Over 100 dead as rain, landslides hit Maharashtra

Over 100 people have died in rain-related incidents, including multiple landslides, in Indian State of Maharashtra. The deaths include 36 people who died in a landslide in the coastal Raigad district, about 70 km from state capital Mumbai, reports NDTV.

Several districts in the state - primarily the Konkan region - have been receiving incessant rain over the past few days, leaving thousands stranded in floods and landslides.

"Thirty-three dead bodies recovered, 52 still missing. Rescue operation will resume in the morning. A total of 32 houses have been destroyed," Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde was reported as saying after a visit to Tilaye village in Raigad following landslide due to excessive rain.

Satara district in Western Maharashtra has also been battered by the rain and several people have been reportedly swept away by the floodwaters, an official was reported as saying by news agency PTI. The official put the death count in Satara at 27.

Other fatalities included those reported from eastern districts such as Gondia and Chandrapur, he said.

At least 84,452 people, including over 40,000 in Kolhapur district, were shifted to safer places in Western Maharashtra's Pune division, officials said. At least 54 villages have been completed affected due to the floods while 821 were partially affected in Kolhapur where the Panchganga river is flowing at a level higher than that witnessed during the peak of floods in 2019, officials said.

Eleven people, including eight Nepalese workers, on board a bus had a narrow escape as they were rescued in the nick of time before the vehicle swept away in a flooded river in Kolhapur district on Friday, PTI reported quoting police officials.

Apart from the Raigad district, landslides were also reported in Ambeghar and Mirgaon villages in Satara during Thursday night.

Rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and other agencies are already in the state to assist the relief work. Six teams of the Indian Army and Navy are expected to join the rescue work today.

The Maharashtra government has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the families of those killed. The injured will be treated in hospitals at government expense, the statement from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's office said.

Heavy rains since the last two days have caused massive floods in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Thane, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts.

The India Meteorological Department or the IMD has issued a red alert for six districts that have been already pounded by downpour, forecasting "extremely heavy" rainfall and recommending preventive actions.