Floods Wreak Havoc In Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka; Amit Shah Conducts Aerial Survey

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for three districts of Kerala on Sunday -- Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.

The flood situation in South India continued to remain grim on Sunday, with Kerala and Karnataka being the worst hit - as 114 people have so far lost their lives in both states.

New Delhi: The flood situation in South India continued to remain grim on Sunday, with Kerala and Karnataka being the worst hit - as 114 people have so far lost their lives in both states. In Kerala, the toll climbed to 57 on Saturday even as more than 1.65 lakh people have been displaced from their homes. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for three districts of Kerala on Sunday -- Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday undertook an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Karnataka, where 31 people have lost their lives and more than four lakh have been displaced. On the other hand, over four lakh people were evacuated in Maharashtra, while 19 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Gujarat. Karnataka too saw no let-up in rains, with 26 people losing their lives so far in rain related incidents. Most rivers are in spate and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has termed the natural calamity the "biggest" in 45 years.

Watch | Flood Affects Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka

Situation in Kerala

• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a tweet that "57 lives have been lost. There are now 1,318 flood relief camps operating across the state. These camps host 1,65,519 persons from 46,400 families". He said 80 landslides had occurred in eight districts in the last three days.

Update on #KeralaFloods (As of 07:00 PM 10/08/2019): 57 lives have been lost. There are now 1318 flood relief camps operating across the State. These camps host 1,65,519 persons from 46400 families. pic.twitter.com/UJBHl9IE6f

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) August 10, 2019

• The maximum deaths were reported from Malappuram district-- 19, while 14 people lost their lives in Kozhikode and 10 in Wayanad. • Official sources said 198 houses were fully damaged and 2303 partially. • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit his constituency--Wayanad, which is among the worst affected, today to get first hand information about the rain havoc. • A red alert has been issued in eight districts of Ernakulam, Idukki,Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod. • As rescue operations were on in Kavalappara, another landslide occurred in the region on Saturday due to which search operations have been halted. • Rail services in Kerala remain cancelled while flight operations from Kochi international airport, suspended following inundation, will resume at noon on Sunday. • The Centre has assured Kerala Governor P Sathasivam that it will consider providing a "liberal support" to the flood-ravaged state, even as Union minister V Muraleedharan said on Saturday that a central assistance of Rs 52.27 crore was being provided to the state.

Situation in Karnataka

• The Karnataka government on Saturday declared 80 taluks in 17 districts flood affected even as the death toll rose to 26 and thousands of people were rendered homeless, an official said. • The order was issued taking into account the damage to crop, loss of human lives, livestock and basic infrastructure. • Karnataka government pegged the losses caused by rains and floods at Rs 6,000 crore and Yediyurappa revealed that his government has sought Rs 3000 crore as relief from the Centre. • Officials said 26 people had lost their lives, while as many as 2.35 lakh people have been moved to safety. 222 head of livestock had perished and 44,013 head of cattle rescued and provided shelter, they said. • The entire Pane Mangaluru village in Dakshina Kannada district was inundated by the swollen Netravati river.

Situation in Tamil Nadu

• In Tamil Nadu, the state government pressed the IAF into service to rescue stranded people from the worst-hit Avalanchi in Nilgiris district. • A flood alert has been sounded in five villages following discharge of surplus water from Pykara dam, which reached its full capacity of 96 feet due to incessant rains over the last one week. • The Indian Air Force rescued 11 people, including two infants from rain-battered Avalanchi and shifted them to Coimbatore for medical help. • Chief Minister K Palaniswami said about 5,500 people in Nilgiris have been moved to relief camps, while 15,000 others have moved out and are staying with their relatives elsewhere. A landslide occurred at Panthalur and restoration work was on, he said.

Situation in Maharashtra

• Over four lakh people have been moved to safety from the flood-hit parts of Maharashtra so far, including 3.78 lakh from the worst-hit Kolhapur and Sangli districts where the situation showed signs of improvement on Saturday as the water level started receding. • Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the rescue and relief operations in Sangli on Saturday and interacted with the people. He assured all assistance to them. • Addressing a press conference there later, Fadnavis attributed the flooding to "unprecedented" rainfall during this monsoon, which he said was "more than double" of what was witnessed in 2005, when many parts of the state, including large areas of Mumbai, were submerged. Watch | Army, NDRF team working tirelessly to rescue people stuck in flood in Sangli  • Three more bodies were recovered in the boat capsize incident that took place on Thursday near Brahmanal village in Palus tehsil of Sangli district during the flood rescue operations. • Nine persons had drowned and as many others had gone missing in the incident. • With the recovery of three more bodies, the death toll in the incident has gone up to 12.

Situation in Gujarat

• In Gujarat, 19 people have been killed in rain-related incidents. • As of Saturday morning, the state received 77.80 per cent of annual average rainfall, according to data by the MeT Department. "Seventeen dams are overflowing. Last year, by the end of monsoon, dams had only 56 per cent water. This year there is 60 per cent water stock in dams already," Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters. • Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the national capital on Saturday settled at 34.3 degrees Celsius, even as high humidity levels caused discomfort to the people. (With inputs from PTI)