India Flood Rescue Hindered by Rain and Landslides Rain and landslides have limited efforts to rescue the victims of floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Military helicopters were unable to fly there for most of Monday, and the Indian Meteorological Department warned of "very severe" rain in the next three days. Several roads were further damaged by new landslides. Thousands of stranded pilgrims and villagers in flood-stricken areas remained in need of food and medicine. Five thousand pilgrims have been stuck for more than a week in Badrinath, a major pilgrimage center in the mountains. In New Delhi on Monday, India's home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, said that more than 1,000 flood victims could be found dead once debris was removed. That number was considered a very conservative estimate. It was widely feared that the dead would number in the thousands. The Indian government was making preparations for mass cremations of the victims.