Jose Devasia

KOCHI, India (Reuters] – Over the weekend heavy rains in Kerala caused at least 22 deaths, according to officials.

In the State of Kerala, rains caused flash floods and land slides in various areas. The Indian Army and Navy were called to help residents.

According to eyewitnesses and officials, 13 were killed by a Kuttikkal landslide.

Standing in front of the barren hillside, a local resident said that there were “four landslides” which occurred yesterday.

P.K. Jayasree who was Kottayam’s top official said nearly half of those killed were members of one single family.

He stated that “one family had lost six members.”

The state expects to see light rainfall throughout the year, but weather warnings for many parts of the state have been lifted, according to the disaster management committee.

Kerala also suffered from the worst floods of 2018 which claimed at least 400 lives and left around 250,000 people homeless.

India is home to 1.3 million people. It relies heavily on rain for its support. A lot of India’s population rely on agriculture. However, excessive rain can lead to flooding, landslides or water-borne illnesses.

(Reporting Jose Devasia of Kochi; Writing By Alasdair pal; Editing By Edmund Blair