Kerala rains : eight dead, eight missing as thousands shifted to relief camps

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Sunday said that eight people have died an equal number are missing and 13 were injured in the previous days heavy rains which caused property damage landslides and waterlogging in many parts of the stateIn a statement issued by his office Satheesan also said that 27 houses were completely destroyed 196 homes were partially damaged and 5792 people have been shifted to the 209 relief camps set up across the stateThe government will ensure assistance to the families of the deceased and those who have lost their homes and livelihoods he further saidThe CM said that despite the reduction in rainfall since the previous day people should be vigilant especially in the hilly areasHe also said that peoples representatives and volunteers were actively involved in relief effortsSatheesan further said that he was communicating with Revenue Minister A P Anilkumar and other ministers assigned to various districts as well as the local administrations in connection with rainrelated relief effortsThe CM said that the subsiding or reduction in rainfall in many parts of the state was a relief and cleaning activities have started in the areas that were flooded or waterloggedHe urged workers and activists of political parties and voluntary organisations to participate in the cleaning activities and assured all support of the government for the sameAnilkumar while speaking to reporters here also said that following the heavy rains the previous day which caused widespread damage and waterlogging in the state the situation was improving and was under controlThe minister said that damaged roads have been restored for travel in many places while in some areas there were restrictions on vehicular movementsHe further said that in view of the heavy rainfall alerts have already been issued for the day in many districts and preparations to deal with them are in placeAccording to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority KSDMA the state received upto 320 mm of rainfall in some parts on Saturday leading to waterlogging of roads and lowlying areasIt said that the highest rainfall of 320 mm was at Ayyankunnu area of Kannur district while many other areas of the northern Malabar region of the state received between 90 mm and 180 mm rains since 3 am on Saturday till midnightThe rains had resulted in inundation of many lowlying and riverside parts of the state especially in Pathanamthitta Idukki Wayanad Kottayam Kozhikode and Kannur districts with water also seen entering homes according to visuals on TV channelsOn Sunday morning while the rains subsided water was yet to recede from the flooded areas in many parts of the state especially Ranni area of Pathanamthitta district and Kuttanad area in Alappuzha district leading to people being seen travelling using small boatsThe water level of many dams also dropped due to the rains subsiding leading to closing of the shutters which had been opened on the previous dayHowever the water level in some power generation dams in Idukki Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts continued to be in red alert status according to KSDMAIn Pathanamthitta the rains caused damage to around 40 homes in 25 villages most of them in Ranni and Konni areas of the districtState Tourism Minister P C Vishnunadh said that following the heavy rains an additional team of NDRF was deployed for rescue and relief efforts in the Pathanamthitta and Aranmula area and fire force units were sought from Thiruvananthapuram Palakkad and ErnakulamBesides that fishermen and fishing boats were also deployed in case quick action was required he said adding that more attention was being given to Aranmula area as it takes more time for water to recede from thereThe India Meteorological Department IMD on August 1 issued an orange alert in 12 districts of the state for SundayThe previous days heavy rains in Kerala had triggered landslides inundated lowlying areas raised water levels in rivers and dams and prompted authorities to launch largescale rescue and evacuation operations in affected regionsAn orange alert means very heavy rainfall of 115 mm to 204 mmThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever