Kerala Rains: Death toll reaches 37; Rajnath Singh to visit state today

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.

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit the state of Kerala which is struggling with incessant rains and flood, on Sunday. Pounded with heavy rains, the state has lost 37 lives, keeping the government on high alert with more rains forecast As the toll in the monsoon fury since August 8 climbed to 37, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced Rs 10 lakh compensation would be given to people who lost their homes and land and Rs four lakh to those who lost a member of their family. 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. Two fishermen drowned on Saturday when their boat capsized off Thiruvananthapuram coast, while in an another incident,the bodies of a mother and daughter were found in a waterlogged area behind their house at Kuttanad in Alappuzha district, PTI reported. Four more bodies were recovered from other parts of the state, taking the toll to 37, official sources said. A total of 35,874 people have been put up in 341 relief camps across Kerala, officials at the state Disaster Management control room said. A total of 580 houses were partially damaged and 44 fully, they said, adding crops in 1301 hectares have been  destroyed. There was a brief let-up in the rains where life is limping back to normal in affected areas, including Palakkad and Waynad, where flood waters have started receding. Alert of heavy rains has been issued in the states of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand. (With inputs from PTI)