At least nine people have been confirmed dead after a landslide struck multiple locations in Nagaland’s Mon district amid intense rainfall, with rescue operations continuing and authorities warning that heavy rain is likely to persist over the next two to three days.
“The landslide area, at the moment, officially, they are confirming nine dead,” Johnny Ruangmei, Joint Chief Executive Officer, Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), Home Department, told Down To Earth (DTE). He said five people had been injured and were undergoing treatment. The exact number of damaged houses is yet to be ascertained as the disaster affected “more than 10 locations” in the district.
A temporary relief camp was set up at the Konyak Union Office immediately after the incident, although many displaced families have since moved in with relatives, Ruangmei said. He attributed the landslide to a cloudburst associated with an extreme weather event and noted that NSDMA, working in coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), had issued Red and Orange weather alerts across Nagaland from the evening of July 18, 2026.
According to Nalnish Kumar Chaudhary, Scientist-D and Head of the Meteorological Centre, Kohima, Mon district recorded 137 mm of rainfall. He said the IMD had issued an Orange Alert ahead of the event and attributed the intense rainfall to an upper cyclonic circulation over central Assam and adjoining Nagaland between 1.5 km and 3.1 km above mean sea level.
“Heavy rain is likely to continue for the next two to three days,” Chaudhary said, advising people living in landslide-prone areas to move to safer locations if necessary and to closely monitor official weather forecasts during periods of prolonged rainfall.
Meanwhile, in a state-wide update issued on July 20, the NSDMA said continuous heavy rain had triggered landslides, flash floods and mudslides in several districts, including Tuensang, Zunheboto, Shamator, Mokokchung, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak, Wokha and Meluri. Officials are still assessing the full extent of the damage, but preliminary reports show homes, roads and public infrastructure have been affected across the state. In Tuensang alone, 22 houses were completely damaged and another 25 were partially damaged, while assessments are continuing in the other affected districts.
Speaking to DTE, a resident living about one kilometre from the main landslide site said, “There is no electricity, the mobile network is very unstable, and roads are blocked because of landslides.”