Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh conducts aerial survey in flood hit Kerala of Idukki and Ernakulam; takes stock of the situation; Relief and rescue operations in full swing, death toll goes up to 37, over 54 thousand people shifted to relief camps.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday undertook aerial survey in flood hit Kerala and took stock of the situation in Idukki and Ernakulam.
The Chief Minister of Kerala also accompanied him. He also held discussions with the Chief Minister and officials at Kochi.
Talking to reporters, Union Home Minister assured the state of all possible assistance from the Centre.
Incessant rains over the last few days have caused flooding and landslides, leaving at least 37 people dead. The South-west monsoon has been vigorous over Kerala resulting in heavy rains in various parts of the state since the past two days.
However, water level has come down slightly following opening of shutters of 22 reservoirs in the state.
A total of 14 Districts and over 2000 villages have been affected due to the floods.
Teams of Army, Navy, Coast Guard and NDRF have been making all efforts to undertake rescue and relief operation. The Mi-17 V5 Helicopter and two AN–32 aircraft have been deployed to airlift an NDRF teams and relief equipments from Arrakkonam to Calicut. Further, relief teams from Bengaluru and Hyderabad were also airlifted to Calicut by AN-32 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Indian Meteorological Department issued a 'Red alert',asking people to be cautious as there was a possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places in Idukki, Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Malappuram.