Eight people have died, an equal number are missing and 13 have been injured after heavy rain triggered landslides and waterlogging across Kerala, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Sunday.
According to a statement from his office, 27 houses were completely destroyed and 196 suffered partial damage in the heavy rain. A total of 5,792 people have been shifted to 209 relief camps across the state.
He said the government would ensure assistance to the families of the deceased and to those who had lost their homes and livelihoods.
Satheesan said that although rainfall had reduced since the previous day, people in hilly areas needed to remain vigilant, and that he was in touch with Revenue Minister A P Anilkumar and other ministers overseeing district-level relief efforts.
Anilkumar told reporters that the situation was improving and under control, with damaged roads restored for travel in many places, though vehicular movement remained restricted in some areas. He said alerts had already been issued for the day across several districts, with preparations in place to deal with them.
According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), the state received up to 320 mm of rainfall in parts on Saturday, with the highest recorded at Ayyankunnu in Kannur district. Several other areas in the northern Malabar region received between 90 mm and 180 mm of rain between 3 am Saturday and midnight.
The rains caused inundation in low-lying and riverside areas, particularly in Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Wayanad, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Kannur districts, with water entering homes in several places.
Photo Credit: PTI
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By Sunday morning, water was yet to recede in some areas, including Ranni in Pathanamthitta and Kuttanad in Alappuzha, where people were seen moving around using small boats.
Water levels in several dams dropped as rains subsided, prompting authorities to close shutters that had been opened the previous day, though dams in Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur remained on red alert. In Pathanamthitta, around 40 homes across 25 villages were damaged, mostly in the Ranni and Konni areas.
Photo Credit: PTI
State Tourism Minister P C Vishnunadh said an additional NDRF team had been deployed for rescue operations in Pathanamthitta and Aranmula, with fire force units drawn from Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Ernakulam, besides fishermen and boats kept on standby, with focus on Aranmula given the slower pace of water recession there.
The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert, signifying rainfall of 115 mm to 204 mm, for 12 districts of the state for Sunday.
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