As heavy rains continue to lash Kerala, the Centre rushed four more teams of the National Disaster Response Force to the state to assist the rescue and relief operations.
Till now, 14 teams of the NDRF have been deployed in the affected areas of Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Thrissur and Pathanamthitta districts. One NDRF team consists of about 45 personnel.
A NDRF spokesperson said the federal disaster response force evacuated 53 people in Kozhikode, 60 in Pathanamthitta, 115 in Ernakulam, 47 in Thrissur and 24 in Alappuzha on Wednesday.
So far, the NDRF teams had rescued seven people and evacuated 685 others in the southern state, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Indian Navy on Wednesday said it has deployed 21 rescue and diving teams with inflatable 'Gemini' boats as the flood situation further worsened across Kerala today due to the heavy rains.
"A total of four teams went out today to augment those already deployed. More than 81 people were rescued, many of whom were also provided food and shelter by setting up a rescue camp," the Southern Naval Command said in a release.
Kerala is battling the deadliest flood in nearly a century as torrential rains continue to lash the southern state triggering landslides and leaving a trail of destruction in all its 14 districts.
With inputs from agencies
Kochi airport, the fourth busiest in the country in terms of international passengers, was closed down till Saturday and flights were either cancelled or diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut airports.
The death toll in rain-related incidents since August 8 has mounted to 67 with 25 casualties reported on Wednesday alone. More than 1.5 lakh people have been lodged in relief camps across the state.