As the meteorological department announced a possible reduction in rainfall intensity in the state from Monday, the rescue operations were intensified, especially in the districts of Pathanamthitta and Thrissur. Kerala is not expected to receive heavy rainfall from August 20, Mritunjay Mohapatra, IMD additional director general said. He said the southern state received 170 per cent more precipitation than its normal from August 1 to August 17. "Day before yesterday, there was heavy rainfall in almost all districts of Kerala. Yesterday, there was heavy rainfall in three-four districts. We were expecting heavy rainfall in isolated places, but not very heavy rainfall." Red alerts were revoked in 11 districts; it was downgraded to an orange alert in Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha.
The rescue workers have yet to reach some flooded areas, like parts of Chengannur city, some too narrow for boats to navigate. People trapped without food, water and electricity worried about being left without help as their phone batteries were dying. "There are seven families in this apartment now. We're safe compared to many others, but we're cut off," said James Joseph Moolakkaat, owner of an agricultural business who lives in a 10-story building across the southwestern state's Periyar river, told Reuters.
"This is my second phone and to save power I have been turning data on and off intermittently. If this goes out, I will have some charge left in my laptop and then it will be incommunicado."Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was taken by helicopter over inundated farmland and villages, promised more helicopters, boats and other equipment needed to expand the rescue operation in the still unfolding emergency. He said the Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard were assisting disaster relief agencies in the rescue, and a total of 38 helicopters had been pressed into service along with a number of aircraft and ships to ferry resources."More helicopters, boats and other equipment are being sought and Modi promised to provide all of these as fast as possible," Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told journalists. "The air marshal in charge of the air operations said more helicopters are on the way."According to a lawmaker in Pathanamthitta district, some 10,000 people were stranded and in grave danger unless they were rescued urgently.
Chief Minister Vijayan has estimated that more than two million people have been forced to move into relief camps since the monsoon season brought torrential rains three months ago. He put the death toll from floods and landslides since the start of the rainy season at 324. One of his advisers, Prabha Varma, told Reuters that 186 people had died since August 8, when the waters began to rise. He said the floods had destroyed 26,000 homes and damaged crops across as much as 40,000 hectares, with estimated losses of 277 billion rupees. Modi declared initial assistance of 5 billion rupees ($71 million) and promised more later. He also assured that the federal government would send desperately needed grains, as storage in the state had been flooded and stocks destroyed.Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates, where many Keralites work, said he had formed a committee to extend emergency assistance to the flood victims of the state, whose people he said "have always been and are still part of our success story".
In many places, the local people were in the forefront of the evacuation along with defence and NDRF personnel. Lack of information about the isolated areas and houses, where a large number of people are believed to be stuck, is a worrying factor for rescuers, official sources said. Over 54,000 people were rescued in Ernakulam district, mainly in Paravur and Aluva taluks which had witnessed heavy rains and severe water logging in the past two days.
According to Navy sources, two sets of siblings from Kalady were rescued and brought to the naval base in Kochi and are waiting to join their parents. Local leaders said thousands of people are stuck in Paravur region of Ernakulam district. With several people yet to be rescued, authorities today issued orders to release private boats and school buses for rescue operations. Fishing boats are already being using for the mission. The plantation town of Nelliyampathy in the battered Palakkad district is fully cut off as a bridge was washed away and massive boulders fell on a main road in incessant rains and landslides.
Huge granite blocks, which had fallen from atop mountains, could be seen perched precariously amidst gushing flood waters. Youngsters could be seen helping women and the elderly cross the waters by lifting them. Fresh landslides were also reported in high range Idukki. Dead bodies were seen floating in several places, including Pandanad, Aranmula and Nenmara, where a massive landslide was reports two days ago. Those returning home from relief camps were in for a shock, seeing muddy interiors of their homes, floating furniture, damaged books and reptiles and snails crawling inside. District authorities have asked people living downstream of Kakki dam in Pathanamthitta to be vigilant as three of its four shutters were lifted up to 75 cm-90 cm.