A devastating landslide in Maharashtra, India, has resulted in a death toll of 27 people, while around 50 individuals remain missing. The tragedy occurred after heavy monsoon rains triggered the landslide in a village located in the Raigad district, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from Mumbai.
Rescue teams are facing significant challenges as they battle lashing rain while searching for survivors and retrieving bodies buried under heaps of earth and debris. The village’s remote location, situated around five kilometers from the nearest road, hampers the rescue efforts, as heavy equipment cannot reach the site, and most work has to be done manually. The incessant heavy rains in the area further complicate the rescue operation.
Despite the ongoing rescue efforts, the district official expressed concerns about finding more survivors on the fourth day since the landslide occurred. Media reports indicate that some families have been entirely wiped out, leaving only a few survivors among their relatives.
This disaster comes amid a monsoon season that has brought significant rainfall to India since June, leading to flooding and landslides that have claimed many lives.
Experts point out that climate change is contributing to more frequent extreme weather events worldwide, and factors such as damming, deforestation, and development projects in India are worsening the human toll of these natural disasters.
