Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
Death toll rises to 39 in flood-ravaged Kerala. More than 60,000 people have been displaced after 24 dams were opened across the state due to torrential rains.
The gates of the Idduki dam were again opened on 13 August to control the situation.
On 12 August, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made an aerial survey of two rain-ravaged districts of Kerala.
Terming the flood situation in Kerala following heavy rains as something never witnessed by the state since Independence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced Rs 100 crore as immediate central relief.
Although the intensity of rains has decreased, the anxiety and fear continue to grip the people living in relief camps across the state.
While rescue and relief operations are underway, IMD predicts heavy rainfall in the state till 14 August.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also announced Rs 10 lakh as compensation to those who lost their houses and land in the rain, and Rs 4 lakh to those who lost a member of their family.
Apart from in Kerala, the monsoon has taken a toll in several other states of the country that led to landslides and flash floods.
As many as 774 people have died in incidents related to floods and rains in seven states during the monsoon season so far. According to the Home Ministry’s National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 187 people have lost their lives in Kerala, 171 in Uttar Pradesh, 170 people in West Bengal and 139 in Maharashtra due to the floods and rains.
The nearly 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked by landslides triggered by heavy rains at Seri in Ramban district and Kheri in Udhampur district, they said.
Over 300 vehicles were stranded at various places enroute, they said.
Where Kullu experienced flash flooding, a number of highways were blocked in Shimla and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh due to several landslides following incessant rain. Several people have been left stranded.
The Badrinath National Highway in Uttarakhand was also closed due to heavy showers.
Incessant rainfall also disrupted normal life in Chhattisgarh.
(With inputs from PTI)
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