Kerala floods: Over 633,000 shifted to nearly 3,000 relief camps, says NDMA

There will be no heavy rains in the flood-hit Kerala for the next four days, says National Disaster Management Authority

Over 633,000 people have taken shelter in nearly 3,000 relief camps in flood-hit Kerala, where 14 districts have been ravaged by the worst deluge in a century, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Sunday.

It also said there will be no heavy rains in the flood-hit Kerala for the next four days, giving a ray of hope to the distraught people of the state.

The central government has decided to give ex gratia of Rs 200,000 each to the family of those killed in the floods and Rs 50,000 to the injured. The compensation will be given from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
 

"A total of 633,010 people are staying in 2,971 relief camps in Kerala," the NDMA said, adding around 38,000 flood affected people have also been rescued by different agencies so far.

Quoting a bulletin of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the NDMA said, "Rainfall will further decrease during the next five days. Heavy rain at one or two places in Idukki, Konnur and Kozhikode districts likely today. No heavy rain from tomorrow for the next four days."

There is no red or amber colour code warning for any district of Kerala today. A yellow warning has been issued in three districts, it said.

IMD has four colour codes to signify the intensity of weather. Red means authorities need to take action and one could expect extreme weather conditions, amber means government agencies need to be prepared to handle exigencies. Yellow colour code means situation needs to be watched, while green signals the weather would be normal.
 

So far, 129 metric tonnes of rice and 30 metric tonnes of milk powder (20 metric tonnes to Idukki and 10 metric tonnes to Wayanad) have been dispatched to Kerala, the NDMA said.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has dispatched necessary medicines to the affected areas, which is in addition to more than 150 truck loads of relief materials from the civil society and NGOs.

Altogether 100 tonnes of food materials like biscuits, rusks and drinking water are being airlifted to Kerala from Jalandhar and Patiala in Punjab.

At least 197 people have been killed in Kerala in the last 10 days in the second spell of monsoon fury since August 8 as floods and landslides triggered by incessant rain have wreaked havoc in many parts of the state.