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Flood rescue operations were reaching their “final stages”, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday as residents of one hill town returned to find their homes devastated.

Munnar, a popular tourist hill town, was left in disarray after the heavy rainfall triggered landslides and flooded local houses.

READ MORE: Canadians fear for relatives trapped by flooding in India as death toll surpasses 300

Kerala state will seek to borrow more than 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) to finance reconstruction work after a disaster, Vijayan said on Tuesday.

WATCH: Man saves puppy in flood-ravaged Kerala

0:39 Man saves puppy in flood-ravaged Kerala Man saves puppy in flood-ravaged Kerala

The worst floods in the state in a century claimed 383 lives, flattened tens of thousands of homes, and washed away roads and bridges.

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WATCH: Full coverage of Kerala, India floods

Around 1.3 million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps.