The clean-up was already underway on Monday in the flood-ravaged Indian state of Kerala as the official death toll continued to rise.

Footage showed local residents wandering around their mud-filled homes.

Nearby, teams with diggers attempted to stem the flow of a river that was still running dangerously high.

The death toll rose to 35 on Monday, according to the latest figures reported in The Times of India.

Torrential rain has battered the coastal state since Friday (October 15), triggering landslides and causing rivers to swell.

Due to heavy rains and flash floods the southern Indian state of Kerala had catastrophic landslides in the Kottayam and Idukki districts. so far 27 bodies have been recovered from the site of landslide and flooding and over a dozen people are still missing. The sudden flow of floodwater completely wiped off the entire town of Koottickal and kokkayar town In the Kottayam district.

Visuals filmed on 18th October show the scale of damages to properties as houses have been washed away and walls have been collapsed. Fearing more rain and floods the residents have been moved to a safer place and the Government of Kerala set up over 100 Camps across Kerala to help the flood victims.

An eyewitness "Iyappa Das" says the water level started increasing from 9.30 am on Saturday, suddenly around 10 am the flood water entered their houses with a massive force and damaged the doors and houses and later washed away the entire property. He claims the water level was around 15 feet. Leaving all his belongings he carried his children and moved to a safer location and survived.