Rescue and relief operations are underway in full swing in flood-hit Kerala even as water levels in the Idukki and Idamalayar reservoirs have marginally reduced. There were no fresh casualties reported since Friday and the toll in the rain-related incidents stood at 37.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced an immediate relief of Rs 100 crore to the state. Singh conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam accompanied Singh to review the situation.
The home minister said the situation in Kerala after the flood was very serious, and assured all assistance to the state.
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"The floods in Kerala affected the tourism sector in a big way and also adversely impacted the daily lives of more than one lakh people in the state. Thousands of them have been shifted to relief camps. I also visited a relief camp and became aware of their sufferings," Singh wrote on Twitter.
Three teams of NDRF were pre-positioned in Kerala during the current monsoon season and eleven more NDRF teams have been deployed in the state taking the total number of NDRF teams to 14, he said and added that additional teams would be pressed into service if need be.
Meanwhile, with a brief let up in rain, life is limping back to normal in affected areas, including Palakkad and Wayanad, where floodwaters have started receding. However, intermittent rains are hampering the rescue operations.
More than 60,000 people have been accommodated in relief camps set up in different districts of the state. Over 14,000 people have been sheltered in Wayanand district alone.
Ten columns of Army, a unit of Madras Regiment along with personnel of Navy, Air Force and the NDRF were engaged in relief and rescue operations in the badly-hit districts.
Earlier, all the five shutters of the Idukki dam, one of the largest arch dams in Asia, were opened for the first time in the history, triggering flood like situations in the downstream areas. The water level in the reservoir declined to 2399.16 feet on Saturday morning, after hovering close to its maximum of 2,403 feet in the past few days. The shutters will remain open until the water inflow drop to 120 cumecs from the current 498 cumecs.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had on Friday warned that heavy to very heavy rains were expected in 16 states, including Kerala.
With inputs from agencies