Rain has finally let up in Kerala and a red alert was withdrawn from all districts of the state on Sunday. The weather office has said that there has been a gradual decrease in rainfall on the state and floodwaters have begun to recede. Relief and rescue operations are on and the first commercial flight has landed at the INS Garuda Kochi Naval Air Station. In spite of the signs of improvement in Kerala weather, thousands of people are still feared trapped and there have been reports of diseases in relief camps, although there is no major outbreak. Three people with chickenpox in one of the relief camps in Aluva town, nearly 250 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, have been isolated as a precaution and daily surveys are being carried out to check any outbreaks.
The government on Sunday told the National Crisis Management Committee that the Kerala flood situation was gradually improving.
Here are the updates on Kerala floods:
India stands with Kerala in this hour of need. Central Government is exempting basic customs duty and IGST for the consignments of aid and relief materials being despatched or imported from abroad for the affected people.
- Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 20, 2018
"It is inspiring to see the way our security forces have worked tirelessly in the flood-affected areas. We all are immensely proud of our security forces that even in an unpleasant situation like this, they never failed to respond to those who are affected," Baba Ramdev told ANI.
Assam has donated Rs 3 crore to the flood-hit state. "Seeing the deluge and the sufferings of the people of Kerala, the soreness of the people of Majuli, the largest river island, comes to my mind and I pledge to share the sufferings of my brother and sisters in Kerala as I do with the brothers and sisters back home in Assam," Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
Update #KeralaFloodRelief efforts:
- Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) August 20, 2018
243 motorised, 24 non-motorised and 21 hired boats from @adgpi , @indiannavy & @IndiaCoastGuard have been deployed to enable effective movement of citizens to safer locations and relief camps.#KeralaFloods@nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/rXgG8qlGmZ
Heartbroken on finding his Class 12 certificates destroyed in the devastation caused by the deadly monsoon in Kerala, a 19-year-old boy, committed suicide, police said today."
Need This To Rebuild Kerala, Not Food And Clothes, Says Union Minister | NDTV.com Video | Hundreds have died and several lakhs have been rendered homeless in flood-hit Kerala. Relief teams have been working tirelessly to rescue people and to ensure food, water and medicines reach each and every person in the state. Help has been pouring in from all over the world, but the state "doesn't need food and clothes", according to Union minister KJ Alphons.
Naval rescue chopper pilot Commodore Vijay Varma and his men got a unique thank you note, days after Sajitha Jabil, was rescued from the rooftop of her house, in Chengamanad near Aluva in Kerala. A huge 'Thanks' was painted on the roof of the house, from where Commodore Varma had rescued Sajitha on August 17.
In a review meeting held on Sunday evening, CM Pinarayi Vijayan instructed the officials to ensure that the relief also reaches State's interstate migrant workers. There are thousands of migrant workers in the affected areas, many of who lack shelter & food.#KeralaFloodRelief
- CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 20, 2018
A Kerala fisherman who crouched in flood waters, offering his back for women to step on and get onto rescue boats, has emerged as the new hero on social media. On Saturday, Jaiswal KP went down on all fours in nearly waist-deep water at a village in Mallapuram, to help rescued women climb onto inflatable boats. Read
#9Wupdate: We are committed in our support to the people impacted due to #KeralaFloods and sincerely hope the situation stabilises soon.
- Jet Airways (@jetairways) August 20, 2018
Pls RT to those who need to travel there asap. pic.twitter.com/QcrFt5r1kc
Commercial flight operations to flood-hit Kochi resumed today after the Navy activated its airstrips to accommodate small passenger aircraft. The first flight -- an Alliance Air ATR plane -- landed early this morning at INS Garuda naval air station. The main Kochi airport will remain closed till August 26 as water is yet to recede from the facility, the country's seventh-busiest.