The 19 July 2023 landslide at Irshalwadi in Khalipur, India

Late in the evening of 19 July 2023, a major landslide destroyed the village of Irshalwadi in Khalapur tehsil, which is located in Raigad district in Maharashtra, western India.  At the time of writing there are 16 confirmed fatalities and 100 known survivors. The village is reported to have a population of 288 people; it is believed that 80 to 100 people may have been killed in the landslide, but this is very uncertain at this point. Initial estimates of the loss of life often prove to be pessimistic,

This is the largest event to date resulting from the savage rainfall that in some areas has accompanied the 2023 SW monsoon in India.  News reports indicate that the area received 499 mm of rainfall over a three day period prior to the landslide. The rescue and recovery operations are being heavily impacted by continued heavy rainfall.

The location of Irshalwadi appears to be [18.9339, 73.2358]. The image below shows Google Earth imagery for the site, which is located in steep terrain:-

Google Earth image of Irshalwadi, the site of the 19 July 2023 landslide in India.

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The village is not accessible by road, which is greatly hampering the rescue operations.  The best image that I have found of the site is on the Pudhari news website.  It shows the upper portions of the source area:-

The site of the 19 July 2023 landslide at Irshalwadi in India. Image from Pudhari News.

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At this stage it is difficult to fully interpret the events at Irshalwadi, but on first inspection the landslide appears to have involved deeply weathered soil and regolith.