Thiruvananthapuram:Â After a week-long continuous rain in the southern States Kerala and Karnataka, the flood water has begun receding and the situation is improving, said a media report.
The number of deaths reported in both the States combined is 145. More than six lakh people have been shifted to over 2,000 relief camps.
High alert was issued in in Kerala after extremely heavy rainfall was predicted in the next 48 hours. A total of 2.26 lakh people have been given shelter in 1,239 camps, said the report.
In Kerala
Rescue operations are on full swing in the State. Several people went missing in the landslips at Kavalappara and Kottakunnu since 8 August. 51 people are still missing in these landslides.
91 people are dead (60 from the three northern districts of Malappuram (31), Kozhikode (17) and Wayanad (12)) and 59 are still reportedly missing. At least 11,159 houses have been damaged partially in various parts of the state and 1057 fully in rain-related incidents.
India Meteorological Department issued a warning that extremely heavy rain is expected at several parts of the State. Red alert has been issued in Malappuram and Kozhikode today and over 20 cm of rains are expected here.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the worst-affected districts of Malappuram and Wayanad. He also made an aerial survey over the flood-affected areas in these districts.
Congress MP and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi after his two-day visit to his constituency said in his Facebook post, “I left Wayanad with nothing but pride for the people I represent.”
The Independence day celebrations scheduled to be held on 15 August at the Raj Bhavan has been cancelled by the State Governor.
In Karnataka
The situation has reportedly improved. 54 people have lost their lives and nearly four lakh people are lodged in 1,151 relief camps. A total of 100 taluks in 21 districts have been affected, said the report.
Relief and rehabilitation work, and restoring road connectivity, power and water supply are being carried out.
Joint rescue teams comprising Fire and Emergency, SDRF, NDRF and Army have evacuated 6.97 lakh people as on Tuesday. As many as 55,325 houses have been damaged, and agriculture and horticulture crop loss (preliminary assessment) stands at 4.45 lakh hectares, according to official figures.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa visited flood-affected areas in Shivamogga. The government has decided to celebrate independence day in a simple way.