The state of Kerala and its people are sort of having a deja vu moment. An entire cluster of homes of plantation workers at a tea estate in Wayanad was swept away by a landslide on Thursday evening. Several are trapped under the debris and 200 are injured, officials said. Hundred people have been rescued, while two bodies have been found. Officials said the rescue operation may take 12 hours.
Teams of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the fire department are at the site. 22 people have been killed, flight operations at Cochin International Airport in Kerala have been stopped till 3 pm on Sunday due to heavy rain, airport officials said today.
The water level in Periyar river and a canal near the airport has been rising. Flight operations were stopped till 9 am today, but it had to be extended after the apron area at the Kochi airport got flooded, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) posted on its Facebook page.
A red alert has been issued for nine districts Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod in Kerala where rains have left some villages submerged and isolated from the rest of the state. Around 22,165 people have been evacuated to safety and are lodged in 315 camps across the state.
Schools and colleges are shut in all 14 districts of the southern state today, except state capital Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. 42 lakh in Maharashtra, 45,000 in Karnataka, 8,000 in Kerala and 20,000 in Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated so far.
Here are the Highlights on Rain in Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh:
As many as thirty families are feared missing after a landslide occurred at Kavalappara, Nilambur, in Malappuram district on Thursday evening. The rescue teams were able to reach the incident spot only by today afternoon.
Joint rescue teams comprising personnel from Fire and Emergency Department, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army have evacuated 1,24,291 people so far, an official statement said Friday.
The cumulative figure for yesterday was 43,858.
Nine additional NDRF teams have been airlifted for rescue operations including five to Belagavi and two to Kodagu, the statement said.
On Thursday night, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) announced that flight operations would be suspended till 9 am on Friday as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains lashing the region. Flights coming to the airport were diverted.
The situation continued to be grim on Friday.
"Kochi Airport closes operations till 1500 hrs of Sunday (11/08/2019)," a statement said on Friday, according to PTI.
A CIAL spokesperson said the runway area of the airport is waterlogged due to the flood.
Operations were suspended as water levels rose in the Periyar river and a canal adjacent to the airport due to heavy rain.
The current flood situation in different parts of the country and the preparedness of central ministries and agencies to deal with it was reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.
The Director General of the NDRF apprised the meeting that 83 NDRF teams have been positioned with all necessary equipment in vulnerable areas of the four flood-affected states, a home ministry statement said.
These teams are in addition to the 173 teams of Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
An NDRF team comprises around 45 personnel.
K'taka: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi today visited flood-hit Hubli. He says "10 NDRF teams have already been sent here. State govt has requested for 5 more NDRF teams. As soon as I came to know all these things are needed, I spoke to Union Home Minister&apprised him of situation" pic.twitter.com/2ECcrBhEg2
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
#KeralaFloods #keralarains #IndianNavy opens naval air station INS Garuda for civil flights view non-availability of Cochin International Airport @CMOKerala @AAI_Official @HardeepSPuri @MoCA_GoI @DDNational @DefenceMinIndia @rajnathsingh @PMOIndia
- SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) August 9, 2019
#Floods2019@NDRFHQ carrying out rescue ops in Maharashtra. The force has distinguished itself with capability, courage and commitment.#maharashtrafloods pic.twitter.com/dd3ggdz9XU
- Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) August 9, 2019
#KeralaFloods19
- PRO Defence Trivandrum (@DefencePROTvm) August 9, 2019
Total 16 teams of @IndiaCoastGuard is on high alert.
2teams already in action at flood hit #Beypore,#Kozhikode and rescued 550 people and one more team standby at Beypore.
10 teams stand by at Kochi.
3 teams stand by at Vizhinjam.@SpokespersonMoD @rajnathsingh pic.twitter.com/K4lii8GWPw
#SangliFloods#IndianNavy rescue teams have reached Sangli and have been deployed by 1100h. Relief operations have commenced in the affected areas.
- SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) August 9, 2019
#KarnatakaFloods : Indian Air Force teams carry out flood relief operations in Belagavi. A total of 25 civilians have been rescued by winching from Roggi, Halolli, Udhagatti & Girdal. Around 475 food packets along with drinking water dropped in affected areas. pic.twitter.com/APLywWeDwV
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited relief camps in Mudhol today. #KarnatakaFloods pic.twitter.com/gpVaNguS9I
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
#MaharashtraFlood: More than 500 passengers stranded in Kolhapur's Kini village, due to heavy rains in the region. pic.twitter.com/987NLMOcVT
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
The Chief Minister has conducted a review meeting of the disaster management activities of #KeralaFloods. pic.twitter.com/K9H6DgyjrA
- CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 9, 2019
Wayanad MP @RahulGandhi spoke to the Prime Minister seeking all possible assistance for the people severely affected by the floods and landslides in the state, especially in Wayanad. The PM has assured to provide any assistance required to mitigate the effects of the disaster.
- Rahul Gandhi - Wayanad (@RGWayanadOffice) August 9, 2019
𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐢 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 : #TEAMNDRFINDIA on Ground 0-Rescue ops on w/State agencies. Rptd 100 persons evacuated safely-missing search on. NDRF will do its best possible🙏🏻@KeralaSDMA @NDRFHQ @PMOIndia @HMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @DDNewsLive
- ѕαtчα n prαdhαn, dírєctσr gєnєrαl,ndrf (@satyaprad1) August 9, 2019
#Floods2019@NDRFHQ carrying out rescue ops in Maharashtra. The force has distinguished itself with capability, courage and commitment.#maharashtrafloods pic.twitter.com/dd3ggdz9XU
- Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) August 9, 2019
Maharashtra: Senior citizens being rescued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from flood-affected Jhulelal chowk in Sangli. pic.twitter.com/HzQYZMRg19
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
According to Army sources -There are urgent rescue operations being planned in #Wayanad in #Kerala ... 200 people are injured ... At least 150 are trapped and need to be rescued with their homes under slush ... or completely destroyed, reports @VishnuNDTV
- Sneha Koshy (@SnehaMKoshy) August 9, 2019
#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to airport closure at #Kochi, all flight operations to/fro #Kochi have been suspended for today (Aug 09, 2019). Please visit Plan B https://t.co/Oq5OqwbyNF to opt for alternate options or get a refund.
- IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) August 9, 2019
Stay Weather Aware: High waves in the range of 3.2-3.7 meters are forecasted till 23:30 hours of 10-08-2019 along the coast of Kerala from Pozhiyoor to Kasargod. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these areas for the above mentioned period.
- CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 9, 2019
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KDSMA): 22,165 people have been evacuated to safety and lodged in 315 camps across the state. #KeralaRains pic.twitter.com/x8ZLii00OM
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
Kerala: A landslide occurred in Puthumala, Wayanad, yesterday. Rescue operations underway. More details awaited. #KeralaRain pic.twitter.com/zafdjYrujz
- ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2019
Flight operations at Cochin International Airport in Kerala have been stopped till 3 pm on Sunday due to heavy rain, airport officials said today. The water level in Periyar river and a canal near the airport has been rising. Flight operations were stopped till 9 am today, but it had to be extended after the apron area at the Kochi airport got flooded, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) posted on its Facebook page.
