At least 66 people have died and some 260,000 have moved to relief camps after flash floods and mudslides caused by days of torrential rain in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted officials as saying that 42 people have died in Kerala since Thursday. Authorities have set up 1,111 relief camps which are now home to about 125,000 people.

In neighbouring Karnataka, at least 24 people have died, with 235,000 being moved to safer areas.

India floods
Large areas have been submerged (Ajit Solanki/AP)

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said there has been extensive destruction to property and livestock.

In Kerala, the PTI said the bodies of seven people were recovered and 15 people were feared trapped in a mudslide in a Wayanad tea plantation.

India’s southern Tamil Nadu state has also faced severe floods and mudslides, with the air force being deployed to rescue marooned residents.

Kerala suffered catastrophic floods a year ago when heavy downpours amid the monsoon season killed 223 people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.