At least 100 killed due to rain, floods in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

At least 100 people have died in rain-related incidents in four states – Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – over the past week. Meanwhile, four people died and five were injured after a three-storey building collapsed in Nadiad town of Gujarat following heavy rain.

The Indian Army said that it had rescued about 6,000 people and evacuated about 15,000 people from flood-hit areas of the four states till Friday night, according to Hindustan Times. The Army said it has deployed 123 rescue teams in 16 districts of the four states.

Rain and flood-related incidents in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts of Maharashtra have reportedly killed 29 while 24 were killed in the past week in Karnataka. At least 30 people had been killed in Kerala and several missing due to floods in the state. Five people were reportedly killed in Tamil Nadu while hundreds were evacuated within the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the prevailing conditions is expected to get better from Saturday. “Except for Rajasthan, there will be a marked reduction in rain from tomorrow [Saturday],” The Hindu quoted India Meteorological Department Director-General M Mohapatra as saying. “While these are extremely heavy rains, they are nowhere close to record rainfall that these States have witnessed in the past.”

Kerala

A red alert was sounded in seven districts of the state as incessant rain continued over the week. At least 42 people died in rain-related incidents, including floods and landslides, in the state. Over 1 lakh locals have been shifted to 1,111 relief camps, including 25,0028 in Kozhikode and 24,990 in Wayanad, officials told PTI.

One of the four shutters of Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad was opened at 3 pm to discharge excess water and people on the banks of the Kabini river have been asked to be cautious.

Flight operations at Cochin International Airport in Kerala that were stopped on Friday morning will resume at noon on Sunday, the airport spokesperson said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who took stock of the flood situation, said on Saturday that around 80 landslides had occurred in eight districts in the last three days. He informed that all major dams have enough storage capacity.

“While we are engaged in rescue operations, some are spreading false news across the social media,” Vijayan added. “Will take strict action against such people. Some people were spreading news that there will be power cuts or shortage of petrol and all that.”

A total of 29 people had died in Kozhikode, Wayanad and Malappuram districts since August 8, an unidentified official said, quoting reports. More than 1,000 people were rescued from Puthumala’s tea plantation village at Meppadi in Wayanad, where landslides swept away home and other structures.

Wayanad Sub-Collector NSK Umesh said that seven bodies had been recovered so far and 15 people were still missing. Search and rescue operations have been initiated by Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force to look for the victims.

Karnataka

Mudslides, flash floods and continuous rain continued in Karnataka on Saturday. Over the past week, 24 people have died, according to the Hindustan Times. As many as 1.74 lakh people were moved to relief camps, and 35,000 people were rescued since Thursday night.

Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited flood-affected areas in Belagavi on Saturday.

“Twenty-four people have lost their lives, 1,024 villages are severely affected, due to floods,” Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa told ANI on Saturday. He said 20 NDRF teams, 10 Army teams, five Navy and two state disaster response teams were engaged in rescue operations. Yediyurappa added that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the relatives of the deceased.

He asked people of the state not to worry as relief measures were his government’s top priority.

All Konkan railway trains were cancelled due to a landslide near Karwar on Saturday, according to ANI. The worst-hit district of Kodagu witnessed five deaths on Friday after a house collapsed due to landslides, burying a family alive. Yediyurappa estimated losses at Rs 5,000 crore.

Maharashtra

Rescue operations are currently under way in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur and Sangli, two of the state’s worst-affected districts. The flood situation improved on Saturday as rains stopped and water receded from inundated areas, according to PTI.

As many as 29 people died and more than 2.85 lakh people were displaced in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and Solapur districts. About 1 lakh hectare of crops have been damaged with reported losses of hundreds of crores of rupees.

“There is an improvement in the overall situation. Water is receding, albeit slowly,” Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh told PTI. “Currently the water level in Kolhapur is at 52 feet although the danger level is 47 feet. The highest water level during the current flood was 57 feet.” In Sangli, the water level was around 56.7 feet at 6 am.

A total of 26 Navy teams with 110 personnel and 26 boats have been deployed in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. They will continue to remain stationed in the area till the flood situation improves, PTI reported citing a defence statement.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday spoke to his Karnataka counterpart BS Yediyurappa, after which Karnataka discharged 450,000 cusecs of water from the Almatti dam in the state to tackle the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.

Tamil Nadu

At least five people were killed and hundreds were evacuated over the last 24 hours as heavy downpour was witnessed in Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts of the state. The state government on Friday had asked the Sulur airbase to be on standby for operations, according to the Hindustan Times.

Bhavani, Noyyal and Amaravathi rivers of the state are in spate with floods in several low-lying areas in and around Coimbatore.

Gujarat

Four people died and five injured after a residential building collapsed in central Gujarat’s Nadiad town late on Friday night following heavy rains, PTI reported.

“Total nine persons were trapped after the building collapsed, of whom four died, while five sustained injuries,” Kheda Superintendent of Police Divya Mishra was quoted as saying by the news agency. “They have been admitted to a government hospital.”

The rescue operations lasted for seven hours and ended at 6 am. It involved a team of National Disaster Response Force and fire brigade from Nadiad, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad, as well as personnel of the district police, Mishra added.

Heavy rains lashed most parts of Gujarat and the state has so far recorded 77.8% of the season’s total rainfall, The Hindu reported. Around 6,000 people were shifted to safer locations. Total 17 dams have also been overflowing.

“Government pressed IAF choppers into service to rescue people stranded in marooned locations,” Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was quoted as saying. “Army teams are being rushed to Rajkot.”

According to the weather department, Gujarat will continue to receive heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. Schools and colleges in rain-affected districts have been closed till Monday.