.