Kerala Floods and Rain: Heavy monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the state of Kerala. The torrential rains have triggered flash flooding in the region due to which scores of people residing in various towns in the state were evacuated from their homes on Friday. The situation is worse in Idukki and Cheruthoni where the rescue team has shifted people to the relief camps set up in Munnar and several other nearby districts where the water level is comparatively low.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on phone and took stock of the flood situation in the state, besides assuring him of all central help. Singh will also go to Kerala on August 12, he said on Friday.

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Here are top 10 developments of the situation:

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Kerala on August 12. He has spoken to Kerala CM Vijayan on phone assured him of all central help. The Minister said that "relief and rescue operations are going on and the Ministry of Home Affairs is closely monitoring the situation".


• In Kerala, large areas have been inundated by floodwaters, claiming 27 lives in the last 48 hours, due to heavy rain and landslides.

• Several Kerala districts have been receiving heavy rains since Wednesday. Till Thursday, 24 people had died, while three more deaths were reported on Friday.

• The rescue team is taking all the necessary measures in order to combat with the current situation, Idukki district collector Jeevan Kumar said. "We have helped the people in shifting to relief camps set up in Munnar as the water level rose in Cherurhoni due to heavy downpour. The state is expected to get much heavier rainfall for the next couple of days," he said.


• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is closely monitoring the situation and has cancelled all his engagements. He is staying put in his office in Thiruvananthapuram, coordinating with the various district authorities and the Kerala State Electricity Board, which controls the dam.

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier had a word with Vijayan on the phone. Both took stock of the situation on hand as the Centre assured the state of all possible assistance.

• Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has opened all the five shutters of the Cheruthony dam in order to release the excess inflow of the water deposited in the catchment areas of the reservoir from the past couple of days. The floodgates were opened to increase the water flow into the Periyar river to 125 causes (1, 25,000 liters/second).


• The heavy downpour, caused by the annual south-west monsoon, has also hampered the train services between Kanjikode and Walayar and adversely affected flight services as well.

• The waters are all set to reach parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur district, and the district authorities in these two places are on a high alert.


• The Army is already involved in rescue-relief and damage control exercises in several districts in the state. Also, the army is involved in damage-repair exercises in Idukki, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

(With inputs from agencies)