Toll rises to 156; 12 more NDRF teams rushed; Navy begins airlifting the marooned

With 91 persons killed in rain-related incidents on Thursday, the toll in the recent rain- and flood-related incidents across Kerala rose to 156. More than 1.5 lakh people have been shifted to 1,200 relief camps.

Twelve additional National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising about 540 personnel, are being rushed to the State, in addition to the 18 teams already deployed, apart from contingents of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. A further 23 NDRF teams will be deployed in the coming days, NDRF Director-General Sanjay Kumar said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in the day seeking more Central assistance, said the flood situation was “extremely grave.”

“This sort of a situation has never been faced by the State. Areas where floods had never occurred are witnessing inundation,” he said.

Rain to continue

The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rain for the next 48 hours in the State.

Army, Navy and Coast Guard teams were pressed into rescue operations as families clambered on to roofs to escape the rising Pampa river. Ranni, Kozhenchery, Aranmula and Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district were isolated as the river breached its banks. The Navy airlifted stranded citizens from Aluva, Perumbavur, Thrissur and Pathanamthitta after social media was flooded with distress messages.

Many of the marooned families, including senior citizens and infants, have been without food, water and electricity since Wednesday.

A major landslip at Vettilapara in Eranad taluk in Malappuram claimed the lives of eight persons. Landslips and floods occurred at several places in Idukki and the high ranges in the district remained cut off for the second day following heavy rains.

Another massive landslip occurred at Amabayathode in Kottiyur village in Kannur, causing extensive damage to crops and property. Local people have been directed to relocate to safer places. The Attapady tribal belt and Nelliyampathy hill station were isolated following a series of landslips on Thursday morning.

Patients in hospitals and students in college hostels were among those marooned by floodwaters. Hundreds of students were marooned at the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kalady near Kochi. A high alert was issued for residents along the banks of the Chittur river after Tamil Nadu prepared to release 11,000 cusecs of water from the inter-State Aliyar to Palakkad.

The Periyar, Chalakudy, Bharathapuzha, Kunthipuzha and Bhavani rivers were in spate. Kochi city remained tense as waters from the Periyar began invading more areas along the banks in Ernakulam.

The district administration has begun evacuating people.

The Kochi Metro services were suspended after the yard at Muttom was flooded. Traffic along the Kozhikode-Bangalore, Kottayam-MC road, Kottayam- Kattapana and Kalady MC roads was disrupted and vehicles stranded at many locations.

(With PTI inputs)