MUMBAI, July 26 (AFP) - The death toll from flooding and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in India climbed to 159, officials said on Sunday (Jul 25), with rescuers searching for dozens more missing.

The country's western coast has been inundated by torrential rains since Thursday, with the India Meteorological Department warning of further downpours over the next few days.

Flooding and landslides are common during India's treacherous monsoon season, which also often sees poorly constructed buildings buckle after days of non-stop rain.

Experts say climate change has caused the annual deluge to increase in frequency and intensity.

In Maharashtra state, 149 people have been killed, including more than 40 in a large landslide that hit the hillside village of Taliye about 250km southeast of Mumbai on Thursday.

Villager Jayram Mahaske, whose relatives remained trapped, told AFP that "many people were washed away as they were trying to run away".

Another villager, Govind Malusare, said his nephew's body had been found after the landslide hit his family's home, but that his mother, brother, sister-in-law and niece were still missing.

Dozens of homes were flattened in a matter of minutes, leaving just two concrete structures standing, and cutting off power, residents told AFP.

In landslide and flood-affected Satara district, 28 more bodies were found to take toll to 41.

In parts of Chiplun, water levels rose to nearly 6m on Thursday after 24 hours of uninterrupted rain. The water levels have since started to recede.

"Rain, floods, water are not new to the people here but what happened this time was unimaginable and they could not even save their belongings due to the rapid rise of water," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray told reporters after visiting Chiplun on Sunday.

Eight patients at a local COVID-19 hospital also reportedly died after power supply to ventilators was cut off.

"The water level reached the ceiling of my shop, there was so much water inside," a shopkeeper told Indian news broadcaster NDTV, pointing to sludge and debris around him.

"All the shops in this area have been completely damaged. The flood has left so much soil behind, we can't even resume work."

About 230,000 people were evacuated across the state amid the torrid conditions. Rescuers were working in waist-deep mud to search for 100 people still missing with the help of excavators.