Shocking footage has shown the moment heavy rain and flooding triggered a massive landslide in India's Kerala state.
The footage, shot by a handheld camera, shows the devastating power of the elements, as the death toll from flooding reaches more than 100.
Hundreds of troops are locked in a desperate operation to rescue families trapped by mounting floods the Kerala area on Thursday as the death toll reached 106 with nearly 150,000 left homeless.
The death toll from the Indian floods has reached more than 100. Source: AAP
Helicopters airlifted stranded victims from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential rain brought fresh havoc to the southern state that is a major international tourist draw.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state now faces an "extremely grave" crisis with more downpours predicted. The region's main airport has been ordered closed until August 26.
The state, famed for palm-lined beaches at resorts such as Bekal and tea plantations, is always battered by the annual monsoon but this year's damage has been the worst in almost a century.
The death toll had jumped to 106 late Thursday, a state disaster management official told AFP.
Media reports said up to 30 more people were feared dead in landslides and rivers that burst their banks, flooding scores of villages.
At least eight people were killed when an irrigation dam burst and a landslide hit three houses in the town of Nenmara, Palakkad district, authorities said.
