9 dead as rains trigger landslides in India

At least nine people have been killed in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala, officials said on Sunday.

Over a dozen others went missing as scores of houses were swept away in the districts of Kottayam and Idukki following flooding and landslides on Saturday.

Indian armed forces personnel have been carrying out rescue operations, alongside the National Disaster Response Force and the local police, since Saturday afternoon.

"So far, nine bodies have been recovered from under the debris but some 12 people are still missing," a state government official told the local media.

"Inclement weather is hampering rescue operations in some areas," the official said.

Kerala's Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan held a high-level meeting on Saturday and asked officials of the two districts to ensure that all the displaced were shifted to camps.

"Masks, sanitisers, drinking water, medicines should be made available in camps," local media quoted the Chief Minister as telling the officials.

India's main opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is a lawmaker from the state of Kerala, took to social media to condole the deaths.

"My thoughts are with the people of Kerala. Please stay safe and follow all safety precautions," he tweeted.

Kerala and the western Indian state of Maharashtra have witnessed the heaviest monsoon rains this year. In Maharashtra, over 100 people died in landslides in July.

In August 2018, over 400 people died in Kerala in what was touted as the state's worst flooding in a century.