Heavy rains pounded south and central Kerala on Saturday wreaking havoc in many parts with some people feared missing in the landslides that occurred in hilly areas bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
The minister, who made an aerial survey of badly affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts, said the rains and floods had caused 'massive damage' to the farm sector and infrastructure like roads and power.
Several areas of Tamil Nadu remain inundated after hours of heavy to moderate rainfall in the region. Water entered houses and markets in the low-lying residential areas of Erode district due to heavy rainfall throughout the night.
Shutters of at least 22 reservoirs in the state have been opened to drain out excess water.
The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall over Karnataka and Kerala for the next few days.
Nine people died and several others were reported missing as a string of landslips triggered by heavy downpour battered Idukki and adjoining districts of Kerala on Monday.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
Asked to board the flight for the Asian Games despite some family members reportedly missing in the wake of the Kerala floods, debutant long-jumper M Sreeshankar said he can finally focus on the job at hand after his grandfather and uncle were traced.
The tea sector may see a crop loss of 50 per cent (around Rs150 crore) while the damages owing to landslides washing away a 100-acre plantation in Wayanad are yet to be accounted for.
As the low-pressure area in the south-eastern Arabian Sea intensified into a severe depression on Friday, heavy rains lashed many parts of Kerala and huge tidal waves started hitting low-lying coastal areas.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
The Centre said that there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Entering wedlock in a flooded hall at Thalavady in Alappuzha adjacent to a nearby temple, where they were scheduled to get married initially and which too was filled with water, the couple were joined by a very limited number of relatives.
"Such was their efficiency that in fact, no deaths by drowning were reported in any area where Naval teams systematically organised their rescue efforts," he said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had informed that as per the preliminary report, the total damage due to floods in the state is estimated to be worth Rs 8,316 crore.
For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Thursday.
The national capital received heavy precipitation resulting in waterlogging on several roads and traffic jams at various intersections.
The sun is out. The flood waters have receded. Keralites have spent crores in quickly cleaning up the state and making it visitor ready. Go to Kerala folks!
The district administration in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad has declared a holiday for educational institutions on Tuesday to cope up with the situation.
'A lot of unauthorised encroachments have taken place in our forest area.' 'The landslides are partly because of such encroachments.' 'The other factor is deforestation.' 'Protection of forest resources is not on the agenda of any government.' 'The damage caused by the rain in Kerala is a man-made factor.'
After the Kerala government declared the coronavirus outbreak as a 'state calamity', as the three positive cases were detected from Thrissur, Alapuzha and Kasaragod, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran admitted that the sector had suffered a hit. The sector had aggressively launched promotional advertisements in the domestic and international markets after the floods to revive the sector. However, all the efforts took a beating, with mass cancellations of hotel bookings after the outbreak of the infection in the state was reported.
'Man-made interventions vastly increased the magnitude of the tragedy.'
A red alert has been sounded in three districts of Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad in Kerala.
Incessant downpour battered several states, including Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on Friday, with landslips and floods throwing normal life out of gear.
106 people died on a single day on Thursday.
After days of incessant rains, the situation improved in many parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra on Tuesday with water receding in affected areas.
'Because of the melting of ice as well as irresponsible human behaviour such as throwing soil and plastic into the sea, there has been a rise in temperature.' 'I fear there will be direct and dangerous consequences for us.'
Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra in the last seven days, while the toll in Karnataka rose to five since Sunday.
As the Kerala government looks for the best technologies to rebuild infrastructure, start-ups see a bigger role for themselves.
Malayankunju is a coming-of-age survival drama that has its heart in the right place, notes Divya Nair.
The CM urged all Malayalis to donate one month salary to rebuild the state, where the death toll has now touched 302.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an Indian-origin Singapore-born economist, registered a landslide victory in Singapore's presidential election on Friday, winning over 70 per cent of votes in the country's first contested presidential polls since 2011.
Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water.
His statement assumes significance in the wake of a row over the Centre's refusal to accept the United Arab Emirates' reported offer of Rs 700 crore to the flood-hit state.
Officials at the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Friday said the UAE had not officially announced any financial aid for Kerala flood relief. However, Vijayan claimed there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state.
A photograph of Kumar snapped while scurrying across the bridge with the child two days ago, has gone viral on the social media with people showering praise on him.
Though people from relief camps have started returning to their homes, more than 10.40 lakh people were still in 2,770 camps across the state.
