The death toll in the landslides and floods following the heavy rain in India has claimed up to 136, according to the officials.

Over 84,000 have been evacuated from the state of Maharashtra, which is home to the city of Mumbai after heavy land battered the western coast of the region.

Dozens of houses in the hard-hit Raigad district have been buried due to the landslides.

Parts of India's west coast received up to 23 inches of rainfall over 24 hours, forcing authorities to evacuate people from vulnerable areas as they released water from dams that were threatening to overflow.

Maharashtra state's chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said emergency workers were struggling to reach cut-off neighborhoods in Chiplun, because of damage to roads and bridges.

India's meteorological department has issued red alerts for several regions in the state, indicating that heavy rainfall will continue for the next few days.

The monsoon is crucial for rain-fed crops planted during the season, but the rain often causes extensive damage and kills scores of people each year.

Experts said heavy rainfall along India’s western coast is in line with how rainfall patterns have changed in the region in past years due to climate change.

“The frequency and intensity of heavy rains have increased,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in the western city of Pune.