Kerala floods: Andhra IAS officers donate a day's salary for victims

The IAS Officers Association of Andhra Pradesh (IASOA -AP) on Sunday decided to contribute one day's salary of its members to support the flood-ravaged victims of Kerala.

In a statement, the association took note of the "unprecedented havoc and hardship being faced by people of Kerala in the wake of the worst ever floods facing the state," adding that they stood "as one with the people of Kerala and the countless members of Civil and Military Administrations as well as Civil Society who are working tirelessly to provide rescue, relief and rehabilitation to the flood affected people."

"As a token of our shared pain with the flood ravaged people of Kerala and as a mark of our heartfelt wish for their quick recovery, the IAS Officers Association of AP resolves to contribute one day salary of its members to the CM Relief Funds of Kerala," the statement added.

On Sunday, red alerts that were issued earlier by the Kerala authorities have also been withdrawn from all districts in the state, with an orange alert issued in ten districts and yellow alert in two districts.

Also, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is set to resume all its services to Kerala's Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palghat, Kozhikode, Kannur and Trivandrum. The first service will start at 4 pm from Bengaluru to Trivandrum, while the services to Kasaragod have not been restored so far.

A Rapid Action Force team in Palakkad district recovered bodies from the landslides-hit Nemmara area, with the Deputy Commandant of the RAF Coimbatore unit saying, "We have recovered total 10 bodies from the area. Landslides are still occurring in the area, it is a tough task to recover the bodies."

Kerala is experiencing the worst floods in over a century, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirming on Saturday that the death toll has climbed to 357. He further informed that the state has suffered a loss of Rs 19,512 crores due to the floods.

Rescue efforts are in full swing in the state, with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deploying personnel with boats and helicopters to bolster relief operations.

Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the Chief Ministers of several states, extended financial aid to the southern state to help cope with the large-scale devastation.